Mental health hospitals should not impose a smoking ban as it could harm patients on acute wards, experts say.
The NHS is due to become smoke-free by the end of 2006 as part of a government drive to tackle public health problems.

Official guidance released last month said hospitals should aim to ban smoking in all buildings and grounds.

But nurses and campaigners working with mental health patients said the country’s 80 mental health trusts should not adopt a blanket ban.

The health service was highlighted in November’s Public Health White Paper as one of the organisations which could lead the way in creating smoke-free public places.

The guidance, published last month by the Health Development Agency for the government, went further than expected by proposing hospitals ban smoking even in grounds.

A spokeswoman for the Royal College of Nursing said a flexible approach was needed.

“People with mental health problems who are staying in an acute ward are often experiencing times of high stress.

“Smoking is an addiction and it may sometimes be appropriate for mental health patients to be allowed to smoke at times.

“We would urge mental health hospitals not to adopt a blanket ban.”

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said it should be left to the individual patient to decide if she or he wanted to smoke.

Calming influence

“We believe that patients with mental illness should have the choice of living in a smoke-free environment.

“However, those for whom being able to smoke is essentially calming should be allowed to do so in designated areas, as is currently the case.”

But Jo Webber, a policy manager at the NHS Confederation, which represents health service managers, said she would still like to see trusts aspire to a total ban.

“I think it is difficult when it comes to long-stay hospital patients. The hospital almost becomes their home.

“I can see that in the short-term we should take a guarded-approach and phase this ban in slowly so patients aren’t harmed.

“But in the long-term we would support a complete ban.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said the guidance allowed some scope for flexibility.

“We are going to be consulting on how exemptions will work, there is a case for long-stay patients and we will look at that.”