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.
Sligo/Leitrim had 10 successful applications. Mental Health - Linden House, Ballymote, Older Persons - St John’s Hospital, Arus Carolan, Arus Breffini and Ballinamore Nursing Home. Disability – Sligo/Leitrim Learning Disability Service, Sligo/Leitrim Intellectual Disability Service and Gallagher House. Primary care – Drumcliffe Primary Care Centre and Nazareth House Campus.
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.”
Caroline O’Hehir, Cloonamahon Campus Disability Services, Sligo/Leitrim said they are delighted to be honoured with an award and a bursary for continuous quality improvement in the implementation of the HSE Tobacco Free Campus Policy. “Since the commencement of our Smoking Cessation committee we have been able to provide important information to residents and staff across the service about the effects of smoking, and the health benefits to quitting. We as a service have ensured that residents and staff have access to information to support them if they choose to quit smoking, which we encourage within the Health Services. We continue on a daily basis to remind everyone how they can access support by attaching the details to our email signature which ensures that the information is seen across the service, and external areas. We intend on using the bursary to provide additional support for anyone within the service who wishes to quit smoking.”
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: 27 / 06 / 2023
