why can't Hospitals enforce the 'no smoking' areas outside?

Andy From Sligo

I wonder why hospitals cannot enforce the no smoking rules they have in place once and for all successfully.

I was outside our local hospital (temporary entrance) waiting to be picked up on Friday and a Sign on the wall (well signs) "This is a no Smoking Campus" - No smoking allowed in any area of the hospital and its grounds .... and opposite the sign People standing around smoking. On the floor a load of discarded cigarette butts . Even the signs had "CCTV camera's are in operation" underneath the bit that said No Smoking.

Earlier on I was waiting to go into the ED department, (the Ambulances park up there now at the old Main entrance) whilst I was waiting to go in a young female paramedic lit up a fag and smoked it whilst her colleagues stood around chatting ... near the "No Smoking in this area" sign - she even turned the cigarette into her hands like 'hiding it' as if to try and say "I am not smoking honestly!" as the smell of smoke wafted over to the ED doors.

Once in the ED waiting rooms people/patients popping out for smokes (rollies and cigarettes) right by the ED waiting room doors and windows, coming back into the waiting room reeking of stale cigarette smoke and then coughing their guts up as they come back into the ED wailing room with smelly fag breath

how comes things like that can be well signposted , a plan put in place but never can be enforced properly? - makes you wonder if the plan in the first place is needed if people are just going to blatantly not take any notice and do what they want.

I suppose its the same all across the country with other hospitals or has anyone come across a hospital where it says no smoking allowed and its actually enforced?

Arthur Pants

Smokers are jokers. Filthy habit.

All state owned / run facilities should be completely smoke free.

Pauliedragon

We're great at creating rules/laws in this country but awful at enforcing them. It's the oul sur it's grand mentality.

standardg60

There's no legislation to actually enforce it outside afaik, it only applies inside the building, so any signs are a request rather than a law.

Andy From Sligo

the do look quite official signs , I thought even one said there was a fine in place but I might be mistaken . Yes i suppose if the law of the land is that you can smoke outside then that would be conflicting with that . - mind you some countries I think are bringing in or have brought in that its illegal to smoke within so many meters of an open window or entrance to a building

Dtp1979

Cause Ireland is the most legislated and least regulated country.

folks that smoke on hospital grounds are generally scumbags that don’t follow the law on the best of days.

as for women who smoke whilst heavily pregnant at the hospital entrance….. utter low lives

Victor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120858733#Comment_120858733

The hospital could of course ask people to leave.

The problem is it's an addiction. Completely stopping people is difficult. Hospitals try at least to keep them away from former smokers, cancer patients and people with oxygen tanks (WHOOSH!).

There was of course a bunch of lads in my local hospital using a bong.

stargazer 68

Well on the grounds of beaumont there is no smoking however it isn't enforced. You see people at the front doors with oxygen tanks smoking!

When it was first brought in they tried to enforce it however staff got so much abuse from the public they refused to do it so that was the end of that.

zell12

as for women who smoke whilst heavily pregnant at the hospital entrance….. utter low lives

I've seen this a number of times. It is horrible

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120859367#Comment_120859367

I'm not even sure about whether they can, a public hospital is public, so unless you're breaking a law, which i assume you aren't, they can't ask you to leave either.

The HSE should blast them with piss.

freshpopcorn

I think if hospitals were resourced better

Ie,

There wasn't queues of people waiting to be seen or on trolleys.

People who were having mental health issues had access to better care.

The staff had more support when dealing with abusive patients.

If these issues were dealt with then they could focus on the no smoking policy.

gameoverdude

Because my father inlaw with lung cancer fancies one.

Arthur Pants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120859391#Comment_120859391

I used to walk past the Holles Street Maternity Hospital on my way to work in the morning, I'd often see a heavily pregnant lady having a biff at the door in her dressing gown. I ended up changing my route to avoid. Scummy behaviour.

Montage of Feck

The saddest thing that I'd ever seen

Were smokers outside the hospital doors

elperello

The no smoking campus idea is impossible to enforce without employing a warden and imposing fines.

That would cost money and create a lot of work for administrators. Not to mention the stress and conflict.

Might be better to provide a comfortable segregated area and let them at it.

chosen1

Whoever came up with the idea of no smoking campuses in every hospital in Ireland was clearly either deluded that it would work or incredibly naive.

Like it or not, many patients will be addicted and will of course want to smoke. It's still a legal product for adults in this country so they should have designated smoking areas far away from the main public entrances.

Now we have a worse problem where people, including those who are sick have to walk by people smoking and blowing their smoke around the main entry area and security can't divert them to a better place to do it.

65535

The truth is that everyone gives up smoking - eventually.

I saw a man in a wheelchair with one leg smoking outside Tallaght Hospital.

Get a Vape - get max nicotine - stop buying analogue cigarettes -

Cigarettes and tobacco need to be prescription only

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120859313#Comment_120859313

At least 15 years ago i was in Boston, and the hotel had an outside dining area, so i lit up after eating. I was informed by the waitress, rather loudly as they do, that i couldn't smoke there and would have to go up to the street, where there actually was a dedicated smoking area sign, so laws certainly do exist in other countries.

Would i want that here seeing as i smoke? Nah that's overkill. I've smoked outside hospitals, but because i'm not an a-hole i'll go somewhere where i'm not affecting anyone, i wouldn't want someone's smoke being blown in my face at an entrance either, so for me it's more to do with the person's inconsideration than anything else.

Interestingly, and probably little known, i've been in an internal 'smoking room' in a hospital before, and one in Dublin airport.

65535

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120859368#Comment_120859368

Beaumont actually has a small smoking 'gazebo' but for staff as far as I know.

downtheroad

Both times I've been to Holles St with my wife we've had to navigate by smokers, both hospital staff and heavily pregnant women in dressing gowns, at the front door of the hospital.

Disgraceful behaviour

I made a complaint both times to Holles St, and got the same stock answer, pure copy and paste job, to both complaints.

The last time there was a sign there saying no smoking here, and people smoking standing beside said sign.

Their kids don't stand a chance. Tusla should be called in to have a hard chat with any dirtbag mothers smoking wile pregnant.

Victor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120859419#Comment_120859419

They might be publicly-owned, but they are not public places. It's not like anyone can just rock up there and sleep in one of the beds for the night.

Andy From Sligo

most probably in today's suing culture they would most probably cite "smokers public rights infringement" - wait for it to go to court and be awarded 50grand in damages ... not only be antisocial and smoking in a no smoking area but also be quids in at the bank , kerching!

HBC08

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058305273/why-cant-hospitals-enforce-the-no-smoking-areas-outside

Who's going to enforce it? What law is being broken?

Andy From Sligo

the way they say 'Campus' suggests to me that its not public property but that its Hospital property/grounds... and then can they not decide what rules they want to invoke?

SuperBowserWorld

Why do people buy loads of crap they don't need, travel everywhere by private car, fly, etc etc ... when it's causing climate change and will make it impossible to live in possibly large parts of the world. 🤣

Swaine

Maybe mind your own business and stay away from smokers if it bothers you so much. You're allowed smoke outside.

SuperBowserWorld

I have to visit someone in hospital regularly. People smoking outside the door used to get on my nerves, especially with the whole covid masking thing too. Now I don't really care anymore. It's all just a big circus. It might make sense to actually have a large smoking room for people to smoke in.

Andy From Sligo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120859610#Comment_120859610

That's what I have trouble getting my head around staff / doctors /nurses / paramedics know more than anyone else the dangers of smoking and what it can do and yet it seems its one of those professions (along with modelling etc..) where there is a high percentage of smokers - but then on the other hand must be a very stressful job working in the health service maybe that's why a lot of them smoke

Potential-Monke

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120860050#Comment_120860050

That'd be grand if the smokers didn't smoke right outside entrances. Hospitals could have dedicated smoking areas, but unless they're right outside the entrances, people won't use them. Maybe they should mind their business and not smoke where non-smokers have to pass through? I say this as a technical /off smoker.

Andy From Sligo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120859551#Comment_120859551

as a non-smoker its so much nicer to be around people that Vape instead of normal fags .. some of those vapes actually smell quite nice as well.... of course the jury is still out how safe they actually are for the person vaping them .

Maybe if the hospitals had a sign/signs saying 'Vaping allowed - Smoking not' then there would only be vapes at the entrances and around open windows of the buildings (less litter on the floor in the form of cigarette butts around the entrances) but now some of the health people are not fans of vaping now it seems saying the chemicals in vapes are just as dangerous from what they can gather at the moment