All NHS Borders grounds are smoke free

From today, 1 September 2014, the Borders General Hospital has become the latest healthcare site in NHS Borders to go smoke free, in line with the Scottish Government’s plan to make every hospital in Scotland smoke free by 2015. Smoking is now prohibited across Borders General Hospital grounds and car parks.

Dr Eric Baijal, NHS Borders and Scottish Borders Council Joint Director of Public Health supports the move to smoke free grounds by saying: “most of NHS Borders’ grounds have been smoke free for some time now, but the Borders General Hospital has been the most challenging as it is our only acute hospital.

 “We know that smoking is extremely harmful to health and causes in excess of 13,000 deaths per year in Scotland. The toll of smoking on our nation’s health cannot be underestimated.

“Creating smoke free hospital grounds send out a powerful message that every visit to our health service is an opportunity to promote and improve people’s health and that is why we believe staff, patients and visitors will support and respect this decision and refrain from smoking until they are off the hospital site.”

What does this mean for you?

If you are a smoker, you are not allowed to smoke within any of our premises or external areas, including all the car parks on the BGH site.
 
This applies whether you are an in-patient, day patient or visitor and includes the use of e-cigarettes or vaporisers. If you feel unable to refrain from smoking during your time in hospital, and you don't want to give up, you can ask for Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) to help reduce cravings.

For those who want to stop smoking, our Quit4Good advisors can offer support within the BGH, provide access to NRT and give information on the local services who are available to support you after you have been discharged from hospital. Please ask ward staff for more information.