Rats, cockroaches, silverfish, and other pests are a regular hazard in NHS buildings plagued with sewage leaks, defective lighting, broken toilets and crumbling ceilings, warns UNISON.

Around one in six hospital staff (16%) say they have seen vermin inside their buildings in the past 12 months.

And a similar proportion (16%) report evidence of other infestations such as silverfish, ants, and cockroaches.

Silverfish thrive in damp conditions, while cockroaches and vermin can carry diseases such as E. coli and salmonella.

The UK-wide survey of almost 9,000 health workers paints a worrying picture of a dilapidated NHS estate, says UNISON, where 17% of staff do not think their building is safe.

The findings were released as health workers prepare to gather for the annual health conference in Liverpool next week.

This survey paints a worrying picture of an NHS system that is falling apart at the seams and in need of a serious overhaul

More than half of NHS employees (52%) say they have seen buckets catching leaking water in their workplace buildings in the past year, while almost a quarter (23%) have witnessed sewage leaks.

And over a quarter (28%) say public toilets in their hospitals have been out of order for extended periods.

Things are even worse for NHS employees, with three in 10 (30%) reporting broken staff toilets.

The union says there is evidence of deterioration everywhere in the wider NHS estate as almost half of those polled (47%) say lifts are out of order, over a quarter (27%) complain about defective lighting, and one in five (21%) warn of crumbling ceilings.

The findings come weeks after a mouse was filmed running through wards in Kent.

Money needs to be made available immediately to sort out the worst of the problems. Longer-term investment plans must be sped up and maintenance budgets spared the axe

And earlier this year, staff at a hospital on the Wirral said fly infestations and dead rats had forced operations to be cancelled.

One member of staff working in the North West of England told UNISON there were vermin bait boxes dotted all over his hospital, but this had not stopped rats getting into a room storing sterile instruments and supplies.

The worker added that a leaking waste pipe had resulted in a foul odour in the surrounding area for over a year.

Meanwhile, a hospital domestic from Scotland said ceilings had collapsed and water buckets collecting leaking rainwater were a constant trip hazard. But, they added, these were less of an issue than the regular sewage leaks from broken pipes.

A worker in charge of cleaning and handling medical equipment in the East of England told the union he had seen mouse faeces on the floor and desks in reception, in staff breakrooms, and even in the sterile instrument storage room.

Commenting on the findings, UNISON head of health, Helga Pile, said: “This survey paints a worrying picture of an NHS system that is falling apart at the seams and in need of a serious overhaul.

“No one should be dodging rats, stepping over sewage, or watching out for falling ceiling tiles in NHS buildings.

“The last thing patients or staff want is vermin, cockroaches, and other unpleasant things roaming the wards.

“Disease-carrying pests can put people’s health at risk.

“Previous governments made wildly-exaggerated claims about building new hospitals and raided pots of cash earmarked to improve the NHS estate.

The last thing patients or staff want is vermin, cockroaches, and other unpleasant things roaming the wards

“The NHS should be fit for the 21st Century, not a crumbling Dickensian relic.

“Fixing the damage done by years of neglect isn’t going to be a five-minute job.

“Money needs to be made available immediately to sort out the worst of the problems.

“Longer-term investment plans must be sped up and maintenance budgets spared the axe.

“If operations are cancelled and wards closed because of pests and sewage leaks, delays and waiting times will only get worse.”