6:00am Thursday 11th February 2010
BOSSES at Fairfield Hospital called in a pest control firm after a shocked visitor spotted a rat scuttling down a corridor.
The area in the children’s outpatients department was immediately sectioned off, and clinics relocated, while a full cleansing operation was carried out.
Visitor Karen Cavanagh, aged 34, saw the rodent as she took her 16-month-old son, Lewis, for an appointment at the child development centre on the ground floor.
After the alert, traps were put down and clinics transferred to allow the whole area to undergo a clean-up and investigation.
Miss Cavanagh, of Pimlott Grove, Prestwich, said: “I was walking along the corridor when a rat ran across the floor and into a nearby children’s play area at the side of the corridor. It disappeared behind a play pen.
“I was quite shocked and spoke to staff about what I’d seen. They told me they knew about a rat problem but that it was confined to the outside gardens of the hospital. They said they’d never actually seen one inside.”
A spokesman for the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Fairfield, said: “Following the sighting of what looked like a rat by a patient at the children’s outpatient department, a pest control company was called in immediately and were on site within 15 minutes.
“Traps were put down and alternative accommodation was arranged so that clinics could continue until the area had been thoroughly cleaned and investigated. The problem was dealt with swiftly and the area made safe and reopened the next day.
“We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused to some patients and their families, but I’m sure our patients will understand the need and urgency for the trust to investigate and resolve the problem as quickly as possible.”
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