A SCHEME that launched in Oldham to help smokers quit is set to be rolled out across England.

The scheme, ran by Royal Oldham Hospital and local community pharmacies, sees hospital patients who smoke visited by a smoking cessation nurse and offered a personalised quit plan.

There are also given treatment for tobacco addiction through the hospital’s onsite stop smoking service, known as CURE.

After being discharged, the patients are then referred to a community pharmacy where they can access up to 12-weeks of support, which includes regular carbon monoxide (CO) monitoring – a simple breath test that shows the change in CO levels in a person’s body when they stop smoking.

During the last 12 months, the scheme has supported 81 patients, 57 per cent stayed smoke-free for four weeks and 37 per cent of those recorded being smoke-free after 12 weeks.

Following its success in Oldham, plans are now underway to roll out the scheme across England as part of the NHS Long Term Plan to offer tobacco treatment services to all hospital inpatients by 2023/2024.

Claire Smith, director of nursing and quality at Oldham Clinical Commissioning Group said: “Quitting smoking before surgery and staying smoke-free can help speed up recovery and reduce the risk of serious complications such as blood clots or infections.

“This partnership between hospitals and community pharmacies makes it easier for people to stay smoke-free and stick with their quit plan once they return home from hospital."

She added: "I am delighted that Oldham has been able to lead the way and the scheme will now be implemented across the country, helping many more people quit smoking and improve their health.”

One of the pharmacies that took part in the pilot was Lees Road Pharmacy, which has supported dozens of people to quit, including 60-year-old retiree, Bilal Sarwar, who managed to quit after smoking for almost 50 years.

A smoker since age 11, he didn’t believe cigarettes were causing him harm so continued to smoke, even after suffering a heart attack.

But after learning he needed an operation, Mr Sarwar was persuaded to give quitting a go and given a prescription of nicotine patches and spray to relieve his nicotine cravings.

Mr Sarwar was then referred to Lees Road Pharmacy in March last year and 12 weeks later he had successfully quit for good.

He said: “I am very proud of myself for stopping smoking and have lots of gratitude for the people who have supported me.

"If I can stop smoking, anyone can if they have the right people and the right support.”

Visit www.makesmokinghistory.co.uk to get free access to the latest quitting aids and support.