Hospital smokers to be fined ahead of ban

The crackdown on smoking will be rolled out across Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust's sites for good from April if the trial is successful.

Smokers will initially be confined to 'shelters' – before a blanket ban on taking a drag is introduced in 2018.

There will be messages in the shelters giving smokers advice on how to quit and the procedures the NHS has that can help stop.

Hospital bosses rubber-stamped the plan at a meeting of the trust board yesterday.

Councillor Bob Lloyd, who sits on Sandwell Council's health scrutiny board, welcomed the move. He said: "We all know the harm that cigarettes do, particularly to people that are already in hospital.

"It's about supporting people and the Trust need to make sure there's a mechanism to encourage people to stop – you've got to have a carrot and a stick approach. If they take that step to give people a nudge then that might be all it takes to get them to stop."

The smoking shelters will be the only place people can smoke from February. If people are caught smoking anywhere else they would be slapped with a fixed penalty notice – although the level of fine has yet to be confirmed.

The policy will be brought in at Sandwell General, City and Rowley Regis Hospitals initially.

A zero tolerance ban will be introduced at all sites when the new Midland Metropolitan Hospital opens in 2018.

Councillor Lloyd added: "Maybe going into hospital will give people who smoke the realisation of the impacts of doing it.

"It might be a good time to go to people and ask 'why not change your life and stop smoking?'

"This makes sense, as long as there's both carrot and stick and it's not just being done to catch people out."

Toby Lewis, Chief Executive, said: "The Trust Board agreed five key measures related to smoking on Trust premises with our overall aim being to support people in stopping smoking. Our sites will be smoke-free by November 2018 shortly after our new Midland Met Hospital opens.

"We will from April 2016 have clear smoking shelters on our sites and will expect patients, visitors and staff to only smoke in these designated areas. This will apply to e-cigarettes also.

"The shelters will allow us to target stop smoking support in the right places. In line with that support we will pilot allowing staff to access stop smoking services during paid work time and we will introduce a fining regime on a trial basis at the same time, the fine being proportionate to our costs for keeping our sites litter-free."