Doctors and nurses at the Mid Yorkshire Hospital NHS Trust site went bare below the elbow from Tuesday to encourage good hand hygiene practice and help prevent infection.

Tracey McErlain-Burns, chief nurse and director of patient experience at the trust, said: “Good hand hygiene is the single most effective way of reducing the risk of spreading infection between staff and patients and this initiative will help reassure patients that trust staff are cleaning their hands in the most effective manner.”

All staff who have contact with patients will be required to wear short sleeves or ensure their long sleeves are securely rolled up and those wearing neck ties will remove them or tuck them in to avoid touching patients during physical examinations to stop the transmission of infection from one patient to another.

They will also remove wrist watches and limit finger jewellery to one plain wedding band.

Ms McErlain-Burns added: “I’d also like to remind all of our patients and visitors to play their part in helping to wipe out infection and ‘stop, gel and go’ before entering or leaving patients areas.”