NHS hospital closes operating theatres amid mouse fears

A NHS hospital trust on the Wirral has confirmed four operating theatres closed for several days due to “a suspected mouse.”

The operating theatres at Clatterbridge Hospital were closed for several days due to an environmental issue and “operations were temporarily suspended whilst appropriate deep cleaning and environmental measures were taken.”

A photo sent to the LDRS claimed to show a rodent caught inside the hospital. The hospital trust spokesperson confirmed the environmental issue was due to “a suspected mouse.”

A Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “We can confirm that 4 of our operating theatres at Clatterbridge were closed for a few days from Thursday 5th October owing to an environmental issue. Patients were safe at all times and other operating theatres at Clatterbridge worked as normal.

“All incident reporting processes have been followed correctly and surgical operations were temporarily suspended whilst appropriate deep cleaning and environmental measures were taken. The theatres will reopen tomorrow when the cleaning is complete, and the environmental issue addressed.”

The hospital recently opened four new operating theatres as part of a £25m investment into the hospital. These are expected to treat 6,000 patients a year with more than 40 staff recruited.

The hospital trust said the incident did include one of the new operating theatres. Theatres are expected to re-open today (Wednesday, October 11).