NHS Smokefree Pledge – a New Year boost for patients’ quit attempts
NHS England has launched the NHS Smokefree Pledge, an update to the NHS Statement of Support for Tobacco Control.
The Pledge will prioritise treating tobacco dependence among patients and staff, delivering on the Five Year Forward View aim of smokefree NHS premises and working collaboratively across the NHS and local government to ensure smokers receive the support they need.
This commitment will support healthcare professionals’ work in supporting patients to quit smoking, especially those who may have already relapsed since making their New Year resolutions.
January is an opportune time to offer patients a brief intervention and professional support to stop smoking. PCRS-UK believes that treating tobacco dependency is the business of every healthcare professional and encourages healthcare professionals to see tobacco dependency as a long term relapsing condition that starts in childhood.
PCRS-UK Chair Noel Baxter says: “The NHSE Smokefree Pledge is a step towards enabling health commissioner, provider and local authority partners to come together to plan how to reduce the harm from tobacco in the populations they are responsible for. 46 CCGs and a smaller number of hospital trusts have signed the pledge. Follow this link to see if your trust or locality has signed up. If they have, ask what they are doing to make this a reality. If they haven’t then use PCRS-UK and ASH resources to help make your local case."
PCRS-UK tobacco dependency resources:
The following PCRS-UK resources can be used in your practice. Why not also share them with your managers and commissioners, pointing out that every patient that stops smoking helps to reduce sickness and frees up valuable NHS resources.
- An article about the role of the healthcare professional in treating tobacco dependency
- A wall chart which sets out how you can help your patients to quit and how staff can access VBA (Very Brief Advice) training
- An article explaining why a carbon monoxide test is an essential part of every GP and practice nurse's kit