One ward at Queen’s Hospital has been “closed” for at least a week while an alleged bed bug infestation is being wiped out.
Relatives of two patients at the hospital told this newspaper that one of its four-bed rooms – Amber B.
The hospital says that once the bugs were discovered – a “very unusual occurrence” – the bay was isolated and treated with pest control.
A husband who wishes to remain anonymous said when he tried to visit his wife, who has been on Amber B Station for over seven days, he was told the station was closed to visitors.
He alleged that a patient in his wife’s ward who had spent a week in the hospital received a single visit once a week before the ward closed. This compares to a nearby ward which, he claims, allowed a single visitor every day per week after admitting a patient.
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He said, “I appreciate that we owe a great debt to doctors as a nation, but it is just not right for them to keep relatives away for so long.”
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals, Magda Smith, said: “When bed bugs were discovered in a bay on the ward in June after confiscating a patient’s belongings the bay was immediately isolated and treated with pest control. ”
A son of a patient currently at Queen’s said he was informed on June 18 that the ward was closed to visitors with “immediate effect”.
He said during a June 29 meeting to discuss his mother’s health, he was informed that the ward was still closed due to bed bugs.
Ms. Smith said, “This is a very unusual occurrence and we have found no evidence that it has spread.
“The four-bed pen has remained closed while we continue to monitor the area to ensure that treatment controls the entire life cycle of these bed bugs.”
Queen’s Hospital has confirmed that all patients in the same bay have been “briefed” on how to clean their clothes and personal items.
The station will remain closed until the bed bug threat is confirmed, she said.
