40 operations cancelled after the discovery of a rat in one of its surgical theaters it emerged today

An embattled hospital was forced to cancel 40 operations after the discovery of a rat in one of its surgical theaters  it emerged today.

King's Mill Hospital, in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, which is reported to be facing a £2bn debt under the controversial private finance initiative (PFI), confirmed that it called in pest controllers last week.

Senior managers apologized to patients but said none had been put at risk by the presence of the rat which is believed to have entered the theater when it was not in use.

Rats can spread salmonella and the potentially deadly Weil’s disease.

Karen Tomlinson, director of operations at the hospital, said rodents had not been discovered in any other part of the hospital.

She said: “As soon as we became aware of this fact the following morning, we immediately took steps to thoroughly clean the area and called in external pest control experts to eradicate the problem.

"Whilst this work was under way, it was therefore necessary to postpone a small number of operations and we have apologized to any patients affected for the inconvenience caused.”

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act have revealed the costs of a PFI project at the hospital have more than doubled.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, signed the 38-year contract in 2004 for £976m to fund modernisation work.

The cost of paying back capital and other costs is now estimated at £738m.

Last month Tracy Doucet, the chair of the trust, stepped down following a letter from independent health regulator group Monitor which raised serious concerns over the financial and management issues facing the hospital.

The group also ordered an inquiry into patient care at the hospital when it emerged nearly 80 breast cancer patients were being recalled after being given inaccurate test results.

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