An electronic voice will remind hospital visitors to clean their hands before they go on to a ward.

The system is being installed at lifts in the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath as part of their battle to cut the number of infections caught by patients.

As the lift stops on each hospital floor, the voice will state which level it is at and issue a reminder about using the hand gel available outside ward entrances.

Hospital managers are also investigating whether a similar system can be used which will be triggered as people approach the entrance to a wards.

The plans are part of a high-profile campaign launched by Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust this week.

Anyone visiting the Royal Sussex or the Princess Royal will be confronted by striking new signs and posters reminding people to wash their hands.

The "Clean Hands Save Lives" logo will be appearing outside wards and clinics across both hospitals as part of the campaign.

The trust, which has had some of the highest MRSA infection rates in the country, is hoping the moves will help reduce the number of cases of the potentially fatal bug.

Work already carried out to tackle the issue has included updating uniform policy, which includes a ban on doctors wearing ties when dealing with patients.

The infection control team has been expanded to check procedures for patients at risk such as those who need drips, have had major operations, are in intensive care or receiving dialysis treatment as they are more vulnerable to infection.

In the 2006/7 financial year the trust recorded more than 90 cases of MRSA but this was a significant drop of around 26 per cent on the year before.

The downward trend is continuing into the new year with only three cases reported in April.

Managers say the number of cases is still too high but things are going in the right direction.

Trust chief executive Peter Coles said: "The message of this new campaign is deliberately clear and simple so it will have the maximum impact and we will be closely monitoring the impact it has on our MRSA rates.

"Last year we set up an MRSA Action Group to co-ordinate the huge amount of work to tackle this problem.

"We are pleased with the reduction in cases and we are all really committed to lowering the number of cases further.

"Good hand hygiene will be the key to hitting the national target of reducing our MRSA rates by 50 per cent by 2008."