PATIENTS are being urged to help Southend Hospital battle against the bugs.

New bedside information folders contain 32 pages of useful reading matter in a hygienic, wipe-clean folder.

As well as a welcoming message from chief executive, John Gilham, the booklets give hints to keep bugs like MRSA at bay.

Mr Gilham urges patients to remind their visitors always to use the hand cleansing gel, ask hospital staff if they have cleaned their hands or changed their gloves before any treatment, and request help with personal hygiene if they are unable to get to the ward bathroom.

The folders also provide information about distinguishing various staff groups and practical advice for those leaving hospital.

The booklet ends with a brief history of the hospital since 1885, when a medical mission operated from a converted cottage in Park Street, to the latest technological advances of the 21st century. Mr Gilham said: "We want all our patients to feel as relaxed as possible from the minute they come into our care.

"We hope that, by providing this detailed information, we can remove any unnecessary anxieties and make their experience of Southend Hospital a more comfortable and pleasant one."