Hygiene plea to hospital visitors

Visitors are being urged to ensure proper hygiene

Hospital visitors have been told to improve their hygiene in an effort to crack down on infections.

Health watchdog Quality Improvement Scotland (QIS) has launched a campaign to encourage those visiting hospitals to be more careful about cleanliness.

The poster initiative is the latest in a series aimed at cutting Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) among patients.

About one in 10 patients pick up an infection during their hospital stay.

Experts said that while the cleanliness of the hospital environment and its staff play a major part in limiting the spread of disease, many of the infections can be introduced from outside.

Now the focus has turned to visitors.

QIS, which was set up to improve the quality of healthcare, is asking all visitors to stay away from hospitals if they have any kind of infection, to wash their hands before entering a ward and to visit in small numbers.