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my experience and treatment

Story from nhs.uk

"my experience and treatment"

About: St Georges Hospital Site (Morpeth)

I was admitted in december 2014 on a volantary basis for treatment of depression,anxiety and panic attacks.I have to say that without exception all the staff were very professional and helpful.The medical help I received is helping me a great deal and I now feel much more confident about my future.I would like to thank everyone concerned for their help.

There is only one negative I would like to add to my view and that is the forthcoming smoking ban for the patients.As someone who has spent over a week there I can say that in my opinion this ban is cruel on the residents.They already have no access to alcohol(that,of course I can understand)but I witnessed how important a cigarette was to them....to me it seems like someone is taking away there only comfort.I don't suppose my view will change anything but I can only foresee it causing problems both to the patients and staff who will have to try and stop them.I can only hope that someone in authority reviews this ruling.

regards

Alan Picton

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Responses

Response from St Georges Hospital Site (Morpeth) 8 years ago
St Georges Hospital Site (Morpeth)

Submitted on 08/03/2016 at 08:04
Published on nhs.uk on 09/03/2016 at 01:31

We would like to thank you for your positive feedback regarding your experience at St Georges Park Hospital.

We value your comments and these will be shared with our staff.

In relation to your concern regarding NTW becoming a smokefree Trust – this is not a decision that has been taken lightly and is the last step in a long process. As an NHS organisation, we have a duty of care for our patients. This includes not only their mental wellbeing, but also their physical health, and as an NHS healthcare provider we feel that we need to take positive steps to improve the health of our service users at every opportunity.

It is our responsibility to support patients towards healthier lifestyles. We know that by going smokefree we are doing something positive for the health of our service users. There are huge health benefits to going smokefree, and by stopping smoking our service users may also need smaller doses of some medications and can recover more quickly. We are only introducing smokefree sites in conjunction with a significant increase in support to help people abstain from smoking on-site. We will be ensuring that all our service users are supported by specially trained staff to deal with cravings and withdrawal symptoms through a programme of nicotine management.

We will be able to offer our service users nicotine replacement products (such as patches, inhalators and lozenges) very quickly following their admission and will make sure that they get enough nicotine to keep them comfortable and craving-free. Service users will be able to either temporarily abstain from smoking whilst they are on Trust sites, or make a sustained quit attempt.

We know that smoking kills one in two of all lifelong smokers and therefore by going smokefree we are helping our service users to live longer.

We appreciate you taking the time to comment on your experience and raise your concerns.

All feedback is valuable and is used to help us continually improve the services that we provide.

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