Mice at The Alfred bugs, foxes, cockroaches and even a snake reported at Sandringham and Caulfield hospitals

Victoria’s The Alfred is infested with mice and rats — with droppings on beds and rodents seen in patients’ rooms and surgery theatres — while Sandringham hospital has cockroaches.

’Loudly squeaking’ mice have been seen running through a ward at The Alfred.

Victoria’s major trauma hospital The Alfred is being overrun with rodents with faeces found on beds and mice running around patient rooms and the operating theatre.

Internal logs have revealed the neglected and run down hospital has been plagued by a major pest problem with staff reporting it is crawling with mice and rats.

Hundreds of pages of documents released under Freedom of Information laws reveal the extent of the problem between 2020 and 2023.

And they show external contractors have been unable to quell the infestation that has seen no fewer than eight alerts issued during a single month earlier this year.

Alfred staff have reported the major trauma hospital is crawling with mice and rats.

Rodent faeces have been found in patients’ beds, while mice have been seen running around hospital bedrooms.

The pests have also been reported in patients’ personal belongings, in operating theatres, staffrooms and communal areas.

Funding for the hospital became a key issue at last year’s state election with senior staff accusing the government of neglecting their concerns while the coalition pledged to inject $2.4bn to revamp the facility.

Serious concerns have also been raised about issues at Sandringham Hospital and Caulfield Hospital where a snake, bugs, foxes, and cockroaches have been spotted.

Both hospitals are operated by Alfred Health.

In one incident a nurse at Caulfield Hospital’s aged care facility reported finding and removing a 25cm snake.

The hospital has insisted the reptile was actually a worm.

A lack of general housekeeping and rubbish collection have been listed as contributing factors to the problem.

On just one night in April nurses at The Alfred reported seeing mice “on multiple occasions” including inside a patient’s room.

Patients have reported seeing mice in their belongings and on their beds at The Alfred.

On another night in April several mice were found “squeaking loudly, running from one end of the ward to another, and ruffling through the makeshift bin.”

A night earlier a “patient was heard screaming” and “climbing on top of (a) dining table, reporting that she had been scared by a mouse.”

Other patients have reported seeing mice in their belongings and on their beds.

In March document logs show concerns of a rat infestation at the hospital.

Hospital documents reveal that as early as 2021 staff had warned of an “ongoing” rodent issue.

“The Spotless pest controller continually feedbacks after inspections that the general housekeeping of foodstuffs left out in the unit is the main contributing factor,” one employee recorded.

“There is an already weekly scheduled service in place with extensive baiting occurring within, but the mice will seek out left out foods, crumbs etc. before they go for any of the baits.

“I have also recommended the unit engages still Alfred Engineering to do a walk through as they also identified numerous access points – gaps in ceilings, walls, skirting’s that should be plugged which will also reduce the activity within the unit.”

Bugs have also been reported flying around patients waiting for surgery, with one insect landing on a “sterile field of operation”.

At Sandringham Hospital, cockroaches have been found crawling on patient meal trays.

Cockroaches have been seen on meal trays at Sandringham Hospital.

Sandringham Hospital. Picture: Wayne Taylor

The state government has come under increasing pressure to increase funding The Alfred, where Premier Daniel Andrews was treated after a fall last year.

Ahead of the state election surgeon Mark Fitzgerald, who provided critical care to the Premier, said he was “dumbfounded” at lack of funding and said the facility’s 60-year-old operating theatres were no longer fit for purpose.

“When the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons looked at our operating theatres in 1998 … they called them prehistoric. This (funding) has to be fixed,” he said at the time.

The Coalition pledged $2.4bn to revamp the hospital from the ground up.

Shadow health minister Georgie Crozier said the extent of the infestation demonstrated the dire state of one of Australia’s major hospitals.

“What should be a showpiece is instead a shambles,” she said.

“Patients and staff deserve better and it’s not good enough for the Andrews Government to simply blame others for their neglect of Victoria’s health system.

“Under Labor Victoria is broke, life is getting harder and all Victorians are paying the price for the incompetence of the Andrews Government.”

An Alfred Health spokesperson said the organisation had professional pest control maintenance programs in place.

“Regular inspection and treatment is scheduled for all of our sites,” he said.

“Pest activity can be exacerbated during periods of nearby construction and, for this reason, maintenance visits and active baiting have both been increased at The Alfred over the past two years.

“Our kitchens regularly undergo rigorous audits by both accredited independent food safety auditors, and the local council.”

Opposition leader John Pesutto said the Andrews government must take “full responsibility for this infestation”.

“Alfred Health should be a showpiece of Victoria’s health system. Instead, it’s looking shambolic,” Mr Pesutto said.

“We deserve to be able to go to a hospital in Victoria and know that they’re clean, and they’re up to standard and that they are world class.

“The Andrews government has to take full responsibility for this infestation … this magnitude doesn’t happen overnight.”

Mr Pesutto said the “torching” of $380m in damages on the canned Commonwealth Games was millions of dollars not spent on repairing the state’s health system.

“He spends every dollar at his disposal in the name and on behalf of all Victorians so when he wastes hundreds of millions of dollars, whether it’s on the Commonwealth Games, or billions of dollars on massive projects that are over budget and behind schedule, when he’s wasting money on projects that won’t even proceed,” he said.

“Every dollar that’s wasted means it’s not a dollar that goes to fixing pest control at the Alfred Hospital. It’s $1 that can be used to lower paediatric sentinel events in our hospitals.”

Originally published as Mice at The Alfred bugs, foxes, cockroaches and even a snake reported at Sandringham and Caulfield hospitals