Hand hygiene a priority at mental health services facility in Tipperary

Above: At the launch of the HSE’s Resist hand hygiene programme in Haywood Lodge, Clonmel were Maree Hosey (Infection Control Nurse Specialist), Dr Rosemary Curran (Consultant Microbiologist) and Michelle Hennebry (HSE Infection Control Nurse Specialist, South Tipperary)

In reviewing developments throughout 2023 in its services, the HSE’s Haywood Lodge facility in Heywood Road, Clonmel, has picked out, as one of the highlights, its joining in the implementation of the national Resist hand hygiene campaign.

Resist is a brand for 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. Resist is being rolled out to refresh our hand hygiene messages and to keep promoting the importance of clean hands.

Haywood Lodge, which opened in 2012, is a purpose-built HSE/South East Community Healthcare Services mental health services facility that comprises two wards, East and West House.  East House provides care and treatment for residents under the care of the Psychiatry of Later Life team. West House provides care and treatment for residents under the care of the Rehabilitation and Recovery team. Both houses are similar in layout and are made up of single en suite bedrooms.  

Assistant Director of Nursing, Lisa Grant said: “Cleaning your hands properly, at the correct time, when delivering care to our residents is the most effective way to stop the spread of many infections, including Covid-19. 

"When healthcare workers like doctors, nurses and carers keep their hands clean, they help prevent the spread of serious healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs).  These are infections that can happen in any healthcare service.

"Haywood Lodge has a good record in 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 mental health facilities.

“Along with hospital staff, residents and visitors, all have a role to play to help stop the spread of Healthcare-associated infections and join the superbug resistance. Residents can play a big part in reducing the spread of infection. 

"This programme will help us to refresh and energise our hand hygiene approach among both staff of the hospital and residents. The link practitioners, our hand hygiene trainers and our infection control nurses, help us to do this”.