Soap characters recruited for hospital's hygiene drive

Alfie Moon, Dot Cotton and Kat Slater are among the characters backing a campaign to encourage patients, visitors and hospital workers to wash their hands and stop the spread of infections.

But the Soap Stars Save Lives poster campaign is actually fronted by members of Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals Trust’s infection prevention team posing as the household names to raise awareness about the issue.

Nurse Bev Bacon aka Emily Bishop said: “People don’t always realise that bacteria, viruses and other bugs can easily be transferred from person to person just by touching everyday objects like door handles and telephones.

“In a hospital setting, with patients whose immune systems may already be weak, it’s vitally important that people get rid of those bugs by washing their hands regularly with soap and warm water, especially before eating or entering a patient area and always after visiting the loo.”

The posters were created in-house by other hospital staff with permission of EastEnders and Coronation Street. 

Featured on the new posters are infection prevention nursing staff members Bev Bacon as Emily Bishop from Coronation Street, Miriam Boyack as Kat Slater, Jerry Day as Alfie Moon, Paula Johnson as Dot Cotton and Louise Lowry as Sharon Watts.