Visitors targeted in MRSA clampdown
Hospital visitors will this week be urged to play their role in tackling the MRSA superbug.
The two-day Clean Hospitals Summit in London will also address the role of ambulances and better wound care in the battle against antibiotic-resistant infections.
Patients Association chairman Michael Summers said visitors had long been ignored in the fight against the superbug and stressed that it was vital that they washed their hands before going onto the wards.
Mr Summers said that, while staff now regularly washed their hands, he did not believe visitors were, the BBC reports.
"We have the alcohol soap washes all over hospitals at the moment. Staff are using them, but I don't think visitors are that much," he said.
"We have to change this, it is about time people visiting friends and relatives took responsibility."
Politicians and health professionals will be attending the conference to discuss ways of tackling hospital-acquired infections.
MRSA kills an estimated 1,000 people each year.
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