4 days ago
Elderly patient's drinking water infested with ants during stay at Scots hospital
ANT SHOCK Elderly patient's drinking water infested with ants during stay at Scots hospital
A HOSPITAL has been slammed after horrified loved ones spotted ants crawling in an elderly patient's drinking water.
And they reckon the Parkinson's disease sufferer, 78, may have been left sipping insect-infested liquid for days.
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Shocking photos show the sickening scenes at Stratheden Hospital, in Cupar, Fife
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Ant's were found in drinking water at the hospital.
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Alastair Tarbett fears his elderly mother sipping insect-infested liquid. Credit Steve Welsh
Credit: Steve Welsh
The OAP's son, Alastair Tarbett, 44, shared shocking photos and videos with The Scottish Sun of the sickening scenes at Stratheden Hospital, in Cupar, Fife.
He told how his dad, who we're not naming, had been admitted to the community unit for assessment.
Alastair, of nearby Balmullo, said: 'When we visited, ants were crawling round the rim of his glass. It was disgusting.
'When I went there on another day, I saw three or four ants inside his plastic cup. Then I opened his sealed water bottle — and there were ants in there too.
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'My poor dad had been drinking from that bottle for two days, sucking up ants through his straw.'
Alastair raised the alarm with staff on the hospital's Muirview Ward, who admitted the infestation was 'deplorable'.
But he said he was still stamping on ants during visits two weeks later.
He added: 'As soon as ants are crawling around patients' food and drink, a team should be out dealing with it immediately. It's just not good enough.'
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An NHS Fife spokesman said: 'We apologise for any concern caused. Immediate action was taken to address the presence of ants.
'This issue affected only part of Muirview Ward and is likely linked to building works in the area.'
