The number of infections such as MRSA and Clostridium Difficile remain at an all time low in the north east and new figures show infections have reduced by 88% (MRSA) and 69% (Clostridium Difficile) since NHS North East launched its award winning ‘Scrub up’ campaign in 2008.  

Despite this success, there is still a priority to reduce rates even further and hand washing is the single most important thing people can do to help reduce the spread of infections in the NHS.

Everyone has a role to play and by cleaning your hands thoroughly before and after visiting a loved one in hospital, or when visiting your local doctor’s surgery or health clinic, you too can help save lives.

Providing patients with excellent care is our number one priority in the NHS. But there are a few things you can do to set yourself on the road to recovery more quickly, both during your stay with us and after you get home. Below are a few simple guidelines:

• Always wash and dry your hands after visiting the toilet and before you eat.

• Don’t touch your wound or show it to other patients or visitors.

• Don’t fiddle with drips or catheters, or any other device in your arm, leg, bladder or anywhere else on your body.

• Feel free to ask staff if they’ve washed their hands.  They won’t be offended.

• Ask your visitors to clean their hands when arriving or leaving.

• Don’t let visitors sit on your bed or use the patient toilets.

• Try to keep the area round your bed uncluttered so staff can clean thoroughly. Ask family and friends to take home anything you don’t need.

• Request that friends and family don’t visit you in large numbers.

 • Tell the nurse, matron or doctor if you have any concerns about cleanliness or hygiene on the wards. Your comments and suggestions are important to us.