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Care Opinion

Entrances are teeming with smokers

Posted By mercuryqy97

"Entrances are teeming with smokers"

About: Royal Cornwall Hospital (Treliske) / Tower Theatres/Recovery

(as a service user),

Treliske should be very proud. The hospital is spotlessly clean and airy and the staff are dedicated and very kind, and wonderful in fact.

However there is a huge flaw! The entrances, particularly at the Tower Block, are teaming with smokers. These people stand under the No Smoking signs. Even patients in their bed clothes stand there shamelessly putting away. I feel it is a lack of respect for the people who give them the medical attention to make them well.

Surely the hospital can stop this appalling behaviour.

I have been visiting my sister most days for 10 weeks and some days my clothes pong of nicotine.

Furthermore it is hard to hold one's breath while awaiting the doors to open.

Thank you.

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Responses

Response from Jess Saunders, Patient Engagement and Feedback Coordinator, Patient + Family Experience Team, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust last month
Jess Saunders
Patient Engagement and Feedback Coordinator, Patient + Family Experience Team,
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust

Submitted on 10/05/2024 at 13:58
Published on Care Opinion at 13:58

picture of Jess Saunders

Dear Mercuryqy97,

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. I was pleased to see that you found the hospital to be clean and the staff you encountered to be dedicated and kind.

I was disappointed to learn about your experience of the smokers outside the main entrances to our hospitals during the 10 weeks you spent visiting your sister. You are quite right we are a smoke free site so I know it must have been very frustrating to see and so annoying that you went home with your clothes smelling of nicotine some days.

I am responding to your as a member of the Patient Engagement team, but please be assured I will forward your feedback on to the department who oversee this at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust for their information and ask them to review what is happening outside the hospital entrances.

Thank you again for taking the time to raise this issue with us.

Best wishes,

Jess

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Update posted by mercuryqy97 (a service user)

Thank you. I was pleased with the response. Since writing, I have been monitoring the entrances and I need to tell you that there is no change. The Tower entrance has been cleaned up but the smokers are still there aplenty.

Treliske is a wonderful hospital, it is some of the patients who are not!

Thank you, yet again.

Response from Gavin Griffiths, Head of Health, Safety, Moving and Handling, Health, Safety, Moving and Handling Team, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust 3 weeks ago
We are preparing to make a change
Gavin Griffiths
Head of Health, Safety, Moving and Handling, Health, Safety, Moving and Handling Team,
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust

Submitted on 24/05/2024 at 16:31
Published on Care Opinion at 16:34

Dear mercurygy97,

Thank you for taking the time to share your story with us. Your feedback has been brought to my attention as the Head of Health, Safety, Moving and Handling at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust. I would like to apologise for your experience of the smokers outside our hospital entrances and to assure you that for staff, our policy is very clear. Staff are not to smoke nor vape on our hospital sites. I have been conducting patrols on a regular basis to educate staff as to this requirement.

For patients smoking on site, this can be more difficult to manage. It is not illegal to smoke outdoors on NHS property, but it is against our policy. We encourage our staff to challenge smokers when they are encountered but this is unfortunately often met with abuse from the people smoking on our hospital site.

The hospital has invested heavily in a new Treating Tobacco Dependency Service (TTDS) which aims to meet every hospital patient who smokes and offer addiction support whilst on our hospital site and this is already having a positive impact on smoking rates. I have been meeting with Matrons, our Communications team and our Chief Operating Officer about the instillation of stronger signage with very clear information about the affect of second hand smoke on our most vulnerable patients. I am continuing to monitor the problem and liaise with the Chief Executive on smoking breaches at RCHT. Our Chief Executive is resolved to maintain a smoke free site through education and support.

I hope the above has gone some way to assure you that RCHT is taking an active approach to tackling the problem you have raised in your feedback, and I would like to thank you again for bringing it to our attention.

Best wishes,

Gavin Griffiths

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