Vermin problems at Montreal’s Santa Cabrini Hospital

Rats were found in the kitchen and cafeteria at Santa Cabrini Hospital in Montreal’s East End during renovations, revealed the Journal de Montréal (JDM), and the local health authority confirms to CityNews that excavation work is to blame.

The rodents were spotted on at least 11 occasions in 2023 by staff and exterminators, according to JDM’s findings. During this period, exterminators intervened more than 40 times in the hospital for vermin problems.

“Rats are often found in bigger cities like Montreal and when these vermin are disturbed, they try to migrate to other areas,” said Luc Fortin, spokesman for the CIUSSS-de-l’Est-de-l’île-de-Montréal during a phone conversation with CityNews.

The Journal de Montréal also found that cracked drains are another reason for the presence of vermin in undesired areas of the hospital.

An exterminator interviewed by the newspaper criticized the carelessness of certain preventive behaviours, such as doors left open, food accessible to rodents and poor housekeeping.

In addition to rats, the exterminator told JDM, he noted finding ants, mice and their fecal matter under the kitchen sink.

In a statement to CityNews the CIUSSS-de-l’Est-de-l’île-de-Montréal wrote:

“All healthcare facilities use the services of exterminators and have annual contracts for weekly preventive visits. Of all these preventive visits, four events reported the presence of rodents or other vermin. All were resolved immediately.”