RATS, cockroaches and mice have been found at Southend and Basildon hospitals, according to a Freedom of Information Act request.

The probe by the Conservative party asked hospitals how many times pest controllers had been called out in the past two years.

Southend Hospital has had weekly visits from its pest control contractor BPC Anglia as well as emergency visits if a problem is spotted. But hospital bosses were unable to say exactly how many callouts there had been.

Problems involved rats, cockroaches, mice, ants, wasps, pigeons and crickets.

At Basildon Hospital sites, including Orsett Hospital and St Andrew’s in Billericay, has called out the pest control services 34 times during the same period from January 2006 to 2008.

Complaints were made about rats outside the buildings and there were six calls complaining about cockroaches, including one in the breast care unit in 2006.

But the figures for the two hospitals were far better than many others across the country. In Nottingham, pest controllers were called out 1,070 times, in Hull they were called out 898 times and in Portsmouth 857 times.

James Duddridge, Conservative MP for Rochford and Southend East, said: “The general perception from constituents is Southend Hospital is an unclean hospital and that’s quite a strong perception.”

Sarah Dawson, head of nursing at Southend Hospital, said “We take cleanliness extremely seriously at Southend Hospital and are constantly introducing additional measures to ensure our levels of hygiene are the best.”

Jenny Galpin, director of projects and facilities at Basildon Hospital, said: “We are vigilant for any pest issues across all of our trust’s buildings and grounds and will act immediately to address them effectively.”