We sign up to go smokefree with NHS pledge

Our Trust has signed the NHS Smokefree Pledge to show our commitment to helping smokers to quit and keeping our sites smokefree.

The cost of smoking to the NHS in England is £2.5 billion every year, and 1 in 4 patients in hospital is a smoker. The pledge supports the Government’s commitment to achieve a smokefree future and reduce smoking rates to less than 5 percent.

The NHS Smokefree Pledge has been designed by the Smokefree Action Coalition and is endorsed by NHS England, Public Health England and the Public Health Minister, Steve Brine MP. It was signed by chief executive Rob Webster, chair Angela Monaghan, and medical director Dr Subha Thiyagesh.

By signing the pledge, our Trust will ensure that smokers within the NHS have access to the right kind of support to help them quit.

South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust runs the successful Yorkshire Smokefree service, which provides personalised expert NHS advice and support for anyone who wants to stop smoking.

The service is available in Barnsley, Calderdale, Doncaster, Sheffield and Wakefield.

Trust chair Angela Monaghan said: “We are delighted to support this pledge as we head towards England’s first smokefree generation. Smoking has a huge impact on health and NHS resources and we want to commit to reducing this burden. Having already helped thousands of people quit smoking through Yorkshire Smokefree, signing the pledge further demonstrates our commitment.”