DOCTORS are to wear badges saying "Ask Me If I Washed My Hands" as part of a campaign to reduce hospital infections.

Bosses at York District Hospital are so keen on hygiene that doctors will wear the badges on ward rounds.

The unusual move is expected to be repeated around the country next year.

The hospital attracted headlines earlier this year when it announced that doctors, from the most senior consultant to the newest junior, would all carry bottles containing a fast acting alcohol-based cleaning gel.

Michael Proctor, director of nursing at the 650-bed York hospital, said: "We will ask doctors on two of our wards to wear these badges to try to encourage good hand hygiene. We will be encouraging patients to ask the doctors or nurses whether they have washed their hands."

"If you were in a restaurant you wouldn't accept soup if you saw the waiter had his thumb in it, would you? You have the right to expect good hygiene when you are in hospital," he added.

While Mr Proctor admitted there was no evidence to show that it had actually reduced infection at York, the nursing boss said that the scheme had successfully raised staff and patient awareness of good hand hygiene.

The steps are part of a campaign backed by the National Patient Safety Authority.

One of the aims of the campaign is to make bottles of the alcohol-based cleaning gel available at every NHS patient's bedside.

Mr Proctor said the gel was a quick and efficient way of cleaning hands. "In a busy hospital you would probably need to wash your hands 200 times a day. Using the gel, which is self-drying, is much quicker," he said.

Hospital infections pose a growing threat to patient safety, particularly the drug-resistant "superbug" MRSA.