Rats! It's the MVNHS©!

One of the, um, benefits of socialized medicine is the dedication of its providers to timely service (if not an emphasis on sanitation). Unfortunately, that "rush to excellence" may have been a bit misplaced:

"A patient was told there was no reason why he couldn't have surgery in a hospital, despite the smell caused by a dead rodent trapped in the building's ceiling."

One supposes that a dead rodent is preferable to a live one, perhaps scurrying around the OR supervising the procedure.

Or perhaps not:

"(D)espite being told that the trust's infection control experts had stated that Mr Cowper was not being exposed to an infection risk, he decided not to proceed with the operation."

I'm sure he was comforted by the fact that he had waited only a scant 11 months for the surgery to take place.