To coincide with Non Smoking Day on Wednesday 12th March, the Smoking Cessation Team at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) are reminding both patients and staff about the support they offer to help them stop smoking.
This year, the team is focusing on the importance of “Why Quit?”. Quitting smoking has shown to have a wealth of benefits, including boosting mental and physical health, relieving stress, anxiety and depression, while also saving money. As smoking damages every part of the body, it can have a huge impact if you need hospital care as smokers are more likely to be admitted to hospital, and at higher risk of infection, than non-smokers.
They are also at an increased risk of complications from anaesthetic and surgery so giving up smoking before an operation will reduce your chances of complications and speed up your recovery after surgery.
Amy Seston, Treating Tobacco Dependency Specialist Lead Nurse at WWL, said: “The positive effects from stopping smoking start almost instantly. Between 20 minutes and eight hours after your last cigarette, your heart rate and pulse return to normal, oxygen levels recover, and the carbon monoxide in your blood reduces by half. After 48 hours, carbon monoxide levels drop to zero, nicotine leaves your body, and your lungs start to clear out of mucus.
“Many patients won’t realise the Smoking Cessation Team exists until they are admitted to hospital and highlighted as a smoker. We visit them to provide nicotine replacement straight away and offer a full range of products, to find out which they prefer, and which might work for them. We then make sure that when they leave hospital, they have a two-week supply of nicotine replacement to take with them.
The Smoking Cessation Team is also helping staff across WWL get free, personalised support to stop smoking, with expert advice and treatment. This includes six-months of access to the Smoke Free app, to support them on their journey, and up to twelve weeks’ worth of nicotine replacement and/or a vaping kit, to help keep cigarette cravings at bay.
Amy said: “We’ve already had some brilliant feedback from members of staff who have used our services to quit smoking. It boosts their wellbeing and morale, saves them more money, and makes them feel and be healthier. We are a really easy-going team, there to support you through your journey with no pressure. It’s proven that you are more likely to quit when you have support around you, and that is what we are here for.”
The Smoke Free app also helps monitor health improvements and money savings, alongside tracking cravings and triggers, and learning how to avoid them. Staff can also access a Stop Smoking Advisor 24/7, connect with a wide community of other quitters, and order any nicotine replacements they might need.
Kev Parker-Evans, Chief Nursing Officer at WWL, said: “It is so important for the health and wellbeing of our patients that we do all we can to support them on being smoke-free, which will hopefully mean they are less likely to return to hospital for further treatment. Our wonderful Smoking Cessation Team help put together a treatment plan while our patients are in hospital, and make sure there is a follow-up in place when they go home, so they are able to continue their journey to stop smoking. It’s also important we offer our staff support to stop smoking, to improve their mental and physical health, and it’s great that the Smoking Cessation Team is there for them too.”
If you are a smoker and at one of our hospitals as a patient, you will be visited by the Smoking Cessation Team to support you during your stay. WWL is proud to be a smoke-free hospital across our sites.
Any members of the public who would like support to stop smoking can self-refer online via Wigan Council ‘Get Support with Be Well’, or contact the Stop Smoking Service on 01942 836967 / 404220.