The Royal Oldham Hospital is a smoke free site and our inpatient Tobacco Dependency Team work incredibly hard to encourage patients who are smokers, and admitted for care, to quit the habit.
We know that the best chance to become smoke-free is with the help of a stop smoking specialist and using effective evidence-based treatment such as Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). More than 25 per cent of smokers say that they want to stop with NRT being a useful quit aid that helps to relieve cravings.
Sarah Wray, Specialist Nurse said: “Giving up smoking is easier and more successful with the right support and highly effective evidence-based treatments such as NRT. By working collaboratively, we are more likely to make it happen for our patients. When patients are admitted to the hospital it is an opportune moment to discuss their smoking habits and the impact it can have on their health.
“The Royal Oldham Hospital is a smoke-free site, and we need to do what we can to encourage patients that are in our care to abstain from smoking sooner rather than later. Together we can support all in-patients who smoke to become healthier and wealthier, sooner.”
You can find out more about how you can stop smoking by visiting the Greater Manchester NHS webpage
Meet the Oldham CURE team - Inpatient Tobacco Dependency Service
What is CURE abbreviated for?
CURE is an acronym chosen specifically to help people understand that smoking is a disease that needs curing and not a lifestyle choice.
C: Communication by starting a discussion with someone who smokes to provide advice and signpost to appropriate services
U: Understand the level of dependency the patient has
R: Replace the nicotine found in a cigarette with a clean form of nicotine known as Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) to help relieve cravings/withdrawal symptoms
E: Evidence-based and expert advice
Describe a typical day in your department
Our day starts with organising and delegating the work for the day and we then make our way up to the ward to see the patients. We use a counselling technique known as ‘Motivational Interviewing’ to understand what factors will help or hinder the patient to quit smoking. Some patients just want support to relieve their cravings whilst they are in the hospital knowing it is a smoke-free hospital, some patients want all the support provided, and others choose not to accept any. We get the NRT prescribed and speak to our nurse to discuss what we have done and advise on the use of the products.
Tell us an interesting fact about your department/service
We piloted a referral scheme at The Royal Oldham Hospital whereby patients could be referred to a local pharmacy for ongoing support to quit smoking once home. The pilot was a success and has now gone live nationally.
We were nominated for an award but sadly did not win. On the positive, patients now have more choices than ever before about where they want to access support from.