Philip James is concerned with his wife's recovery in hospital, and rightly so, Keeping clean (Oxford Mail, October 15).

The reference to handwashing is important.

Most hospital units have disinfectant gel dispensers in many places.

All visitors and staff are expected to use them on arrival and departure, but as the old saying goes: "You can take a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink", even if it makes the best sense for all concerned.

There are other actions an individual can take to help a recovering loved one. You need to be vigilant and diligent.

Do not be afraid to speak up if you do not understand any part of the hospital stay.

Take notice of drugs administered, question what they are for, and if there will be any possible adverse side effects.

Does your loved one appear and act as you would reasonably expect? If not, ask why.

It matters not if you upset staff members or appear to make a fool of yourself by asking seemingly silly questions. You are doing it for the best possible reasons.

George, my uncle, died in hospital from an unexpected infection just before being discharged from the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre.

He was given tablets for pain he did not need (he was pain free). These contributed to constipation.

They administered laxative tables, gave daily physiotherapy and sat him in a chair.

Predictable events unfolded After calling for attention for 10 minutes with no response, he emptied his bowels uncontrollably.

His soiled clothing was handed to us in a plastic bag for cleaning with the family wash. I burned it.

I suspect ineffective management is to blame for many ailments affecting our NHS and the longer your stay in hospital, the more chance of catching an unwanted infection — with fatal consequences as it happened to my uncle George.

ALAN KERRY Cowley Road Littlemore Oxford