Whats happening

Jane Roberts collecting the Outstanding Contribution Award

An inspirational NHS worker who built up Blackpool Stop Smoking Service from scratch has received a hat trick of commendations in just a matter of days.

Jane Roberts, from Blackpool Stop Smoking Service, received an Outstanding Contribution award from Smokefree North West at a ceremony in Manchester. She was then whisked to London to attend a celebration event at the House of Commons to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Stop Smoking Services across the country, before learning she had received a further award from the influential Health Service Journal.

During her 15 years with the service, Jane has helped save the lives of thousands of smokers by campaigning to push through a range of innovative measures to encourage them to quit. Due to her hard work and perseverance, nicotine replacement therapies were available to smokers in Blackpool on NHS prescription four years before the rest of the country.

(more…)

Claire MacKenzie collecting Stop Smoking Specialist Award

Two Sefton Stop Smoking Advisors who have helped save the lives of hundreds of smokers by encouraging them to quit smoking have been commended at a North West awards ceremony.

Carmel Fraser and Claire MacKenzie received their awards from Smokefree North West at City Inn, Manchester, to mark the 10 Year Anniversary of Stop Smoking Services in the region. Since their launch in 1999, North West Stop Smoking Services have collectively helped 371,693 people quit smoking.

Claire MacKenzie has worked for Sefton Stop Smoking Service since it began in 2001, and for the past 18 months has delivered smoking cessation interventions to prisoners in HMP Kennet, housed in Sefton.  Claire has worked hard to develop the service within the prison since it opened, and has developed peer support groups for prisoners trying to quite smoking, involving them in creating the posters displayed throughout the prison to advertise the service.

Claire was nominated by Collette Kearney, who said: “Claire is a joy to work with, never complains about her work load and, despite the demands of having a hectic family life with three young children, is always on hand to help out other team members, and she is an asset to the Stop Smoking Service.”

(more…)

Sue Smethhurst collecting the Stop Smoking Specialist Award

Mike Donnelly collecting the Award for Innovation

Two Wirral NHS Stop Smoking Advisor who have helped save the lives of hundreds of smokers by encouraging them to quit smoking have been commended at a North West awards ceremony.

Sue Smethurst and Mike Donnelly received their awards from Smokefree North West at City Inn, Manchester, to mark the 10 Year Anniversary of Stop Smoking Services in the region. Since their launch in 1999, North West Stop Smoking Services have collectively helped 371,693 people quit smoking.

Mike received an Award for Innovation after setting up a campaign to identify community champions within local Bengali, Arabic, Polish and Chinese communities to help deliver stop smoking sessions. The stop smoking sessions were held in a range of venues including restaurants and takeaways between 5pm and midnight, with some restaurants even allowing their waiting areas to be used by clients waiting to see the stop smoking advisors. Once trust was established, they also set up home visits for female smokers who were chewing tobacco, and the campaign delivered a real increase in black, minority and ethnic (BME) groups using the service.

More than 320 quitters signed up to the service in the four months from January to April 2009.Of the 56 people who quit with the service in January, 39 were still smoke free six months later.

(more…)