Our smoking team has been recognised regionally for their work in tackling tobacco dependency as part of the NHS’ long-term ambitions nationwide.
In less than two years, our tobacco dependency treatment service has seen monthly referrals to their service increase by more than 200 per month.
The team of six support hospital staff in:
- Identifying patients with tobacco dependency
- Quickly beginning nicotine replacement therapy (for example, nicotine patches or inhalators)
- Onward referral to the inpatient tobacco team
In July 2022, they saw 23 referrals to the service. That number has increased now to over 230 referrals each month.
The team is making rapid progress with the service that they offer to hospital patients and staff. They also have a number of quality improvement measures in place to ensure continuous growth. Now their work is being showcased as an area of best practice by North East and North Cumbria NHS.
Julie Bardsley is tobacco dependency specialist lead for the Trust. She said: “We are so pleased to have our work recognised and showcased by our smoke-free colleagues across the region.
“The team has worked so hard to get to this point, and we’re not slowing down now. Our goal now is for 100% of hospital inpatients who smoke to be referred to our service so that we can offer them advice and support to quit smoking and, ultimately, better their health.
“The staff on our wards have been phenomenal in engaging with our service, having those conversations with patients – and they can be tough at times – and working with us to help tackle this disease.
“And smoking is a disease, not a lifestyle choice. Nicotine withdrawal can peak within two hours of someone’s last cigarette. That’s why it’s so crucial that our patients who are smokers are offered nicotine replacement therapy as quickly as possible.”
The journey so far
Since the service was launched in July 2022, the team has:
- Expanded the NRT options available to hospital inpatients, including the introduction of vapes, to support a quit attempt
- Introduced nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and prescribing guides to boost ward staff’s confidence in starting NRT quickly and preventing nicotine withdrawal
- Worked closely with teams across the Trust to support local ambitions for improving the overall health of the Tees Valley population
- Set the Trust up as a pilot site for Advanced Pharmacy Smoking Cessation Referral Service – meaning patients can continue to receive support in the community from a pharmacy of their choosing after hospital discharge, in addition to local authority stop smoking services
- Re-established our maternity smoking cessation services – and the team is currently supporting the transition to in-house smoking cessation services for maternity, as recommended in the NHS Long Term Plan
- Supported NHS staff across the organisation to quit smoking
- Supported a number of students on placement and provided training to staff
NHS Long Term Plan
The NHS has made a commitment to contribute significantly to making England a smoke-free society.
The NHS Long Term Plan aims to provide tobacco dependency treatment to all inpatients who smoke. It outlines that everyone admitted overnight should able to access services by the end of 2023/24.
Support to quit smoking
For more information and resources to quit smoking, visit the NHS website.