THE truth is out there, as they say.

And in the case of the norovirus, currently afflicting the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch hospitals, that is almost certainly true. Visitors to RBH have been banned from a ward while two wards at Christchurch have been hit by the same bug. Both hospitals are run by the same trust. Hospital hygiene remains a huge political issue, not least because we're spending record levels on the NHS but still haven't reached acceptable levels of cleanliness. Our local establishments seem to fare relatively well according to the statistics, but opinion remains divided on who's to blame for the spread of infection generally.

Visitors and patients regularly complain about what they see as poor standards of cleaning. Hospital managers point the finger at members of the public.

As one official said yesterday of the norovirus: "It's out there in the community and it comes in here." Judging by the number of people who walk in and out of hospitals and fail to use any of the numerous hand gel dispensers, that's clearly true. A survey carried out at the RBH earlier in the year by the Daily Echo over several days and published in the paper, gave an alarming indication of just how many people can't be bothered to take the basic precautions, staff as well as visitors. However, perhaps my judgement is slanted. I refuse to touch a public payphone or the handrails on the rare occasion I catch a bus. I also wrap a tissue around certain door handles before opening them. Quite obviously I suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder, which as far as I know, is not a hospital acquired condition.