The NHS and our partners in Humber and North Yorkshire have been praised by the Government for our “pioneering” work to help people quit smoking.
Health Minister Neil O’Brien MP said NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) was “leading the way in devoting local health service resources and organising the local system to have a local voice in driving down smoking rates in their most deprived communities“.
In a speech to the Policy Exchange, Mr O’Brien said other ICBs should follow our example and “develop similar partnerships with local authorities to create effective tobacco control programmes“.
This month our ICB – together with our local authority, hospital trust, community stop smoking services and Primary Care partners – launched a comprehensive tobacco control programme which aims to drive down smoking rates in Humber and North Yorkshire.
It includes providing incentives for pregnant women to stop smoking, offering vapes as the first-line quit aid in local stop smoking services, lung health screening and more joined up services which aim to tackle the trade in illicit tobacco. Peter Roderick, Deputy Director of Population Health for NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB, and Tobacco Programme lead, said: “We understand that smoking prevalence in our communities is the single leading cause of preventable death and has a huge impact on wellbeing and health inequalities.
“‘Swap and Stop’ Tobacco Dependency Treatment Teams are now onsite in hospitals across the Humber and North Yorkshire area, working alongside hospital colleagues, lung health screening, maternity services, community stop smoking services and local authority partners to offer dedicated and effective treatment to free people from tobacco; reducing readmission rates and improving health and wellbeing for good.
“We are also commencing a collaborative programme which brings our local authority public health teams as well as primary and secondary care together to reduce smoking rates across our whole population.
“This is a true embodiment of partnership working in healthcare, connecting services and support to create a seamless level of care for our communities.“
Professor Stephen Eames, NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB Chief Executive, added: “We’re delighted our programme is being recognised as a national leader and look forward to continuing to reduce health inequalities in our region and work towards the national ambition of a Smokefree 2030.
“Smoking remains our biggest killer and we owe it to people to work tirelessly to tackle this pernicious blight on their life chances.”
