The Sacred Heart Hospital Carlow and the Carlow District Hospital are to the fore in the HSE’s South East Community Healthcare (SECH) services, as regards to the implementation of the national “RESIST” hand hygiene campaign.
“RESIST” is the campaign branding for a number of hand hygiene and infection prevention and control initiatives under the National HSE Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control Programme (AMRIC). One of these initiatives is a rollout of the RESIST hand hygiene awareness programme to all residential care facilities and district hospitals.
The programme builds on the work already done to date by all healthcare facilities and healthcare workers in promoting and complying with hand hygiene standards. Hand hygiene has been at the forefront of all the initiatives that the HSE has been implementing to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other infections which can cause harm to care facility residents.
Speaking at the recent launch of the RESIST campaign in the Sacred Heart Hospital, Julie Meally (Clinical Nurse Specialist Infection Prevention and Control for Carlow/Kilkenny) said:
“As a programme, RESIST is aimed not just at those delivering care but at everyone who comes into a hospital or residential care facility, including patients and visitors. We will be intensifying the campaign across the South East and are delighted that the Sacred Heart Hospital Carlow and the Carlow District Hospital have come together to promote such an important programme. The roll out of this campaign was greatly assisted by the Senior Nurse Management and a special mention to the infection prevention and control link nurse practitioners who are our lead hand hygiene trainers in both hospitals.”
“When healthcare workers like nurses, care assistants, cleaning and catering staff and doctors keep their hands clean, they help to prevent the spread of serious Health Care Associated Infections (HCAIs). These are infections that can happen in any healthcare service. In addition to healthcare workers and their need to wash hands very regularly throughout their work, patients and visitors also play a part in reducing the spread of infection by following advice on hand cleaning.”
Also speaking at the launch, Elaine Flanagan (Assistant Director of Nursing, Sacred Heart Hospital Carlow) added:
“Here in both the Sacred Heart Hospital and the District Hospital, we have a very good record in hand hygiene. We are always, however, looking to improve out 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 services.”
“Along with our own staff, our residents and visitors all have a role to play to help stop the spread of infections and join the superbug resistance. This programme will help us to refresh and energise our hand hygiene approach”.
Residents can play a big part in reducing the spread of infection. There are things we can encourage and assist the residents to do to protect themselves from picking up an infection or super bug:
- Clean your hands regularly, using the alcohol hand gel in the hospital.
- Clean your hands before you eat and wash your hands after you go to the toilet.
- Avoid sharing your personal things with other residents – for example, your phone.
- Do not let anyone sit on your bed and avoid sitting on other residents beds
- Remember it is OK to remind a staff member or your visitors to clean their hands
- It is OK to tell a staff member if you see anything that is not clean.
