A rat has been spotted in the pharmacy department at the William Harvey Hospital.

A dead rodent was also removed from the ceiling of an office at the Ashford site, which had to be closed up because of the smell.

One visitor claimed: "The situation became apparent some weeks ago when a rat was seen running across the dispensary floor.

“Shortly after that one of the offices had to be closed up due to the appalling stench.

“A dead rat was removed from the ceiling and the office subsequently reopened.”

He added: “Apart from the staff having to work in these conditions it is hardly the most hygienic of conditions to be dispensing drugs to patients.”

A spokesman for East Kent Hospitals Trust, which runs the Ashford hospital, confirmed the incident with the dead rat but denied that there was an infestation.

He said: “We take pest control very seriously and have a proactive annual pest control programme in place on all of our sites.

“Following the removal of a rat from the William Harvey Hospital recently, our facilities manager, maintenance manager and a building surveyor identified and repaired any hidden entry points.

“Since then there have been no more sightings.”

A spokesman for Ashford Borough Council said no complaints had been made to the environmental health department.

It comes just a few months after rats invaded the grounds of Kent and Canterbury Hospital.

Earlier this year, a large rat was one of dying patient John Higgins' last visitors at Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham.

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