Tannoy-shamed smokers for lighting up outside hospital

Smokers stopping for a cigarette break outside a Yorkshire hospital are being shamed by pre-recorded loudspeaker announcements telling them to stop.

of Wakefield Pinderfields Hospital is part of Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which has implemented a total smoking ban across all its sites in March.

Anyone seen breaking the ban at Pinderfields can now be publicly shamed at the touch of a button.

One of the nine messages – some of which are read by children – will then be broadcast outside the hospital’s main entrance, which has traditionally been a popular spot for smokers.

One message reads: “Please do not smoke outside our cancer centre. We have a lot of stupid patients who would really appreciate it if you didn’t.”

Another says: “Excuse me, do you think you could put out the cigarette? Someone’s nanny, grandpa, mummy or daddy is getting cancer treatment today. Thank you.”

This approach was introduced after ‘no smoking’ signs failed to stop people lighting up.

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Iain Brodie, managing director of facilities at the trust, said: “If a member of the public or staff sees someone smoking, they can press a button in the main reception to activate a voice message, which can be heard loud and clear in outside the main entrance of Pinderfields Hospital asks smokers to put out their cigarettes.

“We introduced the system because it is vital that we take all possible measures to discourage smoking.

“Patients and visitors, including newborns and those arriving by ambulance, often have to walk through cigarette smoke at the entrances to our hospital, which is totally unacceptable.

“Our goal is to have smoke-free sites, and the ability to broadcast these messages is a crucial step in that direction.”

Simon Clark, director of the pro-smoking group Forest, told the BBC: “A better solution is a comfortable smoking area away from the hospital entrance but not so far as to discriminate against those who are disabled or less mobile”.