The Bug Busting team visited Mudeford Junior School to run a workshop showing the children how they can stop common infections, such as coughs and colds, spreading to prevent sickness and unnecessary absence from school.
During the workshop, pupils learnt what makes bacteria potent. Nuffield Health Bournemouth Hospital’s infection prevention lead, Chris Tickner, demonstrated how to wash hands properly, by asking pupils to cover their hands in UV cream. The students were then challenged to put their hands under a UV light box to reveal the areas they had missed, before being asked to wash their hands again. To demonstrate how easily these bacteria can spread if hands are not washed properly, coaches from AFC Bournemouth’s Community Sports Trust team played games with the children in an interactive playground session.
Mr Partridge, the head teacher at Mudeford Junior School, said: “I am very grateful for the Bug Busters School visit; they were able to get across some really helpful advice to pupils in a fun and imaginative way. I know all the children enjoyed themselves, and I would definitely recommend other schools to take part in it.”
The pupils were also encouraged to enter the Bug Buster competition to design an eye-catching poster for AFC Bournemouth’s football stadium asking visitors to wash their hands. The winner of the competition will get to meet the AFC Bournemouth players, receive a goody bag, some AFC Bournemouth tickets and have their poster in pride of place on the walls around the stadium.
Nuffield Health Bournemouth Hospital and AFC Bournemouth are visiting as many schools as possible in Dorset to deliver the ‘Bug Busters’ workshop. Schools interested in finding out more about Bug Busters are invited to contact Steve Cuss at AFC Bournemouth on 01202 726342, or the Nuffield Bournemouth Hospital’s friendly customer services team on 01202 702830.
