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An infestation of insects in a dialysis room, bugs on the grounds of a morgue, bugs in a drug detox unit and repeated sightings of mice in a canteen.
These were some of the problems reported to a pest control company by staff at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin last year, during which time a total of 65 “work orders” were delivered to the company.
Hospital workers also reported a “bluefly problem” in a catheterization lab, where cardiac tests and procedures are performed, and pest controllers were called in in response to vermin sightings outside the endoscopy unit.
Records released under the freedom of information law reveal that there was a recurring infestation of insects in the pantry of the general intensive care unit or ITU during 2020, which required pest controllers to be called in nine times to treat the problem.
There were also a number of complaints about vermin in the clinical nurse manager’s office in the same unit, prompting pest controllers to recommend a “deep clean” of the area to “remove the bug carcasses.”
The activity of the mice in the X-ray canteen was the subject of alerts on at least seven occasions, in June and July alone, during which time four dead mice were removed from the site.
Vermin were also reported in the staff room of the same department.
In May, the insects were reported to “fall from the ceiling into the [a] desk ”in the patient account area; while insects that crawled on a desk in the A&E administration area the following month were identified as silverfish.
An infestation of insects was reported in a detox unit for opiate addicts on June 10, while insects were also reported in specific beds in the dialysis room on three occasions in February and May.
Pest controllers were also alerted to insect infestations in a theater pantry and in two bedrooms for on-call hospital staff: one in the hematology department and one in a radiographer’s bedroom.
On May 28, records show that pest controllers had been “asked to come to the scene for vermin” in the waste complex and on the morgue grounds.
The 65 work orders made to the pest control company during 2020 were in addition to the routine and follow-up visits made by the firm as part of its contract with the hospital.
When asked to comment on the details contained in the records, a spokesperson said: “Beaumont Hospital has a complete pest control process, working with third parties as necessary to maintain the highest level of health and safety standards.” .
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