Enniscorthy Primary Care Centre join in HSE’s national "RESIST" hand hygiene campaign

HSE Dublin and South East media release

11 July, 2025

The HSE’s national "RESIST" hand hygiene campaign had a demonstration launch recently in the Enniscorthy Primary Care Centre.

The HSE Dublin and South East Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Nursing Team and Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) Team organised and promoted the RESIST day, with the aim of supporting and educating colleagues on hand hygiene and to promote Anti-Microbial Resistance and Infection Control (AMRIC) and “RESIST”.

RESIST is a brand for several hand hygiene and infection prevention and control initiatives under the HSE Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control Programme (AMRIC). One of these initiatives is the 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 the HSE’s hand hygiene messages and to keep promoting the importance of clean hands.

Located at Quarry Park in the town, the Enniscorthy Primary Care Centre features a medical practice, various consultation rooms, offices and treatment areas and facilitates co-location for a multidisciplinary group of health and social care professionals (including primary care, mental health, older persons and Tusla) to deliver community healthcare care services to the local population in the Enniscorthy and surrounding areas in Co. Wexford. 

Speaking about the RESIST launch in the Enniscorthy Primary Care Centre, Elizabeth Sunderland (Community Healthcare Network Manager) said:

“Cleaning your hands properly, at the correct time, when delivering care to our clients, is the most effective way to stop the spread of many infections including COVID-19. When healthcare workers like the multidisciplinary staff in the primary care centre 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.”

“Enniscorthy Primary Care Centre and our HSE services locally in Co. Wexford have an excellent record in hand hygiene but we are always looking to improve our standards. The RESIST programme will help us to refresh and energise our hand hygiene approach among both staff and patients and we are delighted to have been selected to be part of the rollout in Primary Care”

Theresa Duffy (Clinical Nurse Specialist/Infection Prevention and Control, HSE) added:

“As a programme, RESIST is not just aimed at those delivering care but at everyone who comes into a healthcare facility, including service users and visitors. We will be intensifying the campaign across the South East over the coming months and are delighted that healthcare facilities in the Co. Wexford have taken part in promoting such an important programme”