Health bosses are struggling to enforce a smoking ban on hospital grounds.
Earlier this year, NHS Grampian banned patients and staff from lighting up in hospitals and grounds, including at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen and Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin.
Members of the NHS Grampian board heard that smoking within hospital and health centre grounds had “markedly reduced” since the ban came into force on April 2 – but that even some of the staff were still finding it hard to kick the habit.
A report to the board revealed “many” NHS Grampian staff still continue to smoke just outside site boundaries with a coat on to hide their official uniforms.
It also stated that although 1,170 staff had been briefed on how best to deal with troublesome smokers, a “small, identifiable patient group at Foresterhill consistently refuse to comply” with the new rules.
Staff are also struggling to enforce the no-smoking rule at Woodend Hospital, with one unit’s patients finding “difficult to comprehend and staff are being supported to find solutions”.
The board also noted that they had received complaints from residents living close to NHS Grampian sites in Aberdeen and Elgin, highlighting the issue of cigarette butts being dropped around the outskirts of areas where smoking is banned.
As part of the ban, in-patients suffering from smoking withdrawals have been offered nicotine replacements during their stay at NHS Grampian’s health facilities.