THE CLOCK is ticking down to when the Worcestershire Royal Hospital becomes smoke free.
No Smoking Day earlier this month marked the start of a 99-day countdown to the county’s hospitals banning smoking for patients and visitors on June 17.
The move follows last year’s ban on hospital staff smoking on site.
The decision means members of the public, patients and visitors will not be allowed to smoke in any of the acute hospital grounds, including car parks.
All smoking shelters will be removed from the hospital and anyone seen smoking will be asked to ‘stub it out’.
Denise Harnin, director of human resources at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “Becoming a completely smokefree trust is something we have wanted to do for a while.
“Our patients are already in hospital because they are acutely ill and smoking is known to make a lot of these conditions even worse. By promoting healthier choices to our patients, and offering them support to stop, we can help them quit smoking and improve their overall quality of life.”
“Being faced with a crowd of smokers on your way into hospital isn’t a nice way to start your experience of the great care and services we provide. By banning smoking from our sites, patients and visitors will get to experience a more pleasant start to their treatment and recovery.”
Patients and the public can contact to book an appointment with a stop smoking advisor on 0300 1231619 or 01562 513 225.
