Amanda Longdon, Service Manager, Yorkshire Smokefree Barnsley and Sarah Sverdloff, Healthy Lifestyle Advisor, will update the Area Council with regard to the Stop Smoking commissioned project.
Minutes:
Amanda Longdon, the Stop Smoking Service Manager and Sarah Sverdloff, the Healthy Lifestyle Advisor, were welcomed to the meeting to give an overview of the North East Stop Smoking Project. Smoking prevalence in the North East Area Council is reducing but is still one of the highest rates in the local area, with just over 1 in 4 adults in the area smoking, which is higher than the Barnsley average. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and is linked to long term health conditions and comes at great financial cost to society.
It was highlighted that the Healthy Lifestyle Advisor working in the North East communities has exceeded the annual target for supporting people to quit. Four week and twelve week quit rates continue to improve year on year, with 51% of people quitting in Year 1 and 58% quitting in Year 2 of the project. Sarah now runs 7 clinics across the area at a variety of locations, including GP practices and family and community centres. All the sessions are well attended, and positive client feedback has been received. An additional clinic has just been set up at ASOS, and the occupational therapists there have been trained to provide a Stop Smoking Support Service which is doing well. A clinic has also been set up at Outwood Academy, Shafton, with 15 children attending on the first day and attendance increasing week on week.
A discussion took place around the use of e-cigs and potential health risks. This is being closely monitored as the use of e-cigs is not licensed by the NHS as yet.
RESOLVED that
(i) Members note the update, and
(ii) Amanda and Sarah be thanked for the fantastic work they are doing in the community; the excellent results that they are achieving and for their attendance and contribution to the meeting.