SMOKERS can now be asked to stub out their cigarettes when visited at home by hospital staff.
This is part of a new policy being introduced by Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, including Fairfield Hospital, which will also ban medical staff from smoking during working hours.
The aim is to give all staff and patients the chance to work and be cared for a in a smoke-free environment.
The policy has also been extended to health workers, such as nurses and midwives, who give treatment to people in their own homes.
If a health worker has asked a patient not to smoke, and they are persisting, an alternative smoke-free venue could be arranged if necessary.
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