CLEAN your hands - that was the message to users of York Hospital on a bug-fighting awareness day.

Dozens of people coming through the hospital's restaurant doors were given a unique insight into their own skin as part of the "hand hygiene awareness day" held yesterday.

Visitors, staff and patients got a chance to look at their hands under ultra-violet light to demonstrate the importance of cleaning them properly.

The "glow and show" box was being used on passers-by as part of the awareness day - the third to be held at the Wigginton Road hospital.

Lori Ball, hand hygiene co-ordinator for the hospital's infection control team, said: "It's just to re-emphasise the importance of hand hygiene throughout the hospital because we know that's one way that we can spread infections.

"The staff are always very enthusiastic about it. They are very willing to give things a go and are very committed to hearing more about it."

Those who volunteered for the glow and show box were asked to put on a special cream which became invisible to the naked eye as it dissolved into their hands - but showed up under the ultra-violet light.

They were then asked to wash their hands and put them under the light again to show which areas they had missed.

"When you come back and put your hands into the box, any cream that's been left on will still glow," said Lori. "What we're trying to emphasise is that you can't see bugs on your hands - it's just to reinforce proper techniques of hand washing."

As part of the day, a representative from a hand hygiene company was at the hospital to talk to staff, visitors and patients about washing hands when leaving and entering wards.

All users of the hospital are encouraged to use alcohol gels on wards as a way of stamping down on infections coming in and out of the premises.

The gels have been introduced as part of the fight to drive down rates of bugs like MRSA that can be acquired in hospital or brought into wards from outside.

York Hospital was chosen to pilot a National Patient Safety Agency hand hygiene scheme in 2003.

Infection control staff are managing to drive down rates of the superbug MRSA to meet tough Government targets. Between April last year and February 2007, the organisation reported 14 cases of the bug.

The Government wants to halve cases of MRSA by 2008.