Staff at Nottingham hospitals on patrol to help smokers quit

Staff at hospitals in Nottingham will patrol the hospital grounds to offer advice to smokers in a bid to help more people quit.

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust's (NUH) two new 'Smokefree engagement workers' will patrol Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital.

The trust says that although its hospitals have officially been smoke-free since 2006, smoking is still an issue and causes regular complaints from staff and visitors.

Smokers will be offered nicotine-replacement therapy and can be referred to a 12-week stop smoking programme.

Mohammed Khan is one of the new staff that will patrol hospital grounds, and said: "We are completely non-judgemental."

He said: "We know the hospital can be a stressful place, for staff, patients and visitors alike - anything can happen in a day - we're not there to remove smokers from the site, but just to make them aware of what support is available."

The scheme comes as smokers are encouraged to take part 'Stoptober' which helps people kick the habit for 28 days which is then said to make them five times more likely to quit for good.

Since its launch by Public Health England 12 years ago, Stoptober has helped more than 2.5 million people give up smoking.

Zahida Niazi, Smokefree Lead at NUH, said: "We recognise that smoking is an addiction and some people find it difficult to stop. But smokers are not just putting their own health at risk, but the health of anyone around them.

"Smokers can vape on the grounds as an alternative to smoking. Vaping is 95% less harmful than smoking and passive vaping is not the same as passive smoking as vapes do not contain tobacco."

Government research shows that as soon as two weeks after stopping, at least two in every five smokers feel they have more energy, feel healthier, and have improved breathing.

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