Our Trust is now Smokefree!

A look back on the first week as a Smokefree Trust.

It has been one week since Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust became Smokefree.

It’s taken a huge amount of commitment and work from so many people to get to this significant and very welcome milestone. A huge thank you to everyone for their hard work during the preparations and for providing a Smokefree environment for all those who use, work or visit our services.

This has not and will not be an easy road. However, we know that going Smokefree will have a really positive impact on the health of our service users, staff and visitors.

Smoking is the biggest preventable cause of death in England, resulting in nearly 80,000 premature deaths each year. It is well known that smoking prevalence is high for people with mental health needs. The impact on health and life expectancy is stark with 42 per cent of all the tobacco smoked in this country being by people with mental health problems, who therefore disproportionately experience tobacco related harm.

We know that there have been challenges and we recognise that some of these will continue for a time. This is a significant cultural change for service users and staff. If we are all committed to consistently supporting the implementation of our new Nicotine Management and Smokefree Procedure, we will successfully achieve a Smokefree environment for all.

We have received lots of positive feedback from staff in a range of service areas this week. We know that some service users are struggling to adjust to a Smokefree environment but we are listening and responding to areas where particular challenges exist and are providing ongoing information and support.

Many service users have embraced the change to Smokefree, with some already committed to a quit smoking plan. The majority of service users in our acute services who smoke are actively using NRT to help them to abstain from smoking while in our services. This will have significant health benefits for them and those around them.

In addition, there has been a really positive uptake on the offer of smoking cessation support from the Healthy Living Service (HLS) for Trust staff who smoke. Over 20 staff are signed up to a quit plan – and we have already had a couple of successful quits. Many other staff are being supported to abstain from smoking while at work.

We have received the following feedback from service users and staff during the first week:

A nurse at the Becklin Centre said: “The ward is calmer now because service users aren’t constantly at the desk asking for a smoking break.”

A service user at Clifton House described it as a ‘much healthier place to be’. They are a non-smoker and appreciated the fresher air.

One staff member commented on how ‘lovely the courtyard at Becklin is now it is not a place for smoking and can be used by everyone’, while another added that ‘it’s great to see service users really engaging with the Occupational Therapists.’

A service user at the Becklin Centre said he was ‘enthusiastic about going Smokefree and stopping smoking but when it got to the day he was worried about getting his NRT on time and making sure that he was prescribed the right amount. Now he is amazed at the amount of exercise he can do.’

In addition, the Smokefree Project team have put together a film, ‘This is Me Going Smokefree’. In the film, staff share their smoke free journeys, explaining why they decided to stop smoking, how they gave up and what they would do differently if they were to do it all again.

These are some of the many examples that show how being Smokefree is already making a difference in our services. Thank you all once again and please continue with your hard work.

For more information or if you have any queries, please email smokefree.lypft@nhs.net.

The Smokefree Project Team