Going smokefree

Two mental health trusts – Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust and Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust – went smokefree on the 9 March 2016.

AskFuse was approached by a partnership between the two trusts, Public Health England (PHE) and the North East England Strategic Clinical Network to identify Fuse researchers experienced in undertaking evaluations.  The evaluation needed to explore changes in the prevalence of smoking over time among service users, staff and service user attitudes towards the smokefree policy, and experiences of implementing it.

AskFuse supported this enquiry by publicising the request across the Fuse research network.  Fuse researchers at Teesside University conducted the process and impact evaluation in collaboration with the PHE North East Local Knowledge and Intelligence Service.  Qualitative and quantitative data collection took place during 2016/2017.

This evaluation, supported by AskFuse, resulted in:

• New collaborations between Fuse researchers, the two trusts, PHE, the Northern England Strategic Clinical Networks, and the North East Together Service User and Carer Group
• New evidence about the process and impact of implementing smokefree policies in mental health trusts
• Recommendations for continuing and improving the policy implementation in the two trusts, including changing the systematic recording of routine clinical data to improve future monitoring
• Recommendations applicable to other trusts implementing smokefree services
• The final evaluation report was presented in 2018 to the partnership and the North East Together Service User and Carer Group.

Following on from the evaluation, new research proposals were developed to explore the evidence gap around effective and sustainable implementation. Researchers at York University, PHE, and staff at Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust submitted an application to the PHE Research Pump Priming Fund to develop a funding application for the NIHR Public Health Research Programme.

For more information, please contact:
AskFuse manager: Peter van der Graaf
Phone: 01642 342757
Email: p.van.der.Graaf@tees.ac.uk

Find out more:

• News: Efforts to ensure mental health services are smoke free are reaping rewards
• Report: Evaluation of the introduction of smokefree policies in two North East NHS Foundation Trusts - Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS FT and Tees, Esk & Wear Valleys NHS FT

Last modified: Wed, 24 Mar 2021 10:36:23 GMT