Smoking outside hospitals. Can l contact someone?

[Moier]

This Morning.. talking about smoking in public places.. especially hospitals.
This week l was waiting at the entrance of my local hospital waiting for a pick up after having a procedure.
Despite all the notices about not smoking in the area l literally counted 23 people and 9 were patients in wheelchairs...some with drips.. and three in NHS uniforms.
The smell was horrible.
I now think the time has come for enforcement or action.
Security were about .. but no one saying anything.
3 Yards away is a smoking shelter but that was empty.
🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Really? I'm assuming these were patients, while I find it disgusting and sad, where do you propose these very sick, possibly terminal people go to feed their addiction and perhaps only pleasure? Seriously heartless if you think they should be punished. Shame on you

Security have better things to do than harass sick & stressed people who are outside doing something that harms them but not you. Hospitals are not the place to harrangue ppl about something they already know, unless you think they don't know that smoking kills?

Those people are most likely having a really stressful time, they’re just having a fag. Yes it doesn’t smell very nice but presumably you can just move away ? They might not be able to.

@Sweetteaplease presumably in the smoking shelter 3 yards away. Or did you not read the full post?

It’s always like that. It makes me want to throw up - the place is covered in cigarette stubs and stinks.

There’s no one to tell who will do anything.

To be honest I would worry about your own recovery than someone smoking outside the entrance. It is not a good look but really, how do think the conversation would go?

Crammed in like animals at the zoo that judgemental ppl can point & sneer at? Probably come to MN saying how they don't like seeing smoking shelters & it's about time they were banned?

@Caerulea it is time smoking was banned tho we've know about the risk for years. Even vaping is less harmful to those around you and an easy swap. Thinking of our friends and family only my 90 year old grandma still smokes actual cigarettes everyone else has quite or vapes.

I couldn't get worked up over what others do 🤷‍♀️.
They could be stressed parents worried about their sick child.
Or a person that's being sat with their dying relative 🤷‍♀️
It literally takes 2 seconds to walk past them you don't even have to take a breath in 2 seconds 🤷‍♀️

Agree with pps. I don't smoke but just leave these people alone fgs

Sweetteaplease · Today 10:30
Really? I'm assuming these were patients, while I find it disgusting and sad, where do you propose these very sick, possibly terminal people go to feed their addiction and perhaps only pleasure? Seriously heartless if you think they should be punished. Shame on you”

Don't be ridiculous. Our hospital has multiple signs “This is a no smoking site”. For bloody good reasons. Smokers with drips stand directly underneath the signs, smoking. Why do they think rules don’t apply to them? Why should the also possibly terminal patient in the bed next to them have to tolerate the stench of cigarette smoke?

All Irish hospitals and government properties including the grounds are all non smoking.

Unfortunately we still have to wade through the disgusting fugg to get into shopping centres. It’s vile.

Well yes, but is it worth harassing someone on their death bed? Have a heart. The NHS staff sure, they should move

Agree it's gross but I wouldn't do or say anything about it.

Tbh I fing you post offensive.

If there is a sign up saying "Don't smoke within X metres of this sign" and they are too close to it, then you can point this out to the security person (who probably won't do much, but you have to go through the motions), and then escalate with a letter (on paper) to the general manager of the hospital. Send a copy of the letter by e-mail to your local paper and make it clear that you have done so. "Local hospital fails to enforce own smoking policy" would make a nice story for someone. Maybe the hospital could paint some hatched lines on the pavement showing where you can't smoke near the entrance.

However, it won't last. Most smokers expect to be able to smoke as soon as they're out of doors, and they will continue to do so. Many of them will be clearly ill and/or have limited mobility. It would be a cold-hearted security person who devoted their entire shift to going out every 5 minutes to move the smokers a few metres further away. That's just the reality of daily life.

Staff shouldn't be smoking there but patients and relatives is understandable, maybe they have made friends with each other and its a social time too. They could turn the smoking shelter into a pick up car area instead.,

Most of smokers I see outside hospitals are doctors and nurses

As much as I loath smoking dealing with patients I don't blame them

@Sweetteaplease what about those who are on their ‘death beds’ and trying to avoid the fumes? What about those that have just said goodbye to loved ones due to smoking?

Smoking isn’t a right.

@Moier In our trust the security don’t say anything because they tend to be smokers too. The site manager is more likely to move people on.

We have this in our hospital. Even out side maternity. Unfortunately while the hospital claims to be smoke free us staff can’t do anything about it. I’m not paid enough to go approaching stressed out patients or visitors who could be going through bad news. They don’t listen to security if approached either.

Trust me the staff won’t like the patients who they are trying to care for ( quite often very sick too) doing it either but they aren’t prisoners on the wards and you can only advise which they’ve heard a million times before

Im very anti smoking and find it disgusting every time i leave the hospital but i’d bring back shelters at least you can direct them that way though you will still get many of the public that ignore that too.

Smoking should be banned on hospital property. It’s disgusting to have to walk through the smoke. The health risks are well known and studied so it’s idiots who are smoking nowadays.

You should have gone to the smoking shelter since it was empty!

I agree it's not nice, but have a heart and let it go.

If they manage to make it out of the ward surely they could budge up a few feet so they are not smoking on hospital grounds, especially not by the bloody entrance .

I can remember having to stop due to contractions by the doors to the maternity unit in clouds of smoke, and then walk out with tiny DS in his car seat again through clouds of smoke. So selfish.

There is a smoking shelter 3 yards away with signs . Yet it was empty.
There is also signs saying Maternity ward above.
What about all the new born babies?.
@everyone who is being dismissive

I’m just going to assume that someone smoking outside a hospital is probably having a very bad time and give them the benefit of the doubt.