GUH ban smoking on its premises

snubbleste

GUH is to ban smoking on its properties at UHG and Merlin Park from this week. Noticed lines of blue paint decorating the threshold of the UHG entrances over the weekend.
Does anyone know how this will be policed or are there sanctions?
Given that approx a third of adults smoke, does this mean we will be witnessing a line of citizens strung along Newcastle Road & gathering at the westside roundabout at all hours and all weathers in wheelchairs, nursing uniforms & dragging drips with them?

yeehaw

Your 1/3 figure is too high. It is less than 1/4 and falling.

Will they be wearing all that gear together?

Smokers are jokers my man. Move with the times.

KittyeeTrix

That may be the case Yeehaw but it is pretty unfair to make people go the distance to the hospital entrances in the kind of weather we get in Galway to have a smoke!!!:(

stargazer 68

Don't think GUH are going to be the last. A few of the major hospitals are looking into trialing this too.

dilallio

I wonder how successful it will be.

A sizeable minority of smokers will still light up, no matter what.

Are there any plans to provide nicotine replacement threapy (patches / gum / etc) for patients?

stargazer 68

dilallio wrote: »

I wonder how successful it will be.

A sizeable minority of smokers will still light up, no matter what.

Are there any plans to provide nicotine replacement threapy (patches / gum / etc) for patients?

Hospitals already do that if patients want them

biko

It common in other countries, e.g. Sweden, Australia, ... to have smoking prohibited on hospital grounds.
Staff are often given free advice on how to stop smoking. I suppose hardcore smokers can still buy and use e-cigarettes.

irisheddie85

As someone who doesn't smoke but is in the hospitial regularily, I think this is a good thing.
There is nothing worse than having to force your way out the door through a crowd of people smoking as close to the door as possible.
UCHG did have a gazebo beside the main door for smokers just around the corner but i once heard a group of smokers outside the main door complain that the smoke in the gazebo was terrible so they wouldn't use it.
If smokers aren't willing to be beside other smokers why should non-smokers have to put up with it

BhoscaCapall

I'm a smoker and I support this.

It's horrible having to walk out doorways where there's 10 people huddled around having a smoke, I can only imagine what it's like when you're ill.

I don't really agree with how much smokers have been criminalised in recent times, but a lot of the leeway afforded to them is ridiculous. Fag breaks at work should be made illegal, I don't know any other addictions that employers are happy to support in such a way.

Sad state of affairs when someone who likes to unwind with a few friends smoking a joint is a criminal, but it's ok to go and get your nicotine hit every few hours on company time.

KittyeeTrix

I think the issue of people having cig breaks while on work time is a separate issue and has nothing to do with the people who are temporarily resident in the hospital having a cigarette

By all means introduce a ban on employees smoking on their work time:)

Stench Blossoms

I'd be very much in favour of this.

I believe this was introduced in James hospital in Blanchardtown a few years ago.

KittyeeTrix

See, I'm a smoker and to be honest I don't smoke much during the day at all so a ban of this sort would not bother me at all......

however, if I was stuck in the hospital for any considerable length of time and had to trudge out to the main gates of the hospital for a cigarette I would really hate it. I just think it's pretty excessive.

Why not enforce the rule that smoking is limited to the gazebo thingys which i'd imagine would take the same effort as to enforce the rule of no smoking on the whole property??

snubbleste

So what happens if someone decides to light up behind a hedge or crouch down behind a car and are noticed by enforcement (who are they?) ?
What if you are walking through the property taking a short-cut and light up?

KittyeeTrix

snubbleste wrote: »

So what happens if someone decides to light up behind a hedge or crouch down behind a car and are noticed by enforcement (who are they?) ?
What if you are walking through the property taking a short-cut and light up?

I dunno......I suppose they will be fined!! That's usually the penalty for these kind of things.

I wonder too if people will be sitting in their cars puffing away.

Car park will look like multiple stacks of little chimneys:D

Mrs OBumble

KittyeeTrix wrote: »

however, if I was stuck in the hospital for any considerable length of time and had to trudge out to the main gates of the hospital for a cigarette I would really hate it. I just think it's pretty excessive.

If you are sick enough to need to be in hospital, then surely smoking - which has no health benefits, and a lot of very well documented negative side-effects - is the last thing you should be doing.

IMHO the only negative is that we don't actually have enough mental-health professionals with the training to treat substance abusers who need to get off nicotene.

ScumLord

BhoscaCapall wrote: »

Fag breaks at work should be made illegal, I don't know any other addictions that employers are happy to support in such a way.

Maybe but with most jobs your supposed to take a 10 minute break every hour. Especially if your sitting in front of a computer, so it makes no difference you should be on a break either way.

KittyeeTrix

If you are sick enough to need to be in hospital, then surely smoking - which has no health benefits, and a lot of very well documented negative side-effects - is the last thing you should be doing.

Good lord, I wondered how long it would take for someone to fire in with this old debate.............:rolleyes:

I'll be sure to pass that on to the 85 yr old I may possibly see in the lashing of rains out on University Rd if this banning happens.

I'm sure they'll be terribly appreciative of it!!

Again I'll ask>>>>>>>>>>
Why not enforce the rule that smoking is limited to the gazebo thingys which i'd imagine would take the same effort as to enforce the rule of no smoking on the whole property??

yeehaw

ScumLord wrote: »

Maybe but with most jobs your supposed to take a 10 minute break every hour. Especially if your sitting in front of a computer, so it makes no difference you should be on a break either way.

Go on out of that. Surely that 10 minutes is your lunchbreak? 1 hour off= 6 hours work plus 20 minutes @ 11am = 10 minutes break for every hour of an 8 hour working day. This does not mean you get an additional 10 minutes every hour to smoke.

And it's you're.

Mrs OBumble

ScumLord wrote: »

Maybe but with most jobs your supposed to take a 10 minute break every hour. Especially if your sitting in front of a computer, so it makes no difference you should be on a break either way.

10 minutes away from the computer is not the same as 10 minutes not working.

snubbleste

KittyeeTrix wrote: »

Again I'll ask>>>>>>>>>>
Why not enforce the rule that smoking is limited to the gazebo thingys which i'd imagine would take the same effort as to enforce the rule of no smoking on the whole property??

I presume it is symbolic, to reinforce the health implications and general incompatibality of smoking in relation to healthcare provision.
This time next year, we'll be wondering how we ever thought it acceptable for people to smoke in hospital car parks.

Iwannahurl

UHG is officially part of the Health Promoting Hospital Network, AFAIK.

IMO that should mean facilitating people to quit smoking, rather than to continue doing so.

That gazebo is ugly, as is the sight of people huddled in or near it. The smoke drifting up the corridor towards the Maternity Unit is also vile, in my experience.

I hope HSE West is offering nicotine replacement and smoking cessation support as a matter of routine. (They're already plying mothers with free infant formula in the maternity ward, BTW, but that's another story).

Smokers have to do without inhaling tobacco fumes on long haul flights, for example, so why not in a hospital?

KittyeeTrix

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Smokers have to do without inhaling tobacco fumes on long haul flights, for example, so why not in a hospital?

The main problem i would see with this is that there are not many long haul flights that would be longer than 1-2 days or even in excess of weeks......

yermanoffthetv

KittyeeTrix wrote: »

Good lord, I wondered how long it would take for someone to fire in with this old debate.............:rolleyes:

I'll be sure to pass that on to the 85 yr old I may possibly see in the lashing of rains out on University Rd if this banning happens.

I'm sure they'll be terribly appreciative of it!!

Again I'll ask>>>>>>>>>>
Why not enforce the rule that smoking is limited to the gazebo thingys which i'd imagine would take the same effort as to enforce the rule of no smoking on the whole property??

This was the exact situation with my nan (82) getting a hip replacement in Limerick. Look if you dont smoke,fine fair play to you, but you have to realise that everone has some vice and this is unfair at best. In my nans case the nurses let her smoke out on the balconey and said nothing (most nures I know smoke btw) At least have one designated are out the back where people can go and not get drenched.

Iwannahurl

KittyeeTrix wrote: »

The main problem i would see with this is that there are not many long haul flights that would be longer than 1-2 days or even in excess of weeks......

Perhaps, but in the past much BS was spouted by smokers about how they were being criminalised and how their rights were being trampled on when smoking was banned on flights of any duration.

There was a bit of hoo-ha when the workplace smoking ban was introduced here some years ago, but in fact many smokers supported it. I doubt that many smokers -- including long-term nicotine addicts -- are truly happy with their state of dependence.

KittyeeTrix

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Perhaps, but in the past much BS was spouted by smokers about how they were being criminalised and how their rights were being trampled on when smoking was banned on flights of any duration.

There was a bit of hoo-ha when the workplace smoking ban was introduced here some years ago, but in fact many smokers supported it. I doubt that many smokers -- including long-term nicotine addicts -- are truly happy with their state of dependence.

Again you keep missing my point..............

I have no problem with smoking not being allowed on planes and right into the faces of non-smokers. To expect to be able to smoke in such a situation is ridiculous in my opinion and so you may move on for that side of your argument....

Whether longterm smokers are happy with their state of dependence is frankly not the issue here as I've already said to Just Mary:(

The issue is that the hospital could enforce a "smoking only permitted in the gazebo" rule just as easily/efficiently as they seem to be planning to do with the "no smoking permitted on the hospital grounds" rule.

It means
1. The smell of smoke won't be wafting up to the maternity unit up that very very long long corridor as one poster suggested

2. The hoardes of smokers huddled at the front doors could be eliminated and thereby allow the non-smokers unhindered access to the hospital building

3. Smokers will then not have to stand outside the hospital in the Galway weather we all know so well. (today being a prime example)

I cannot see in which way that would not suit smoker and non-smoker alike??

Also, what about residents in hospitals such as Merlin Park......How in blazes could you expect to enact such a rule with the distance there a patient would have to venture in order to smoke if they wished????

Seaneh

I'm an out patient in St. Vincents University Hospital in Dublin and they have had the policy for years, signs up all over the place saying smoking is banned on hospital grounds, doesn't stop people just crossing the road from the front door, sitting on a bench and lighting up.

KittyeeTrix

Seaneh wrote: »

I'm an out patient in St. Vincents University Hospital in Dublin and they have had the policy for years, signs up all over the place saying smoking is banned on hospital grounds, doesn't stop people just crossing the road from the front door, sitting on a bench and lighting up.

Hi Seaneh,
I'm not familiar with St. Vincents.... but do you mean that they are still within the confines of the hospital property or do they actually leave it?

Seaneh

KittyeeTrix wrote: »

Hi Seaneh,
I'm not familiar with St. Vincents.... but do you mean that they are still within the confines of the hospital property or do they actually leave it?

The signs say "Smoking is prohibited on hospital grounds", the grounds are huge and go all the way from the front door to Merrion road on one side and Nutley lane on the other. and then the other two sides are the elm park golf club and Gowan motors.

People don't leave the grounds though, they just walk across the road from the door to the the benches.

KittyeeTrix

Seaneh wrote: »

The signs say "Smoking is prohibited on hospital grounds", the grounds are huge and go all the way from the front door to Merrion road on one side and Nutley lane on the other. and then the other two sides are the elm park golf club and Gowan motors.

People don't leave the grounds though, they just walk across the road from the door to the the benches.

I see, maybe the same thing then is to happen in Galway......Thanks:)

I honestly have no problem with non-smokers not wanting to breathe in cig fumes (Why would they?) but to suggest a patient would have to walk from the doors of a unit in Merlin Park hospital to the gates out the front is a bit ludicrous!

Seaneh

Oh, and by the way, I feel the Hospital is not only within their rights to ban smoking on their grounds, but I think it's a great idea and hope they enforce the ruling a lot more efficiently than I've seen the lads in St. Vincents doing so.


Nothing worse than the smell of stale smoke when walking into or out of a building. It's already annoying that nowhere in the country enforces the law (no smoking within 10 meters of the enterance of a public building).


Next up should be bus stops.

I f*cking hate sitting at a bus stop and having to move because some gomey c*nt lights up a fag instead of pissing off outside where the wind will carry the smoke away.

mikom

Coming soon:

MIKOMS car window tinting service.
Find us across from UCHG.

ScumLord

yeehaw wrote: »

Go on out of that. Surely that 10 minutes is your lunchbreak?

No, if your only getting ten minutes for your lunch break no wonder you don't know about the other breaks your supposed to take. It's on health grounds that you take the break, it reduces RSI and back injuries, they should have had a safety meeting at your workplace where you should have been told about this and other things like how to lift a box.

JustMary wrote: »

10 minutes away from the computer is not the same as 10 minutes not working.

It is if your work centres around computers. Are you going to go sweeping floors during your break because I'm sure most would see being made do something else that's not int their job description as an insult.

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Smokers have to do without inhaling tobacco fumes on long haul flights, for example, so why not in a hospital?

No body smokes in a hospital, everyone smokes outside an airport, they don't go back out to the motorway for a fag.

KittyeeTrix

Seaneh wrote: »

I f*cking hate sitting at a bus stop and having to move because some gomey c*nt lights up a fag instead of pissing off outside where the wind will carry the smoke away.

Woah, point made loud and clear:eek:

Gold Leaf Tea

This system is very common in the UK, where ironically, the very same hospitals with extreme anti-smoking hospitals have inhouse McDonalds and Burger Kings . Anyway, this same system is being rolled out gradually throughout Irish hospitals. A similar system has been in place in CUH for two years now. They have an 'officer' in charge of it who patrols around with her clip board making sure smokers are behaving themselves and is paid 40k a year for the priviledge. It isn't popular in CUH with either staff or patients, but they do have to walk further than one will in GUH, so going for a smoke eats into staff breaks considerably. I doubt it will prove particularly popular in GUH either. I know that they have staff sanctions in place for those caught smoking within hospital grounds in CUH, but I have no idea if they do anything to patients. They were extremely strict about it initially, but they seem a bit more relaxed now.

Such measures might seem extreme, but GUH is a university teaching hospital, and they should be doing what they can to promote good health. Discouraging smoking is definitely part of this. A covered in gazebo for the smokers, situated right beside the hospital door doesn't do much for this to be fair, and it is something that a hospital should be at least seen to be discouraging. Nothing worse than seeing a patient still on a drip standing outside the hospital puffing away, IMO anyway, and don't get me started on the heavily preggers women puffing away there too, one of the most ignorant displays you'll ever see!

Spacedog

Why not have an out of the way, well ventilated "smoking room" that has food and tea/coffee, A telly and maybe an x-box360 ...and foosball/airhocky. everyone's happy.

wintersolstice

i dont think you can sit in your car in the grounds and smoke either.also its going to cost a fortune to supply smokers with nicotine patches while in hospital.awful waste of hse money.

Gold Leaf Tea

Spacedog wrote: »

Why not have an out of the way, well ventilated "smoking room" that has food and tea/coffee, A telly and maybe an x-box360 ...and foosball/airhocky. everyone's happy.

Sure, why not provide the cigarettes for free for the smokers too:rolleyes:

KittyeeTrix

Spacedog wrote: »

Why not have an out of the way, well ventilated "smoking room" that has food and tea/coffee, A telly and maybe an x-box360 ...and foosball/airhocky. everyone's happy.

Finally, a voice of reason:D:D

maybe throw in one of those massage chairs or two??:p

ScumLord

Spacedog wrote: »

Why not have an out of the way, well ventilated "smoking room" that has food and tea/coffee, A telly and maybe an x-box360 ...and foosball/airhocky. everyone's happy.

Because non-smokers now hate the very sight of a smoker. They spend most of their day fuming at the thought of anyone smoking anywhere.

Robbo

Spacedog wrote: »

Why not have an out of the way, well ventilated "smoking room" that has food and tea/coffee, A telly and maybe an x-box360 ...and foosball/airhocky. everyone's happy.

Play your cards right and it could be the setting of a finely observed award winning sitcom.

What becomes of a patient who's caught smoking in one of the demilitarised zones? Fined? Intravenous lines yanked out? Denied access to all but homeopathic "remedies"?

inisboffin

Here's a linky to Citizen's information to help clear up how many breaks people are entitled to:rolleyes:

It's a tough call, yes the hospital does have to be seen to not encourage poor health choices, but as someone mentioned (with Mc D's and BK's ref) - this is selective.
I agree that smoking at hospital doors is nuts, but kicking people out to the road is not dealing with the problem, it is pushing it out to be someone else's problem. Who will clean butts on the road regularly, if all the smokers are coming from the hospital, surely they will have some responsibility?

A covered area well away from the door, but reachable does seem like a reasonable solution, but such Gazebos in Dublin are nasty when packed and you pass them.

Lots of psychiatric facilities let the patients smoke on balconies, as they may not be able/allowed to leave grounds.

There's a 25 foot rule in some States in the US (it's pretty daft, and randomly enforced), where you can't smoke within 25 feet of a door or window in public. Now imagine that on Quay St!

You could trial the bus stop thing, have certain bus stops be non smoking for example, but you may someone smoking 2 inches away in the rain and it won't be any different. Government needs the revenue.

MyPeopleDrankTheSoup

Gold Leaf Tea wrote: »

This system is very common in the UK, where ironically, the very same hospitals with extreme anti-smoking hospitals have inhouse McDonalds and Burger Kings

What's ironic about that? There's nothing inherently unhealthy about McDonalds or Burger King food, it's just the calories and quantities that some people eat.

While smoking:

KittyeeTrix

inisboffin wrote: »

. Government needs the revenue.

EDIT: Off topic so nevermind!!!

inisboffin

KittyeeTrix wrote: »

EDIT: Off topic so nevermind!!!

Sorry, I shouldn't have put that in, it was more the inner rant in my own head speaking!

Seaneh

inisboffin wrote: »

Government needs the revenue.

Smoking costs the state more in health care than they state receives in taxes.

BhoscaCapall

Seaneh wrote: »

Next up should be bus stops.

I f*cking hate sitting at a bus stop and having to move because some gomey c*nt lights up a fag instead of pissing off outside where the wind will carry the smoke away.

Agreed. Smoking always gives me the boke when sober, especially if I'm hungover. Amount of times I've been queuing to get on Bus Eireann the morning after and been stuck behind some aul wan who decides to chain-smoke 2 king size fags before she gets on I always end up down wind too.

I'd actually prefer if the smoking ban was reversed, and pubs were the only places you could smoke. Nobody goes there for the sake of their health!

joeKel73

Ah I was wondering what those blue lines were about!

inisboffin

Seaneh wrote: »

inisboffin wrote: »

Government needs the revenue.

Smoking costs the state more in health care than they state receives in taxes.

I realise that is likely the case. But still remember tv smoking ads in my lifetime. It was said with a note of sarcasm, part of a longer Govt rant!

hoody

This is a great idea, hope people abide by it and it becomes the norm for all hospitals nationwide to ban smoking on their grounds.

martyboy48

How will this be enforced?? Say i'm having a smoke, some smoking warden or such comes up to me to get me to stop.. What can he actually do and what are the consequences, a fine??
Not being skangerlike, just genuinly interested in how it will work/be enforced???

mikom

It won't be enforced.
At a rough guess I reckon about 80% of the nurses in both units smoke.