Single rat spurred closure of Navan hospital coffee dock

A coffee dock at a HSE hospital has reopened after it was subject to a closure order because of a rat problem.

On Tuesday, the HSE said: “The closure order on the coffee dock at Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan was lifted at 5pm on Saturday [April 4th] after compliance with the actions recommended by the environmental health officer.”

It is understood a single rat was the reason behind the action.

Concern about the potential for a rodent problem affecting the hospital grounds had been raised in recent months by Meath county councillor Wayne Forde (Independent).

Cllr Forde believes a site beside the hospital “which is derelict and lying idle the past 13 years” could be the source of the problem.

The site is owned by the HSE, he said. “I am calling on the HSE to immediately address this concern by erecting a wall.”

‘Disgraceful site’

He said he had seen “rats the size of cats around this disgraceful derelict site”.

In its statement, the HSE said "hospital management at Our Lady's Hospital Navan worked closely with the private operator of the Coffee Dock to ensure the issues were resolved and that it could reopen as soon as possible".

“The issue of pest control is treated very seriously by hospital management and every effort is made to ensure premises are free from vermin and other pests and to ensure that measures are in place to control access points, particularly at ground floor level and particularly during maintenance and construction projects.

“Hospitals, as part of the ongoing maintenance and environmental hygiene management, contract specialist pest control companies to undertake regular inspections.

“All recommendations in relation to pest control made by the HSE environmental health officers are being implemented.”