New law came into effect on 1 July 2008

The Trust's policy on smoking was reviewed in 2008 and takes into account the changes required by law from 1 July 2008.

Most importantly, that the exemption for mental health patients will cease, so there must be no smoking within enclosed spaces anywhere in the Trust (including all internal ‘smoking’ rooms).

Our view on this is:

• We will aspire to become totally smoke-free (that is, no smoking anywhere) where that is possible, and we will encourage any wards or units that are considering doing this.
• Only patients who are not free to leave the site may be permitted to smoke and then, only in designated non-enclosed areas. Not free to leave the site includes, but is not restricted to, patients detained under the Mental Health Act.
• If deemed necessary by individual wards/units, outdoor shelters will be considered as part of a wider plan for managing patient smoking. There may be units on hospital sites belonging to other Trusts for whom this is not possible, in which case the choice is between permitting smoking outdoors or banning it altogether.

The ending of the exemption will mean that some rooms that have been used as smoking rooms will be freed up for other uses, and we would encourage staff to think of imaginative ways of using the space, perhaps as exercise rooms or relaxation areas.

Smoke-free audit 

We have recently completed an audit of the implementation of the policy in all the wards of the Trust. The most heartening finding was that with the provision of restricted smoking areas, the exposure of patients and staff to second-hand smoke has been significantly reduced.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)

The Trust is happy for NRT to be prescribed to help people quit smoking. This includes attempts to quit completely as per the licensed indications but also we would support attempts to reduce smoking more gradually as part of a considered care plan.

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