Over 300 incidents of pests reported at Altnagelvin Hospital over the last three years
Pests which were reported to have been spotted ranged from rats and mice to wasps and silverfish.
The details were obtained by the Belfast Telegraph after Freedom of Information requests to the Western Trust.
Documents also revealed that the five trusts across the North of Ireland spent over £250,000 on pest controllers in the last three years.
But not all reported sightings resulted in a pest being found once experts had been tasked to investigate.
Western Trust
2017: 145 sightings
2018: 143 sightings
2019: 141 sightings
Total: 429 sightings
Between 2017 and 2019 Altnagelvin Hospital dealt with 313 pests, including mice, rats, silverfish and bedbugs.
In 2017 some 114 reported incidents were recorded at the hospital, 102 in 2018 and 97 in 2019.
Other pest sightings were reported in Gransha Hospital, Tyrone and Fermanagh Hospital, Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex and South West Acute Hospital.
Other sightings were made including those of wasps’ nests, woodlice, black ants and bed bugs.
The Western Trust spent a total of £37,216 on pest control providers in three years: £13,521 (2017/18), £14,733 (2018/19) and £8,962 (for the seven month period covering April to October 2019).
A spokesperson for the Western Trust said that when a pest sighting is reported the trust’s pest control contractors are called out to inspect the area and carry out relevant treatments.
“Proactive use of pest control systems is a sign of good hospital management and is well supported by the vigilance of staff to ensure that any pest control issues are dealt with quickly,” they said.
“It would be unrealistic to expect that large, public buildings with a significant throughput of people will be completely pest-free.
“However, the public should be reassured that the trust has robust procedures in place to quickly and effectively deal with pests.”
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