I know many of you will think I sound like a broken record particularly as I have written several blog posts around the issue of the smoking ban on NHS premises. The first of my posts was back in 2015 on April 2nd. written after legislation was passed by the Scottish Government to implement a ban on smoking on NHS hospital sites. This came into force on the 1st April and must have been an april fool as it is still not been addressed. The links to other posts surrounding smoking on NHS sites are:
Over the course of time I have been in touch with various different outlets and services to try and get action taken on the issue of continued smoking on NHS sites. The situation for me has only go worse. It appeared that every day there were more and more people congregating outside the main doors of the hospital smoking. This could be a mix of patients, visitors and most shockingly people who worked in the hospital.
For me it got to the point that even coming to work half an hour early was not enough to avoid the people smoking. Eventually it made the choice on stopping doing clinical work easy as it meant I would not be putting my life at risk just to get into work. In fact the other week I had to go to the Royal for a ECHO of my heart, I called to have this rearranged because already feeling very chesty and unsure if I was going to need to be admitted, I saw this huge group of people smoking right outside the doors. I couldn’t risk going past. It may have cost the NHS some money by me cancelling last minute my appointment but it is far less money than the amount of money that would be required for me to go to A&E, +/- ICU, and the ward all because I tried to get into the hospital (a plan of safety I might add) to attend an appointment. In an extreme view the select patients that are smoking are preventing a group of patients accessing healthcare safely. What will it cost for this to be addressed.
(Photo above was me after having an attack trying to get in to work a few years back)
Clearly legislation being passed in the Scottish Government is not enough. I am unsure why the issue is so much worse at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh than other sites in Edinburgh.
If the smoke did not have such a bad effect on my lungs physically I would go up to people and tell them they cant smoke there and they need to move off hospital property but that is just asking for a hospital admission for me. I think what makes me really angry and disappointed is that no one is willing to address the smoking issue.
I took the opportunity when there was uproar about parking and parking provision to use this to voice my concerns about the smoking. I got in touch with various MSP’s and had some great feedback from them and help from them however I am totally disgusted by NHS Lothians response. They wrote a letter to my MSP which basically says what they do just now is enough and no more can be done. What they said they have done is:
- Provision of support for patients, staff and visitors who wish to give up smoking
- Provision of advice regarding medication which helps manage nicotine withdrawal
- Promotion of education and training for managers and front line staff in the implementation of the policy
What strikes me with these actions is that it is all about what they are doing to help those that smoke nothing is there to help those who do not smoke and are being affected by those smoking. The actions are also leaving it up to the smokers to get the help. They are not actually doing anything to stop the smoking in places that are meant to be no smoking. The letter also sited the design of the hospital means that people are likely to congregate at the doors to smoke.
To say I was shocked, appalled at the letter is an understatement. The over riding emotion though was disappointment. My MSP had put that one of the reasons for me not working at the hospital just now was due to the issue of people smoking but this was not even mentioned in the response. There was a line that said they were sorry I felt the need to report this complaint and they apologise for the distress and inconvenience this has caused. Distress and inconvenience is an understatement- they clearly have no idea about what going to intensive care is like, what fighting for your life is like and knowing that the very place that saves your life is also the very place that could take your life too.
I have no idea what to do now. Will I be able to return to work in the hospital if this issue is not resolved? I don’t think so. I love my job, but I love my life (most of the time) and if doing my job is going to kill me can I really justify going back to work.
I will spend as much time as possible to try and get this situation the attention it deserves because there is no way it can only be me that is suffering. There must be hundreds if not thousands of other people being bothered by this.
Below are links to some posts I have written around about the issues I have dealt with to do with smoking and people smoking on NHS sites.
23 days on and its only got worse is a post I wrote 23 days after the so called smoking ban came into force. It appears to have only made things worse. I am not one for advocating smoking but the removal of the smoking shelters has made things so bad.
Returning to work in a fog of smoke is about returning to work after having an asthma attack as a result of second hand smoke. Reading it back I get quite emotional as I was struggling to accept that I had done nothing to myself to end up with lungs like this- often I wish I had done something like smoked as then at least there is a reason for my lungs being so bad.
Smoking on hospital sites reflecting back and just finding the issue getting worse and worse. Also thinking of ideas of things I could do that would maybe have some effect on those smoking that they would not like much like their smoke has on others.
Bad weather makes smoking worse
Passive smoking what does it mean
Parking is not the only issue at the RIE
ANONYMOUS-ASTHMA 