The QUIT Programme is being delivered by South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Integrated Care System (SYB ICS) in partnership with Yorkshire Cancer Research, five local authorities and local Stop Smoking Services.
Based on evidence from successful smaller schemes in Ottawa and in Greater Manchester, QUIT is the largest project of its kind in the world and will transform the way smoking is tackled by the NHS in Doncaster.
Rather than seeing smoking as a lifestyle choice, hospitals in eight NHS Trusts – including Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust – will now offer smokers treatment for their tobacco addiction as part of their routine care.
Every patient over the age of 12 years who smokes will now have access to nicotine replacement treatments (NRT) and specialist stop smoking support during their hospital stay from teams of trained Tobacco Treatment Advisers funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research.
Community-based stop smoking services will play a key role, ensuring medication and support is continued after patients leave hospital to give them the best chance of beating their tobacco addiction.
David Purdue, Chief Nurse and Deputy Chief Executive at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The QUIT programme is a positive step for South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw as it means we can support people to begin their stop-smoking journey both whilst they are in hospital and those already in touch with our health services. By working alongside our community services, we can make sure they continue to receive this support once they are discharged from hospital.
“Ultimately, the QUIT programme will improve the health of our local communities and enable people in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw to live longer, healthier lives.”
Nearly 200,000 people smoke in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw – more than half of those will die prematurely from smoking-related illness, losing on average 10 years of life. In Doncaster 19.1% of adults are smokers.
It is hoped the systematic, region wide approach to actively treating tobacco addiction will help bring smoking rates down to below 10 per cent by 2024, saving thousands of lives.
Yorkshire Cancer Research have provided £1.8m in funding to support the QUIT Programme and Chief Executive Dr Kathryn Scott said: “It is estimated that 1,350 cancers diagnosed in South Yorkshire every year are caused by smoking. The QUIT Programme will help Yorkshire Cancer Research reach unprecedented numbers of people in the region with the support they need to stop smoking for good, reduce their risk of premature death from a wide range of smoking-related cancers and save countless families from distress and heartbreak.”
QUIT forms the first part of a broader Healthy Hospitals Programme across South Yorshire and Bassetlaw and is also a key strand of the local Tobacco Control Alliances’ plans.
The Programme will also offer advice and support to parents of child patients who smoke and all NHS staff who smoke will have access to NRT treatments and specialist support. Every hospital site in the region is working towards being completely smoke-free.
For more information about the QUIT Programme go to www.sybics-quit.co.uk