Pest control called 771 times in two-and-a-half years

PEST control has been summoned to hospitals in one city a staggering 771 times in two-and-a-half years.

Among the call-outs were an infestation of cockroaches in an operating theatre, rats reported near a creche and “hundreds” of flies in an antenatal unit.

Patients campaigners in Leeds called the findings “disgraceful”.

The figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, date from the beginning of 2011 to last month and also include 203 reports of ants, 155 of silverfish and two of bedbugs.

Maureen Idle, of campaign group Leeds Hospital Alert, said: “These things spread diseases. Obviously there are vulnerable people at risk there.”

A Leeds Teaching Hospitals spokesman said: “We have a zero tolerance attitude to pests so every incident is logged in detail and dealt with as a matter of urgency. One of the particular issues is the age of some of our buildings.”

Courtesy of the Daily Star