Staff at a Tipperary HSE older persons unit embrace new hand hygiene campaign

Caption for picture above: Pictured at the launch of the HSE’s national RESIST hand hygiene campaign’s implementation in St. Anthony’s Unit, Clonmel were left: Michelle Hennebry, Infection Control Specialist/South Tipperary, HSE; Nisha Abraham, Person in Charge, St. Anthony’s Unit; Tracy Duggan, staff nurse; Sujitha Govindasamy, staff nurse; Daragh McLoughlin, health care assistant;  Christine Connolly, kitchen assistant; Karen Coyle, staff nurse/Infection Prevention & Control link practitioner; Luka Chege, health care assistant; Martina Moloney, Activities Coordinator; Meenu Jose, staff nurse; Rose Spillane, kitchen assistant; Imee Mathew, staff Nurse; Pamela Landers, Infection Prevention & Control Clinical Nurse Specialist and Dr. Rosemary Curran, Consultant Microbiologist, HSE/South East Community Healthcare. 

HSE/South East Community Healthcare’s St. Anthony’s Unit in Clonmel is taking part in the implementation of the national “RESIST” hand hygiene campaign.

RESIST is a number of hand hygiene and infection prevention and control initiatives under the HSE Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control programme (AMRIC).

One of these initiatives is a rollout of the RESIST hand hygiene awareness programme.

The programme promotes a combination of hand hygiene training with standardised national training materials.

Hand hygiene has been at the forefront of all of the initiatives that the HSE has been implementing to reduce the spread of COVID-19. 

The RESIST campaign is to refresh hand hygiene messages and to keep promoting the importance of clean hands.

At this time, St Anthony’s is under the management of Cashel Residential Older Persons Services. An 18 bedded facility, St. Anthony’s provides long term and palliative care to older people.

The new 50 bed en-suite residential care centre is currently under construction on an adjacent site at Glenconnor, Clonmel. It is due for full completion later this year, with the intention to open services as a standalone Community Nursing Unit thereafter supporting the population of Clonmel and its surrounding communities. 

St Anthony's Unit's Person in Charge Nisha Abraham told the recent launch of RESIST at the unit: “Infections can happen in any healthcare service but when healthcare workers like doctors, nurses and carers keep their hands clean, they help prevent the spread of serious healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs).

 “Cleaning your hands properly, at the correct time, when delivering care to patients and residents is the most effective way to stop the spread of many infections.

“We have an excellent record in St. Anthony’s as regards hand hygiene but we are always looking to improve our standards. 

"The RESIST programme will help us to do that and we are delighted to have been selected to be part of the rollout in HSE residential facilities.”

HSE South Tipperary Infection Control Specialist Michelle Hennebry said: “Staff, residents, patients and visitors all have a role to play, to help stop the spread of healthcare associated infections and join the superbug resistance.

"This programme will help each facility it is rolled out in to refresh and energise its hand hygiene approach and our link practitioner and infection control nurses will be supporting them to do that," she added.