Nurses are giving foot and hand massage in a new scheme aimed at helping elderly patients cope with long stays in hospital.

The sessions have been introduced at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, and Brighton General Hospital to help patients relax.

Rose Pugsley, 87, is one of the patients receiving the pioneering treatment as part of her care.

She said: "It is a lovely idea and I'll be having this done again. It really helps me relax and not feel so stiff."

Eight nurses employed by Brighton Health Care NHS Trust have been trained to give the service to elderly patients.

Senior staff nurse Janet Lewis has been giving the massage treatments for the past two months.

She said: "It has been very popular and we can see the benefits. It is making the patients feel good and can also be quite therapeutic for the nurses who do it."

Each session usually lasts about 15 to 20 minutes and nurses are carrying out about two or three a week.

All the nurses involved have finished an eight-week training programme under the tuition of Liz Mellor, a practitioner in complementary therapies.

She said: "Sometimes the things that nurses have to do to patients are not pleasant, like giving injections or doing painful dressings.

"It is lovely to see them using touch to promote comfort."

The project, which has the support of doctors involved in the care of the elderly, came about because of two recent reports suggesting not enough was being done to stimulate long-stay patients.

Practice development nurse Ruth Bailey said: "This is a really exciting development which we hope to expand next year.

"Patients have really enjoyed the relaxing massages and we hope to train up more nurses in the future."

The massage treatment is one of several innovations being brought in to improve elderly people's stays in hospital.

Other schemes include offering manicures and visits from volunteers who go on shopping trips for patients, post letters, go to the library or even place bets.

About 20 per cent of the patients staying at the hospitals are over the age of 60. A large proportion are over 85 and are recovering from a stroke.

Some of the patients do not get many visitors because they either have no relatives or they live too far away to visit often. As a result patients often get bored and lonely.

Miss Lewis said: "The massage is a very positive way of helping patients. It does not take a long time but can make a lot of difference to them."