AS part of its bid to eliminate superbugs, London’s famous Great Ormond Street Chil-dren’s Hospital has called in an innovative animated character called Max.

The character is the creation of Basildon businessman Ashley Brooks who has good cause to support the project – he himself nearly died from MRSA.

Bosses decided to turn to Ashley after hearing of the successes of his campaign involving the animated figure Max.

Ashley has spent £400,000 of his own money creating and developing Max, along with the publicity package that goes with him. His hygiene message is based on the simplest possible principle: Proper hand washing.

Max was developed by animators and graphic artists at one of the companies where Ashley is director, Vis-It, based in Christopher Martin Road, Basildon.

Max’s job is to remind everyone to wash their hands thoroughly, as a way to help control infection. There is an accompanying range of posters, badges, screensavers and a DVD.

Ashley said: “It is an honour to help Great Ormond Street Hospital with its infection control. If my work saves just one life then it will all have been worthwhile.”

Ashley is a leukaemia sufferer, and he knows at first hand the devastation which can be caused by superbugs. Back in 2002, when he caught MRSA in hospital, he feared he wouldn’t live to see the birth of his son Monty He fought back and has worked ever since to help eradicate MRSA. Ashley was one of the lucky ones. The superbug kills about 1,700 people a year.

Ashley was later astonished by a British Medical Association report which said regular hand-washing alone could cut infections by up to 30 per cent. Ashley adds: “It was also a revelation that most people don’t wash their hands adequately. Men have this odd tendency not to wash their thumbs. It sounds almost too simple, but cleaning your hands properly is the most effective way of cutting down infection rates.”

Max was created to convey this message in an entertaining and approachable way.

The Max package has so far been distributed to 173 NHS trusts to encourage hand-washing, and prevent the spread of infections, including C-Diff as well as MRSA. The package is also being taken up by an increasing number of schools across the UK.

Ashley believes his own MRSA attack was the result of the failure by a member of staff to wash their hands properly, but he adds: “My mum was a nurse and I certainly bear no ill will towards the NHS. The NHS saved my life and gave me my son through IVF.

“I owe the doctors and nurses everything. The key is education and understanding, and I hope I can do something in that direction.

“You shouldn’t have to go into hospital worrying about falling ill with a potentially lethal infection.”

Max encourages everyone who comes into a hospital, whether staff, patients or visitors, to give some thought to hand hygiene. Nurses are given badges to wear that read ‘Ask me if my hands are clean’, Ashley explains: “Patients might normally be too embarrassed to ask.”

The Max package has been presented free of charge to Great Ormond Street Hospital. At a special acceptance session, Susan MacQueen, the hospital’s director of infection prevention and control, said: “Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children has a very good infection control record.

“Infection control is a very high priority for the trust and we deliver well when measured against national targets.

“This is despite the fact many of our patients have a very vulnerable immune system. We are hoping our work with Max4Health will help us to really go for gold and achieve 100 per cent compliance in the crucial area of hand hygiene.

Ashley said: “This is my personal crusade to help the NHS cut down on infection rates. I’m absolutely delighted to help Great Ormond Street Hospital.”