Around one in six hospital staff (16%) said they've seen vermin inside their buildings in the past 12 months, with 16% reporting infestations such as silverfish, ants and cockroaches. A further 17% of staff didn't think their building was safe.

Unison head of health Helga Pile said: ‘This survey paints a worrying picture of an NHS system that's falling apart at the seams and in need of a serious overhaul.

‘No one should be dodging rats, stepping over sewage or watching out for falling ceiling tiles in NHS buildings.

‘Money needs to be made available immediately to sort out the worst of the problems. Longer-term investment plans must be sped up and maintenance budgets spared the axe. If operations are cancelled and wards closed because of pests and sewage leaks, delays and waiting times will only get worse.'

More than half of NHS employees (52%) said they've seen buckets catching leaking water in their workplace buildings in the past year, while almost a quarter (23%) had witnessed sewage leaks.

Over a quarter (28%) said public toilets in their hospitals have been out of order for extended periods. Three in 10 employees (30%) reported broken staff loos.

Almost half of those polled (47%) said lifts were out of order, over a quarter (27%) complained about defective lighting and one in five (21%) warned of crumbling ceilings.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘These findings are shocking and just show the appalling condition the NHS estate has been left in following more than a decade of neglect. There is no better illustration of the broken NHS than dilapidated buildings and vermin in our hospitals. 

‘It will take time, but this government is rebuilding the NHS through our Plan for Change. We are investing over £1bn this year in maintenance, repairs, upgrades and tackling dangerous RAAC concrete - as part of the biggest capital budget in real terms since before 2010.'