It also provides support and advice to staff and others on how to prevent the spread of infection through good infection control practice.
Members of the public and visitors to our hospitals can help us to control and prevent the spread of infection by following these simple rules:
- Try not to visit relatives or friends in hospital if you or someone you live with is unwell.
- Wash and dry your hands before you visit a hospital, particularly after going to the toilet. NHS Tayside provides alcohol hand gels at the entrance to all wards for use by staff, patients and visitors.
- Always ask staff for advice before you bring food or drink into hospital for a patient.
- Don't sit on patients' beds and don't bring too many visitors at once. Never touch dressings, drips or other equipment around the bed.
- If you think NHS premises are not as clean as they should be, let the nurse in charge on the ward know. If you think a healthcare worker has forgotten to wash their hands, remind them about this.
- Have a good routine of personal hygiene and cleanliness at home, especially when someone in the household is sick or has been in hospital.
- Only take antibiotics if they have been prescribed to you by a doctor, and complete the full course of treatment.
To encourage good hand hygiene amongst our staff, patients, visitors and the general public, NHS Tayside displays posters and screens throughout all our sites reminding everyone to wash their hands regularly.
Documents can be made available in other languages and formats on request. Please contact NHS Tayside Interpretation and Translation Team.
