Wakefield hospital is introducing tannoys to shame smokers ignoring the no smoking signs.
Staff and visitors can press a button to play pre-recorded messages, read out by children, through a loud speaker.
An exampled of one of the messages says: ‘A lot of parents come here for cancer treatment – please think before you smoke.’
‘If a member of the public or staff sees someone smoking, they can press a button in the main reception to activate a voice message,’ Iain Brodie, general manager of facilities at The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said.
‘This can be heard loud and clear, outside the main Pinderfields Hospital entrance.
‘We’ve introduced the system because it’s vital we take every possible step to discourage smoking.
‘Patients, including new born babies and those arriving by ambulance, often pass through cigarette smoke at our hospital entrances.
‘Which is totally unacceptable.
‘Our goal is to have smoke-free sites, and the ability to broadcast these messages is a crucial step towards this.’
Think before you smoke
The Government is aiming for smoking rates to drop to less than 12% by the end of 2022.
Public Health England puts the current rate of smoking in Wakefield at 17.9%.
According to the BBC, some of the messages read out on the tannoy include:
- Excuse me, do you think you could put out your cigarette? Someone’s nanny, granddad, mummy or daddy, is having their cancer treatment today. Thank you
- A lot of our parents come here for their cancer treatment. Please think before you smoke.
‘A better solution is a comfortable smoking area away from the hospital entrance,’ Simon Clark, director of Forest, told the BBC.
‘But not so far that it discriminates against those who are infirm or less mobile.’
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