Implementation of the DH ‘Stop Smoking Interventions in Secondary Care’ pilot

Authors:
Sarah Matthes Edwards and Emma Croghan

Presenter:
Sarah Matthes Edwards
Delivery Manager, Tobacco Control Policy Team, Department of Health, London, UK

Abstract
The Department of Health (England) rolled out a pilot project, ‘Stop Smoking Interventions in Secondary Care’, in 2009. The aim of the pilot was to introduce systematic approaches to supporting smokers to stop by embedding care pathways for planned and unplanned admissions. Seventy-two hospital sites joined the pilot in two cohorts between June and October. Following a stakeholder engagement event, the first cohort of pilot sites undertook a baseline audit in order to determine the level of activity present prior to implementing the systems recommended by the DH guidance. implementation is currently underway in the majority of sites.

This presentation will briefly explain the key elements of the project, will examine early outcomes from the pre-implementation stage and will highlight several examples of good practice.

Declaration of interest: none

About the presenter
Sarah Matthes Edwards, BSc, MSc, MPH, is a Delivery Manager with the Department of Health’s Tobacco Policy team and works on a number of areas such as secondary care, smoking in pregnancy, lead generation and regional support. In her previous role, she worked with several of the Department’s National Support Teams: Tobacco Control, Health Inequalities, Infant Mortality and Alcohol Harm Reduction. Her experience in public health includes managing a range of NHS programmes (Stop Smoking Services, Health Promotion services, Tobacco Control and Health Improvement programmes), as well as working in public health research and community health development in the USA and England.