A grandmother was left appalled after discovering rodent droppings in her hospital room and is now sleeping with a trap on her bed. Christine Sandra Dobbs, 82, has been a patient at Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham, Kent, for the past three weeks after suffering a severe fall.
The pensioner – who battles diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and severe arthritis – claims she waited approximately 24 hours to obtain a bed after initially arriving at A&E. However, last Sunday, July 27, she made a distressing telephone call to her daughter, Chelsey Field, revealing she had discovered mouse droppings in hospital drawers.
The grandmother, who harbours a phobia of rodents, has since been sleeping with a rat trap beneath her bed – leaving her petrified.
Chelsey, 51, from Sittingbourne, Kent, said: “She doesn’t like hospitals, so she didn’t want to go. Everything was just getting too much.
“When she first got on the ward, I could see it was dirty, but I didn’t want to say anything because it was so hard to get her in. She FaceTimed me and she was just screaming, she was hysterical. She was begging me to come get her.
“When she finally calmed down a bit, she told me that there were mice running around. They had been in the drawers pooping all over her clean underwear.
“There were mouse droppings everywhere. It’s shocking. It is terrible.”
Chelsey was quick to ring the hospital, reporting that the nurses attempted to assist. She revealed that patients had been given plastic boxes to safeguard their possessions, yet many remained petrified of the rodents.
She expressed her mother’s fear, saying: “My mum is so scared, she is absolutely terrified. She just can’t stop thinking about it.
“A couple of people had passed away while we were in there and that is the last thought you want in your head – rodents running over your loved ones.”
The hospital has declared Christine ready for discharge, but Chelsey’s struggle to find carers has delayed her return home. Despite no recent mouse sightings, Christine is eager to leave, asking daily when she can go home.
Chelsey said: “If I could get her home and care for her then I would, but she needs two carers and I just can’t do that.”
Now, the ex-virtual receptionist has lodged an official complaint via the hospital’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), calling for urgent measures. She’s urging the government to increase funding for the hospital to prevent patients from enduring such “disgusting” conditions.
Chelsey said: “They need to start spending some money on trying to clean things like this up. Our hospitals shouldn’t be like this; it is vile.”
Darren Palmer, deputy chief operating officer and site director of operations for Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are very sorry for the distress this incident has caused and are taking the concerns raised seriously.
“Our estates and facilities teams, alongside external pest control specialists, have investigated the report and carried out additional cleaning and monitoring in the area. Patients, visitors and staff are encouraged to report any sightings so that we can act immediately and maintain the highest standards of cleanliness across the hospital.”