The rodent was filmed by a hospital visitor at the hospital's Tennyson Ward on 15 February.

Jayne Black, chief executive at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘We are very sorry for the distress caused to patients. We are working closely with pest control experts and hospital colleagues to clean and monitor the area to prevent any further issues, as we take the cleanliness and hygiene of our wards very seriously.

‘As part of our preventative measures we have introduced an advanced system using infrared and Bluetooth technology to detect pests. We also work hard to minimise opportunities for pests to access our buildings, and encourage staff, visitors and patients to report any incidents immediately, so we can take action at the earliest opportunity and make the improvements needed.'

An FOI request in March 2023 revealed the trust made 215 call-outs for rodents in 2022 and spent £28,276.65 on pest control in 2022/23.

The news followed a poll by the Liberal Democrats that found over a quarter of UK people thought there might be a rodent/insect infestation in their local hospital.