Persuaders move in to end smoking in hospital grounds
SMOKE-BUSTING wardens are to go on patrol at all Glasgow hospitals.
A team of eight full-time persuaders' have been employed to convince those flouting the health board's no-smoking policy to stub out their cigarettes.
Smokers caught having a sly puff in the grounds of any city hospital will be approached by the wardens.
The team, in day-glo jackets, will dish out smoking cessation literature, give advice on how to quit and offer people a small wallet, called a Stubbi, into which cigarettes can be put out.
The staff will also keep the hospital grounds, car parks and pathways tidy.
The wardens were initially introduced in March at Glasgow Royal Infirmary when a ban on smoking on all city hospital premises was brought in. But they will now have a presence at all acute hospitals in the city.
However, smoker Sadie Collins, 48, from Bishopbriggs was not impressed. She said: "I don't see what harm it's doing if you have cigarette outside the building.
"I could understand if people got a bit upset about it."
Patrick Welsh, 55, of the city's Royston, said: "If you're a smoker and you've been visiting, you could have been in for hours and you'd be desperate for a smoke.
"I wouldn't be pleased about putting my cigarette out."
The wardens, employed by facilities sub-contractor ACPOA, have been trained in conflict management. But they can't force people to stop smoking. They instead use their powers of persuasion or ask them to leave the hospital grounds to smoke.
John Cook, 47, a smoking persuader at the GRI, said: "Some don't listen and I've had idiots threatening me but we report these incidents to the hospital."
A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "Smoking is Scotland's biggest killer. The aim of the ban is to reduce the number of smokers and significantly improve the health of individuals and communities.
"We must do everything in our power to encourage people to quit smoking."
Source: Glasgow Evening Times