The ban on smoking at every NHS Tayside site continues to be flouted more than four years after it was first introduced.
NHS Tayside was the first health authority in Scotland to prohibit smoking across all sites, even to the extent of asking people not to smoke in their private cars in Ninewells Hospital’s car parks and elsewhere.
Now NHS Grampian is following that lead and seeking to introduce a total ban at their sites.
Ninewells site manager Brian Main warned that Grampian would face resistance from staff and public.
Management could insist staff abide by the policy but had no authority to insist members of the public didn’t smoke in the grounds and car parks.
He pointed out that national legislation bans smoking in enclosed public places but does not extend to open areas, so members of the public can only be asked to abide by the policy.
“We can only ask patients and visitors to put out their cigarette,” said Mr Main.
“We can only ask them to respect our policy on smoking but if they say they don’t respect it, and ask ‘What are you going to do about it?’, then we have to walk away.’Smoking clipe’NHS Tayside employed a smoking policy liaison officer, quickly dubbed the ‘smoking clipe’, to tour sites asking people to stub out their cigarettes, but he left last year and the health authority is still looking for a replacement.
When the smoking policy was introduced staff were warned they could be disciplined for any breaches, but in fact, Mr Main said that had not proved necessary.
Three members of staff were fined in January last year but that was for a breach of the law after a Dundee City Council enforcement officer spotted them smoking in a loading bay at Ninewells.
Staff were warned that areas such as external tunnels may be mistaken as “outside” when they are in fact enclosed in terms of the law.
Mr Main said he was not aware of any formal disciplinary action taken against staff for breaching the smoking policy during the last 18 months.
There had been a steady stream of staff members signing up for smoking cessation classes and the smoking policy was having a positive effect.
He conceded there were still people in pyjamas, trailing drip stands, standing smoking outside the entrance to Ninewells.
“It’s not perfect but we are now in a much better place than we were two or three years ago,” he said.
“There is 7000 staff on the Ninewells site. It is a small percentage of staff who continue to have a problem with the smoking ban.”