40 Operations Cancelled After Rat Found In Operating Room

Operations at a Nottinghamshire hospital have been cancelled following the discovery of a rat in an operating theatre.

It is understood the rodent entered the theatre last Tuesday night when the room was not in use, a spokeswoman from King's Mill Hospital in Mansfield said.

Adding that pest controllers were called into the hospital but as a result around 40 operations had to be cancelled.

Hospital bosses have apologised for the "inconvenience" to patients and said the hospital was now fully operational.

Karen Tomlinson, director of operations at the hospital, said she was shocked to learn evidence of a rodent had been found in an operating theatre.

She said: "As soon as we became aware of this fact the following morning, we immediately took steps to thoroughly clean the area and called in external pest control experts to eradicate the problem.

"Whilst this work was under way, it was therefore necessary to postpone a small number of operations and we have apologised to any patients affected for the inconvenience caused."

Ms Tomlinson added rats had not been found anywhere else on the premises.

(H)