A Smoke Free NHS and that Means Staff Too
Smoking is a constant issue that plights the NHS and costs the taxpayer thirteen billion pounds a year, treating those with smoking related ailments. There have been a number of initiatives put in place to try to put an end to the habit and get people off the cigarettes for good. But it just doesn’t seem to be happening.
The most recent incentive comes from companies such as Eshishin,who offer a range of items that mean people aren’t smoking actual cigarettes but an electronic cigarette, or electronic shisha, instead. These are designed to help smokers beat the habit. Electronic cigarettes contain a small amount of nicotine, which gradually eases the addiction and cures immediate cravings. The electronic shisha can help people as they have the feeling of something in their hand, which they raise to their lips. It may sound ridiculous but this is one part of the habit that people miss, the routine of smoking. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) are also trying to encourage healthcare professionals to lead by example. They are planning to implement legislation, which means no member of staff in an NHS facility can smoke on the premises. The area will also become completely smoke-free for patients, staff and construction workers.
There is nothing worse than seeing patients standing in the hospital grounds, or just outside the main entrance, wearing their gowns and holding a drip, whilst having a cigarette. But worse than that is seeing nurses and doctors huddled around, smoking right alongside the very patients they are caring for.
NHS staff have a duty of care to their patients and are expected to encourage patients to make their own health a priority. But seeing a doctor or nurse smoking, undermines their position and the work of the NHS.
How can doctors be taken seriously in their medical knowledge and advice, if they are risking their own lives by smoking?
As it stands, making the NHS entirely smoke-free is merely being offered as guidance. A suggestion that NICE hopes many medical practitioners establish as quickly as possible. However, it is expected that within the next three years the guidance will become law and will be implemented within every health care facility across the UK.
Smoking is an issue that is not going to disappear over night, and the health effects will become apparent as the years pass. But if the number of smokers is cut, and then eventually wiped out all together, people will not only increase their life expectancy but the NHS will save billions every year.
This article was written by Amanda Walters, an experienced freelance writer and regular contributor to Huffington Post. Follow her here: @Amanda_W84
Image Source:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/nhs-quit-smoking/id359088809
