Community Healthcare Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, Sligo (CH CDLMS) has been very successful at the recent Tobacco Free Campus Bursary awards ceremony in Dublin on 1st June, where financial incentives were awarded to support the implementation of the HSE Tobacco Free Campus Policy.
Overall there were 108 successful applications nationally and of these 21(19%) were from CH CDLMS and each also received a plaque showcasing their success
Cavan/Monaghan had two successful applications with both coming from Disability Services namely Clogher House Day Activation Unit Cavan and Day Activation Unit Monaghan.
Fiona Boyle, Tobacco Lead explained “we are committed to reducing the use of tobacco and its harmful health effects by creating a healthier tobacco free, clean environment for our staff, service users and visitors. Smoking/vaping by employees, patients/service users, visitors and any other parties has been prohibited within all HSE campuses since 31st December 2015. The aim of the policy is to help change social norms around tobacco use/vaping, treat tobacco addiction as a healthcare issue, and promote smoking cessation by actively advising, encouraging and supporting people to quit smoking.”
Martina Blake, National Lead, Tobacco Free Ireland Programme said “experience demonstrates that the successful implementation of Tobacco-Free Campus Policy requires a systematic approach and the proactive support of the service managers at all levels. A Tobacco Free Campus Bursary award process to assist in the smooth implementation and ongoing management of this policy across all services was introduced in 2018 and it has been very successful.”
Paula Greene, CNM11 Day Activation Unit, St Davnet’s Campus, Rooskey, Monaghan said “This is our service’s first time participating in the initiative and we are delighted that we have received the award. This has been very educational for both staff and service users alike in really understanding how any individual who smokes can be supported to quit smoking. We have had success with one service user taking back control over his own smoking addiction. It was a personalised plan which fit his lifestyle and it was the continuity provided by the programme that was vital in his success to quit. As a result of the award our service will be developing a new initiative to ensure that we continue to implement the HSE Tobacco Free campus Policy.”
This is the third TFC Awards ceremony to take place since 2018 and CH CDLMS have been very successful to date. First time round in 2018 there were 22 applications and 3 (14%) were from CH CDLMS, in 2021 there were 44 applications and 9 (20%) were from CH CDLMS and as mentioned above this year there were 108 applications and 21 (19%) were from CH CDLMS.
Last updated on: 26 / 06 / 2023
