Rat infestation at Kettering Costa leads to closure of hospital café
An infestation of rats inside a branch of Costa has led to its closure of a hospital café inside Kettering General Hospital.
The outlet was closed on Sunday (April 19) when customers and staff were shocked to see the vermin scurrying across the counter and floor as the door was opened for business.
To screams of horror, one patient who had nipped down from a ward to pick up a cup of coffee said ‘staff were freaking out’ when they saw the rodents running around the foyer.
It is believed the rodent infestation has been triggered by works behind the maternity unit that has included ground clearance of a green space.
The man, who wants to remain anonymous, said: “I wandered down from the ward. We were standing there watching them open up. We saw all these rats scurry on the millionaires’ shortbread.
"Because everyone was screaming, security guards turned up – we said ‘it’s rats’. People were jumping up on the furniture.
"The rats were genuinely big. There were four big ones and a baby one which was quite cute. The rats ran off up the corridor and into a ward. I wandered back up to the ward with people who had seen it. One of the nurses was freaking out about it.
"To be fair, the Costa staff were really nice, they said ‘I’m not opening’.”
A notice stating ‘Costa will be closed today due to issues beyond our control’ has been taped to the shuttered doors with customers being directed to other outlets in the hospital complex.
A spokesman for One Retail on behalf of Costa said: "We take health and safety extremely seriously.
"We are working closely with pest control, the trust and the environmental health officer, who has confirmed that the correct actions are being taken. The store will only re-open once we have met all required health and safety processes.”
The University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) Group manages Kettering General Hospital (KGH).
UHN’s director of estates, Rob Drabble, said: “We are aware of an incident which led to the privately operated Costa coffee shop on the KGH site being temporarily closed.
“We are not aware of any other issues arising elsewhere in the hospital following this incident. We are supporting the company to take the appropriate remedial actions.”
Other food outlets in the hospital remain open and are unaffected.