A councillor says more needs to be done to make Alexandra Hospital visitors wash their hands to minimise the risk of infections being spread.

At a Redditch Forum meeting last week, town and county councillor Andrew Fry said he had visited his wife in hospital over a three-day period recently and was never asked to clean his hands.

He said: "On three occasions I went to the hospital and nobody told me to use the alcohol gel, nor did I see any signs asking me to.

"It's fine making sure staff use it but what about visitors? I would've cleaned my hands immediately if asked."

Former Redditch councillor Ron Passingham recently attended an outpatient's appointment and claims he had a similar experience.

He said: "While I was there I didn't see a single instruction telling me I should be using the gel to try to stop the spread of infection. More needs to be done."

A Worcestershire Hospitals NHS Trust spokesman said: "Last year saw a significant improvement in our MRSA rates following our infection control team's hard work in raising awareness of the importance of good hand hygiene.

"Alcohol hand rub dispensers are mounted on the wall at the entrance to all wards and posters sited throughout the hospital urge staff, patients and visitors to use them.

"By joining the National Patient Safety Agency's cleanyourhands campaign, we're able to use highly visible posters and signs which will hopefully help to further raise awareness of good hand hygiene practice and contribute to a further reduction in hospital-acquired infections.

"All consulting rooms in the outpatient department have facilities for staff to clean their hands.

"This is the most effective way of reducing infection risks in an outpatient environment - unlike an inpatient ward, where dispensers at the entrance work best."