"THINK clean" was the crucial message on Monday at the Alexandra Hospital as visitors and patients were asked to help in the fight against infection.

The event was part of the national NHS Think Clean Day and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust director of nursing, Rachel Overfield, and her team of Matrons are leading by example with an early spring clean.

She said: "Whether it's promoting good hand hygiene, encouraging patients to point out areas in need of some extra attention, ditching junk from store rooms, decluttering offices or even just deleting old emails, there is something that everyone working in our hospitals can do.

"We are proud of our standards of cleanliness but we believe there is always room for improvement."

The trust's chief executive John Rostill said a new "visitors' charter" was designed to remind visitors they were not powerless in the fight against superbugs.