Following on from the release of Javed Khan’s independent report on ‘Making Smoking Obsolete’, Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership are delighted to announce the roll-out of tobacco dependency treatment services for staff and patients in secondary care settings from July 2022, in line with the NHS Long Term Plan requirements.
In 2019, the government set a goal to make England smokefree by 2030, however the Khan review has highlighted that unless further action is taken, this will not be achieved. The review proposes a series of recommendations to get back on track, the four top being; committed investment into tobacco dependency treatment services, increasing the age of sale of cigarettes, promoting vaping as a successful quitting tool, and improving prevention.
Smoking tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death, disability, illness, and social inequality and ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) have just released a new analysis showing that since 2019 over 180,000 people have died from smoking related illness. There is no greater intervention we can provide to protect health than to support people to stop smoking.
Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership have prioritised this program of work since the 2019 smokefree ambitions were announced and invested in a dedicated team to plan and deliver hospital-based tobacco dependency treatment services throughout the trusts within the partnership area. This means that all patients admitted to secondary care will be asked about smoking status upon admission and then offered highly effective and evidence-based treatments to support them to be smokefree while in hospital and beyond. In addition to this, all staff within the trusts will be supported with free stop smoking support and treatments in order to support a truly smokefree NHS.
These new services branded under ‘Quit Together’ are due to commence as early as July 2022 in Hull and Northern Lincolnshire hospitals and are not about the NHS telling patients or staff not to smoke, but instead offering effective support to all and creating the best opportunity for improved health and longer life.
These services are not just available to those attending or working in a hospital; any member of the public can contact their local stop smoking service for free advice and support to stop smoking, and with help you are three times more likely to quit for good! Find your local service here
For further information on the Humber and North Yorkshire ‘Tobacco Dependency Treatment Programme’ please visit https://humberandnorthyorkshire.org.uk/our-work/tobacco-dependency-treatment-programme/