Bosses at the largest hospital trust in Greater Manchester are calling for a change in the law to make all hospitals and their grounds smoke-free.
Pennine Acute Trust, which runs hospitals in Rochdale, Oldham, Bury and North Manchester, has already banned patients and staff from smoking in its buildings, car parks and entrances.
But bosses admit the rule is difficult to enforce – and could put staff at risk if they have to confront smokers. They are now urging the government to ban smoking in all hospital grounds for public health reasons.
Comment: Time to stub out habit at hospitals
Chief executive John Saxby has written to local MPs, primary care trusts and local authorities asking for their support.
He said: "While the national smoking ban inside buildings is widely understood and adhered to, it is incredibly difficult to enforce the policy of no smoking in the grounds of the hospital. We certainly do not wish to place our staff at risk of potential abuse or injury when tackling the very emotive issue of people smoking at hospital entrances or in hospital grounds.
"We wish to go one step further and lobby parliament for a change in the law to extend the current no-smoking legislation to include hospital grounds.
"We have a clear duty to take every opportunity to reduce smoking-related illness and the toll this has not only on the individuals, but the NHS as a whole."
Bosses had considered building smoking shelters in their grounds at a cost of £80,000 – but the plans were rejected by the trust’s board last month.
Instead, they are creating new non-smoking exclusion zones outside its entrances.
Dr Sally Bradley, the trust’s deputy medical director, said: "As well as helping make our hospitals a cleaner and safer environment, the benefits of quitting smoking includes reducing the risk of developing illness or death caused by cancer, heart or lung disease.
"Smoking at hospital entrances is not only unsightly and unpleasant for people who have to walk through a cloud of smoke to gain access to our hospitals, but it is causing increased litter and is a serious fire risk and health hazard."
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As a non smoker, I never minded sharing pubs and restaurants with smokers, especially when there was a no smoking area. Since the ban though I hate walking through doors where there are crowds of smokers all huddled together and I can hardly breathe.
Non smokers had a choice before, sit in the no smoking area, now we have to endure breathing it in every time we go into a large building!
Most people visiting hosptials are stressed, stopping smokers having a cig will just add to their stress. Why not try and enforce a littering policy instead to stop people dropping dimps and also others with general litter? I don't smoke but get mightily miffed at how smokers face a constant witch hunt even when outdoors.
I'm not a smoker,but I do understand that smoking is an addiction that many people are unable to stop. Having seen patients in their night clothes stood, sat, or in one case lay in a bed, smoking outside the doors, I can't help but feel that it is awkward enough for them as it is, and many will have already cut down to the minimum they can do. By all means encourage and give them help to stop smoking, but saying they can't even smoke outside will be forcing patients to go cold-turkey with all the associated stress and health issues that can itself cause.
i think it is disgusting........visiting people in hospital and the doorways are clogged up with smokers!
dont get me wrong im not an anti smoker and yes i do think smokers need somewhere to smoke........JUST NOT IN A FLIPPING DOORWAY!!
I would suggest that, in these time of cuts and reduced spending, and health department with staff to spare for such measures, should consider whether some savings canbe made there.
Having visited NMGH quite a number of times over the last few months, I know I wouldn't like to be the one to tell the Chav's I've seen puffing away to put their fag out. I wonder who will have the guts to reinforce this ban, not the bosses sat in their nice comfy offices thats for sure, no it'll be the hospital staff who have enough to put up with.
I am a non smoker - never have, never will. Lets get that out of the way first! However, I can understand why people who do smoke, find it hard to stop. They are of course, addicted to a drug. So are people who use coke or heroin or the like, but they do not seem to me to be as persecuted as much as smokers! since when did smoking lead to the need to rob etc to feed the habit? When my wife has had to be in hospital, she really does need a fag to help her with the stress!
Why do we continue to treat smokers like petty criminals, its a disgrace.
Im a non smoker and never had a problem entering any building where people smoked.
Give smokers a room in every public building, allow pubs to have a smoking room.
The Govt makes billions in taxes from smokers, for pitys sake leave them alone.
The NHS should concentrate on reducing deaths inside its buildings from its negligent cleaning policies.
as a smoker myself, since when has public property or grounds become private !! or I'm i missing the point. us smokers already pay a duty to NHS in extra tax's that where levied a few years ago or have they forgot about that !!. when the rest of Europe are ignoring the smoking ban in pubs restaurants clubs and will probably overturned the laws by this summer, our barmy PC brigade want us to smoke on the pavement. there was nothing wrong with the previous system smoking area's and non, the pubs clubs and bingo halls are suffering for it as the great proportion of smokers are regular drinkers as well, so they drink at home and its cheaper. another stupid law and who's going to enforce it !! a bit like mobile phones and driving.
I heard on the news that they don't want to build shelters as it will be seen as condoning the habit. However if they did, smokers would have a legit place to go away from the hospital building with cover if it is raining and a bin for the fag ends. Then anyone still smoking at the entrance should be dealt with accordingly.
Some on here say they understand why people smoke; well I don't. No-one forced them to, they CAN give up if they weren't so weak-willed. Oh I can hear the cries of indignation now about how hard it is. Hard; yes. Impossible; no. The smell of a cigarette make me physically sick and it's even worse in place permeated with that appalling stench. Do those that smoke realise how awful they actually smell to those who don't smoke. There is no reason whatsoever why they should be allowed to smoke on trust premises as they are in a position of their own making. An alcoholic in hospital isn't allowed to drink so why should they smoke?
I am an ex smoker so understand the addiction but it looks unsightly to see crowds of people smoking around the main doorway into NMGH and walking through a cloud of smoke. I agree with other posters here, especially aunt sally.
I don't know what the answer is - how can it be enforced ? and it wouldn't really be right for hospitals to provide smoking shelters. This would be seen as an encouragement, especially when the NHS spend a lot of money trying to get people to give up. I feel sorry for the staff if the responsibility lies with them to tackle the smokers outside the hospital.
I spent a few weeks at Wythenshawe hospital in the cancer treatment ward. I would wheel me mam outside for fresh air and would never cease to be amazed at the amount of people receiving treatment, stood or sat outside puffing away. Even me mum was doing it and she had lung cancer!!! Its an addition. Ciggies serve no purpose except to mess your health up and spend your hard earned money.
Once again the anti-smoking fascists want to ban a perfectly legal pastime. I can remember being in hospital 25 years ago and every ward had a day room where smoking was allowed. Then it was reduced to a couple of smoking rooms, then outdoor smoking shelters, and now they want to ban people smoking in the open air. We own the buildings and we pay for the buildings through the 70% of taxes we pay on cigarettes. We pay far more in taxes to the NHS than non-smokers do so we are subsidising their treatment. And if I was told tomorrow that I had terminal cancer, I would put it down to the fact that we are such a polluted city that drivers who pump out their carcinogens through their exhausts would have caused it as in the past they caused problems with children through the lead in petrol.
Best advice is for everybody to start smoking, enjoy it because life's too short, and blow smoke in the face of any anti-smoking fascist who objects.
Why shouldn’t a land owner dictate what is acceptable on their land?
If staff challenge smokers inside, why would they be more ‘at risk’ confronting a smoker outside?
i think John saxby should go out to the front of NMGH grounds there is always plenty of nursing / hospital staff sat in the bus shelters smoking who just continue chugging away where there is someone actually waiting for a bus or not ... how about stopping them first before trying to stop everyone else
Heath fascism strikes again.
"and is a serious fire risk" how many fires have been caused outside hospitals by smokers?
How about making mis-diagnosing patients illegal?
If cigarettes are so dangerous, why are they legal?
As an N H S worker you will never put a stop to this, Ive seen people hiding in bushes for a quick fag, isnt that a fire risk, just bring back the safe smoking shelters for the addicts of smoking, after all it is a pleasure to some and a comfort to some in times of stress.
Just keep it out of the doorways, simples.
Im glad the smoking shelter idea was scrapped, at a time when the trust has no money and are cutting down left right and centre, how bad would it have looked if they went and splashed out £80k on them.
Ban Cigarettes and tobacco COMPLETELLY ! Simples
If cigarettes and tobacco were "invented" today they would be classed as hazardous substance and a poison so why not BAN them, the smokers would then have to stop!
How incredible this report is when its a known published fact over recent years that if your living and working in cities and towns in the UK you daily ingest the equivalent of 20 cigarettes each day.
The Toxins you daily ingest will certainly provide Cancers,Heart Diseases,Breast Cancers Lung Diseases but they never never ever say anything about that although the facts and data are published in medical journals research documents but its a forbidden subject from Government down.
They are not proposing the banning of smoking around entrances, but anywhere in the hospital grounds.
Hospital grounds cover huge areas. They are proposing stopping someone having a smoke in th furthest corner of the hospital carpark. Ridiculous.
It won't affect me, as a long-time non-smoker, but I object to these intrusions into personal liberty which cannot affect others.
If those persons who are found to be smoking in or on hospital property are patients, then treatment should be cesased there and then, and the patient discharged.
You either to want to get better or you don't.