Wirral hospital operating theatres close amid mouse fears

The affected operating theatres at Clatterbridge Hospital were closed for five days

Concerns about a potential mouse sighting at a hospital have led to the closure of four operating theatres.

Surgeries at Clatterbridge Hospital were suspended on Thursday while deep cleaning takes place, Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust said.

An image sent to the Local Democracy Reporting Service apparently showed a rodent caught inside the Merseyside hospital.

The trust said the theatres reopened earlier after cleaning was completed.

A spokesman said: "We can confirm that four of our operating theatres at Clatterbridge were closed for a few days from 5 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 reopened after the cleaning was completed and the environmental issue addressed."

The hospital recently opened four new theatres as part of a £25m investment.

These were expected to treat some 6,000 patients every year with more than 40 new staff recruited.

The hospital trust said one of these new operating theatres was affected by the incident.

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