New home for Barnsley Smokefree
Yorkshire Smokefree Barnsley, provided by South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, is moving to a stall on the town’s brand new Market Parade.
The service is relocating from the Quit Shop on Eldon Street and will officially open in the market on Monday 13 March 2017. The service’s re-launch follows the grand opening of the brand-new Market Parade on Saturday 11 March. The new building features 73 stalls, plus four cafes.
The service has already been trialling a small presence in the markets. This has been open on Mondays for the past few months. The full change of premises follows best practice from another Yorkshire Smokefree area. In Sheffield a move from a city centre office to the Moor Market has helped the team save cash and increased the number of quitters. Following the move the Sheffield service has been shortlisted in the ‘improving value through innovative financial management or procurement category’ of the HSJ (Health Service Journal) Value in Healthcare awards.
Zoe Styring, Health and Wellbeing Service Manager, said: “Being in the market makes great sense for the team and we have had promising results from our initial small presence there.
“Barnsley’s bustling markets attract thousands of people each week – many of whom are waiting for the right support to help them to stop smoking.
“Being there allows us to reach out to those unfamiliar or previously unable to use our service.”
In Barnsley, Yorkshire Smokefree runs stop-smoking support across the borough on behalf of PSS under the Be Well Barnsley programme. Be Well Barnsley is commissioned by Barnsley Council.
Claire Gray from Be Well Barnsley, said “Stopping smoking is a key part of our work and we are embracing innovative new ideas such as this to improve public health in Barnsley.
“Being in the market will enable the service to engage with some of our hard-to-reach communities who might not feel comfortable walking into an office for a formal appointment.”
Yorkshire Smokefree Barnsley is making progress on getting local people to quit. According to Public Health England’s annual population survey; the number of adults smoking in Barnsley dropped by 13% between 2012 and 2015.
Yorkshire Smokefree recently launched a new campaign aimed at workplaces across the region which is supported by Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce. The service is promoting the message that “stopping smoking is everyone’s business” as part of a year-long campaign which is targeting routine and manual workers, who are the biggest group of smokers across region.
There are lots of ways to give up smoking and there is help to find a way tailored to each individual’s specific needs. Some clients may get free stop smoking medications depending on eligibility. For more information people should call Yorkshire Smokefree for advice and tips on quitting smoking: 0800 612 0011 (free from landlines) or 0330 660 1166 (free from mobiles) or visit the website yorkshiresmokefree.nhs.uk