Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, is encouraging patients to stop smoking before having surgery to reduce the risk of potential complications.
Patients are reminded of the Trust’s ‘Stop Before the Op’ campaign which coincides with this year’s national No Smoking Day (Wednesday 13 March), to highlight and encourage the importance of stopping smoking.
The Trust’s Healthy Lifestyles team is encouraging, patients, visitors and staff to kick the smoking habit with access to support and advice.
Stopping smoking eight weeks or more before an operation is the most important action patients can take to improve their health before surgery. The longer patients have gone without smoking the better, but even stopping two or three days prior to surgery can increase oxygen levels and reduce risk and improve outcomes.
Stopping smoking eight weeks before an operation is a really important step patients can take to improve their health before surgery. There is good evidence that stopping smoking before hospital admission:
-Improves wound healing
-Can reduce length of stay
-Improves bone healing after fracture repair
-Significantly reduces the risk of hospital acquired infections such as MRSA
-In the long term, reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer and premature death
Doctor Will Key, Consultant Anaesthetist at the Trust, said: “There is clear medical evidence that smokers undergoing major surgery have a significantly higher risk of complications. Smoking increases the risk of blood clots, reduces the amount of oxygen that can be carried in the blood and affects the function of the lungs. Smoking also affects the body’s ability to heal wounds all of which increases the risk of complications around the time of surgery.
“Most people know about the longer term harm that smoking does to your health and wellbeing, but fewer understand how their surgery and recovery can be adversely affected. The good news is these risks can be reduced by stopping smoking before surgery. Evidence shows patients stopping even as little as four weeks before surgery have a measurable reduction in chest complications after surgery, though clearly the longer you have stopped smoking the better.
“There’s never been a better time to give up smoking with advice and support available in the wider community to help you stop before your op and speed up your recovery.”
Paul Sheward, the Trust’s Healthy Lifestyles Lead, said: “Not only do we have a smoke free policy on all Trust sites, but we want to help as many people as possible stop smoking before undergoing surgery.
“Smoking is increasingly expensive and a 20 a day habit can cost up to £4,000 a year. Quitting is also the single most important thing a person can do to look after their health. Not only will it mean better general health such as more energy and better skin, it will most importantly reduce the risk of serious illnesses such as heart and lung disease and cancer.”
“Our smoking advisors help hundreds of people each year and can give tailored support and advice on quitting as well as reducing harm from tobacco, by using alternatives such as e-cigarettes. Those people who want to take the first steps can often be unsure how to quit and will try to go it alone but people are up to four times more likely to quit with the help of the stop smoking service”
For more information on quitting smoking visit Devon : visit www.onesmallstep.org.uk or call 01392 908 139, Torbay : visit www.tsdft.uk/lifestyles or call 0300 456 1006, Plymouth : visit www.oneyouplymouth.co.uk or call 01752 437177; NHS Smokefree National Helpline 0300 123 1044 or search ‘smoke free’ for your free Personal Quit Plan.
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