HEALTH staff were invited to check their hand-washing techniques as part of attempts to keep superbug infections at bay among Huddersfield patients.
They were invited to a roadshow at St Luke's Hospital, Crosland Moor, to check their techniques and find out more about new hand cleaning products.
Community Infection Control nurse Julie Hartley, who ran the roadshow, said: "Hand washing is one of the biggest risks of cross infection."
A report by the National Audit Office has blamed poor working practices and lack of cleanliness for superbug infections such as MRSA.
Figures revealed in the NAO report said Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust, which runs Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and the Calderdale Royal Hospital, experienced relatively low numbers of MRSA infections.
There were 37 cases of the bug per 1,000 beds between April 2003 and March this year in Huddersfield and Halifax.
This is two fewer per 1,000 beds than last year.
At the roadshow, community health staff were invited to wash their hands and place them under a special ultraviolet light, which highlighted any areas that they missed.
Particular problem areas are thumbs and the base of the fingers and around any jewellery such as rings or watches.
Julie said standards of hand hygiene facilities provided in patients' homes varied a great deal and staff were faced with infection risks daily.
* MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a superbug which strikes about 7,000 patients a year in the UK.
* Now some scientists say it's increasingly resistant to vancomycin, the "last resort" antibiotic in the war against such killer infections.
* The germ is carried in the nose or on skin.
* When people are weak or run down, it can cause boils and abscesses plus impetigo, septic wounds, heart-valve infections, food poisoning and toxic shock syndrome.
