The service launched in November 2022 and offers people access to nicotine replacement products and tailored support at their bedsides, while they are in hospital. They also have the opportunity to be referred to community services for follow-up support once discharged.
Paul Lambert, Head of Services at Yorkshire Cancer Research said: “Offering support while people are in hospital provides an opportune moment to help people quit for good.
Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable death. Through this programme we are reaching huge numbers of people with the support they need to stop, significantly reducing their risk of dying from a wide range of smoking-related cancers and diseases.”
Dr Julian Ting, Consultant Respiratory Physician and Clinical Lead for the service, said: “This programme will have had a significant impact on reducing readmissions and mortality among patients admitted to hospital who smoke.
“The combined cost of smoking-related medical treatment via hospital admissions and primary care services is £26 million a year in Leeds. Stop smoking interventions are one of the most cost-effective treatments in all of healthcare. Supporting patients to quit smoking results in significant cost savings to the NHS as well as the huge benefits to their health.”
Nearly 73,000 people in Leeds currently smoke, and every year 700 smoking-related cancers are diagnosed in the area. Smoking levels among people admitted to hospital are nearly double those among the general public. Data shows 21% of hospital inpatients in the UK are current smokers, compared with 11% in the general Leeds population.
The Trust stop smoking service is based on a world-leading stop smoking support model designed in Ottawa, Canada, which has been proven to significantly reduce smoking rates by establishing the smoking status of all patients admitted to hospital and then providing brief advice, personalised bedside support, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), and follow-up support after discharge.
Currently, six stop smoking advisors funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research work across 54 wards at Leeds General Infirmary and St James’s University Hospital to ensure all those who smoke receive the very best support.
Yorkshire Cancer Research has committed to funding £2.7 million of stop smoking services in the region and has overall helped more than 4,400 people successfully quit smoking.
Featured image: Members of the Trust Stop Smoking Service with Dr Magnus Harrison, Chief Medical Officer and Dr Julian Ting, Consultant Respiratory Physician and Clinical Lead for the Service.