Rodent caught on camera running through Dartford's Darent Valley Hospital
06:00, 05 December 2019
updated: 07:27, 05 December 2019
A mother who captured the moment a rodent scuttled through a hospital has said she felt sick at the sight of it.
It happened when she visited Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford.
The unknown rodent was caught on camera running around
The mother, who wanted to remain anonymous, was waiting in the children's resource centre on Willow Ward at around 9.45am while her son was having a consultation.
She said: "It says a lot about the hygiene of the children's ward.
"It makes me worried about the hygiene of the place and centre in general more than anything because of the viruses these animals can carry.
"Nobody from pest control was there and nurses didn't report it, which is worrying. They just put it outside, there could be a family of rodents somewhere."
The short clip taken on Thursday, November 21, shows hospital staff searching for the animal, which looks like a small mouse, on the floor before it scurries past and behind a toy box.
Darent Valley says due its rural location, winter field mice sometimes creep in.
Spokesman Glyn Oakley said: "Although we take precautions to ensure field mice and other pests do not enter the hospital, we also have a proactive and reactive contract with a pest control company.
"The pest control contractor visits twice a month to check traps and ensure pest control measures are intact and in place.
"They also come in to deal with any incidents where mice or other pests have been reported."
