The stop smoking service in Bolton has been offering high quality quit smoking advice to the population of Bolton since 1999 and we have helped thousands of local people quit the habit. Around 23% of our local population are smokers, which is higher than much of the country. This makes it critical to have locally based and easily accessible advice to support the quitter in making the steps to becoming smoke free and remaining smoke free for life. The service is delivered in a mix of drop in sessions and appointments across Bolton with some sessions outside traditional working hours.
Our unique inpatient service at the Royal Bolton Hospital is widely recognised by other NHS organisations for the two phase approach used to deliver the service and in 2008 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence produced guidelines based on the Bolton service. Enquiries about the success of this service have come from as far away as Canada and in 2009 we contributed to the development of the Department of Health ‘Stop Smoking Interventions in Secondary Care’ guidance.
Our services include:
- Community quit groups
- One to one support
- Pregnancy service
- Hospital inpatient support
- Pharmacy service
- GP service
Patients with learning difficulties or who have mild to moderate mental health illnesses are encouraged to bring along their support workers who will be shown the best ways to support the patient during their quit. A service is also available at home for housebound patients.
How to access the service
All initial enquiries about the service are directed through our administration team who are multi-lingual and hold the NHS Smoking Cessation Training School certificate in helping smokers to quit. The main contact number for the service is 01204 462345 and patients will be advised of the options available to them.
More information on the Stop Smoking services can be found on our Trust website at www.boltonft.nhs.uk
