UHNM appoint two specialist practitioners to help patients quit smoking

Patients at University Hospitals of North Midlands are to be given targeted support to quit smoking following the appointment of two specialist practitioners.  

Smoking Cessation Practitioners, Tony Roberts and Mario Picones joined the Trust to work with staff to increase the number of referrals to stop smoking clinics. The team are currently focusing on supporting the hospitals’ inpatients and plan to roll our advice and support to all patients over the next couple of months.

Tony said: “The appointment of Mario and myself is a fantastic opportunity for the Trust to really knuckle down on smoking. Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the UK and sadly, smoking in the Stoke-on-Trent area is disproportionately high when compared to the UK average and our main objective is to tackle this major health inequality hands on.”

Patients are screened upon admission and given advice and materials to help them to make the decision to stop smoking. Every patient is offered nicotine replacement therapy and a referral to an external clinic with further support available to patients who require additional help from Tony or Mario.

Tony added: “We aim to ensure that every healthcare professional is confident and competent to offer stop smoking assistance through the use of Nicotine Replacement Therapy and referrals to external stop smoking services. This ensures that every patient gets the best possible opportunity to stop smoking and improve their health and well-being, reducing their chance of readmission.”