CLEANING hands at York Hospital is helping to drive down infections - a year after the start of a major bug-fighting campaign.

York Hospital was one of only six across the country chosen to launch the pioneering Cleanyourhands campaign to cut hospital infections back in 2003.

The campaign, which involved staff using a special hand gel and encouraging patients to ask them if they had followed hygiene procedures, was first piloted in two of the hospital's wards.

This time last year it was introduced across the whole of York Hospital - and a year on health chiefs say it is having a real effect in reducing the number of hospital-acquired infections.

Senior infection control nurse Vicki Parkin said there was clear evidence infections at the hospital - such as superbug MRSA - were decreasing each year, and the Cleanyourhands campaign was one of the factors helping to achieve these results.

"We were confident that the campaign would make an impact on our hand hygiene practices," she said.

"Evidence from other countries showed that this sort of concentrated campaign to change the way we work has achieved good results.

"It is now a year since we rolled out the scheme and, together with other infection control improvements, this appears to be having an impact on reducing the number of hospital-acquired infections.

"This is a great achievement and it is down to the hard work and dedication of all the staff involved."

Measures include:

Disinfectant hand rubs placed near where staff have contact with patients

Posters and promotional material displayed where they will influence staff and patients

Patient involvement in improving hand hygiene.

Vicki said: "One of the reasons we have been so successful here in York is that our patients, relatives and carers have really got behind the scheme, alongside staff, in using the disinfectant hand rubs. It has become part of everyday practice, and we have urged our patients to become involved in asking staff if they have cleaned their hands."

Earlier this month, we reported that York Hospital was on track to drive down rates of MRSA, with nine cases of the infection between April and September last year. Between the same months in 2001, there were 21 cases at the hospital.

The Government has set strict national targets in an attempt to halve MRSA rates by 2008. Half of the country's hospitals are not meeting them, but York is currently among the 50 per cent which are.

Updated: 09:54 Thursday, February 16, 2006