Many people who access our services are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of second hand smoke, such as pregnant women, children and those with medical conditions. Exposure to secondhand smoke causes disease and premature death among non-smokers and even brief exposure can cause immediate harm.
Smoking has devastating consequences for individuals and their families and it remains the largest cause of ill health and premature death in South Tyneside and Sunderland. This puts immense pressure on our local NHS services with one in three hospital beds occupied by someone who smokes who will often need to stay in hospital for longer. Across South Tyneside and Sunderland, smoking costs the NHS around £22.7m.
We believe that becoming ‘smokefree’ is much more than just ‘smokefree’ sites. It’s about improving the health of our patients, firstly by identifying patients who smoke, by helping smokers to realise the consequences of tobacco on their health if necessary, and offering them practical support to quit.
Going forward, supporting smokers to stop smoking will be central to the work of ALL Trust staff.
We’re committed to providing a healthy environment for everyone who visits our Trust and we need your support to help achieve this.
This means that:
We recognise that smoking is highly addictive and many people find it extremely hard to stop, even when they want to. Part of our smokefree commitment is to provide patients and staff with the tools and support they need to help them stop smoking if they want to make a quit attempt.
We will:
For further advice and support to stop smoking contact:
If you have any queries about the Trust’s smokefree vision, please email STSFTprevention@nhs.net