Nurses' health warning

7:30am Thursday 4th January 2007

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NURSING staff at Banbury's Horton Hospital will face disciplinary hearings if they are caught continually flouting a smoking ban from the start of the New Year.

From Monday, the ban was introduced for staff, patients and visitors in the grounds of the John Radcliffe, Churchill and Horton hospitals as well as inside the hospital buildings.

Patients or visitors who are found smoking on site will be warned and may be asked to leave trust premises if these warnings are ignored.

Staff found smoking could also be subject to disciplinary procedure, and on the third occasion they are caught, the case will be dealt with formally under the trust's Performance and Conduct Policy.

Debbie Pearman, 60, the Royal College of Nursing representative for staff at the Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital site, which like the Horton is run by the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS trust, warned that some staff would try to break the smoking ban by lighting up illicitly on site.

She said: "Staff could be disciplined if they are caught and I hope the trust tries to help them break their addiction by pointing them in the direction of appropriate treatment.

"I have been a smoker for 20 years and I am giving up before I go back to work on Monday.

"This move has been a long time coming and it will benefit the health of staff and patients."

The move to ban smoking comes into force before the law change in July 2007.

New legislation will prohibit smoking in public places such as bars, pubs and restaurants.

Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals is following in the footsteps of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, which introduced its own ban at the Windmill Road site on August 1.

Victoria Evans, human resources manager for the ORH trust, said: "Over the years, people have become accustomed to not smoking on buses, long plane journeys or in cinemas, and hospitals should not be an exception to this rule.

"A hospital is a place which should advocate good health - after all, it's a place where people come to get better. The effects of smoking and passive smoking are well documented and, for this reason alone, this ban can only be a good thing for everyone."

The ban applies to anyone visiting the hospital site, including staff, patients and visitors.

The trust already has a number of link nurses who advise patients on giving up smoking.

These nurses also have access to smoking cessation aids, such as nicotine replacement patches or chewing gum.

Jacquie Pearce-Gervis, chair of the trust's Patient Public Involvement Forum, said: "We often get the same feedback about smoking from patients.

"It is not a pleasant sight or smell to have to walk through clouds of smoke to get into hospital buildings. We welcome this move by the trust and would hope that patients and visitors adhere to the rules and not smoke while at hospital."

Smoking has been banned inside Oxford hospital buildings since 1999.

Todd Davidson, a spokesman for the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, said no staff had been disciplined since the ban.

He said: "Some staff have continued to smoke but now they do it off the site in their breaks, which is permitted."

• People wanting to quit smoking can call the Oxfordshire Smoking Advice Service on 01865 226663 or ask to see the Smoking Advisor at their local surgery.