Andrea Dickens Deputy Director, Smokefree South West, Bristol
Abstract
Hospitals can play a key role in the work to reduce the use of tobacco and its damaging health effects. Smokefree South West, working in collaboration with acute trusts, local Tobacco Control Commissioners and Stop Smoking Services, developed and implemented comprehensive and effective smokefree hospital policies. These have included a range of demonstration sites tackling issues such as smoking shelters and staff attitudes to smoking on site.
The learnings from our five years of work in this area have been compiled into a document outlining the challenges to be faced and the possible solutions. It provides the research and insights into the range of work covered across the South West.
Hospitals are diverse communities in significantly different physical environments. The take home message is one of flexibility and the recognition that there is no single solution but that a tailored approach incorporating local expertise and solutions to local problems will provide significant results.
This session will provide an overview of the insights that we have acquired on our journey so far and illustrate how a collaborative, locally together approach can create the momentum towards acute trusts being true exemplars of a healthy and smokefree community.
Source of funding: Smokefree South West is collaboratively funded by the 14 South West Directors of Public Health.
