On the second anniversary of the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces in Wales, isn’t it about time it’s extended to all hospital grounds?The situation with this at the moment is that some Welsh NHS Trusts operate voluntary codes, but these aren’t enforceable by any laws or fines.
The BMA in Wales has campaigned before for smoking to be banned on all hospital grounds. In fact, we called on the Assembly Government to change the law to ensure hospitals were included in the smoking ban legislation, which came into effect two years ago today.
This wasn’t done, and now, more than ever, it seems absurd to have smoking outlawed in places such as pubs and restaurants. But on hospital grounds, where people go to be cured of illnesses, it isn’t. The very reason people visit hospitals is to increase their chances of getting better, not to potentially have their health threatened, by having to fight their way through clouds of cigarette smoke.
This anomaly’s recently been highlighted by North Wales NHS Trust, where security staff reportedly face 3,000 incidents of verbal abuse a year, as they try and enforce a ‘zero tolerance’ policy smoking on Trust grounds.
It seems logical that if it was actually made against the law to light up around hospitals, much of this abuse could be stamped out.
It really is time the Welsh Assembly Government addressed this issue and what better time than now, as we celebrate enclosed public places in Wales being smoke-free for the past two years.
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