An infestation of maggots last night forced the closure of all operating theatres at one of Scotland’s busiest children’s hospitals.
Operations had to be postponed after the larvae were discovered in vents above two rooms at the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital.
The hospital’s third theatre was shut down as a precaution.
NHS Grampian said the cause of the infestation was not known and pest-control experts had been drafted in.
An investigation has been launched by the health board.
It comes just days after Aberdeen Royal Infirmary – next to the children’s hospital on the Foresterhill campus – was branded the worst-performing hospital in Scotland in the fight against the Clostridium difficile superbug. Last week, a ward at ARI was shut after a patient who had the bug died. Five others contracted C diff and two of them are still being monitored.
Aberdeen Central Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald said the health board was “paying the price” of underfunding by the Scottish Government.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon dismissed Mr Macdonald’s claims but admitted the situation with the maggots was “disturbing”.
The health board said the infestation was discovered by a staff member and the theatres were not being used at the time. Four patients had their procedures carried out at accident and emergency and seven “non-emergency” procedures had been postponed.
Parents with children at the hospital last night spoke of their shock.
Jill Beattie, 43, of Bishop Forbes Crescent, Blackburn, a nurse auxiliary at another Aberdeen hospital, had taken her eight-year-old daughter, Megan, to the children’s hospital yesterday for treatment for an eye condition.
She said she expected “higher standards” in a hospital of its size and importance and said cleanliness should be “the most important thing”.
Another mother, Emma Carrison, 29, of Crossgates, Bucksburn, said: “We’ve heard nothing but glowing reports about this place, so this definitely comes as a great shock. It just sounds so unhygienic.”
Kara Greig, 18, of Kettlehills Crescent, Northfield, Aberdeen, had been visiting her 12-year-old cousin, who underwent an operation last week. “That’s just horrible to hear,” she said. “When you hear about maggots you just think of dirtiness.”
Mr Macdonald said: “Many people will be shocked and disgusted that there is an infestation of maggots in Scotland’s newest children’s hospital. This is not down to neglect by individual members of staff.
“Clearly, NHS Grampian is beginning to pay the price of under-funding and the result of that is that clinical standards are being compromised and operations are being delayed.”
Liberal Democrat health spokesman Jamie Stone MSP said: “This seems to be an astonishing turn of events in this day and age – something you associate with the 19th century rather than the 21st.
“The public must have full confidence in the hygiene standards of hospitals.”
Conservative health spokeswoman Mary Scanlon MSP said: “To say they were found when the theatre was not in operation is no foundation for an excuse. The maggots would be there when the theatres were in operation.
“This outbreak of maggots in children’s operating theatres does very little to bring trust and confidence in infection control in the NHS.”
Ms Sturgeon said: “We all expect the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene in our hospitals, particularly in operating theatres,” she said.
“This situation is unacceptable, and I am pleased that NHS Grampian is investigating as a matter of urgency.
“I expect them to establish the cause as quickly as possible and take immediate steps to rectify it and ensure there is no repeat.
“I also expect the health board to do everything possible to minimise disruption to services and make sure alternative theatre facilities continue to be used until the closed theatres reopen.”
Ms Sturgeon added: “For Lewis MacDonald to blame this situation on funding for NHS Grampian is patently ridiculous as the board is receiving record funding of more than £690million in 2009-10.”
A spokeswoman for the health board said: “The maggots were found by a member of staff when the theatres were not being used and action was taken immediately. A specialist company has been brought in to pinpoint the source so that full cleaning can be carried out before the theatres reopen.”
“Families and patients are being kept informed and NHS Grampian apologises for any inconvenience this temporary measure may cause.”
Katherine Murphy, of the Patients Association, said: “People will first of all wonder how and why the maggots came to be there, and secondly they'll question how the health board allowed itself to get into this situation in the first place.”
Three years ago, patients had to be evacuated from Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin after maggots were discovered crawling on the floor. The suspect cause of the infestation was a rotting bird on the roof of the hospital.
Maggots are the larvae of flies and are commonly found in decaying matter.