A smokefree policy at one hospital has resulted in at least seven patients injuring themselves while outside having a cigarette. Photo / 123rf.
A smokefree policy at one hospital has resulted in at least seven patients injuring themselves while outside having a cigarette. Photo / 123rf.
Most people know the health perils of smoking.
But patients at Waikato Hospital have suffered a series of unique medical mishaps after having a puff - including a blown Achilles, facial lacerations and a patient who put their back out after stubbing out a smoke.
In all there have been at least seven incidents involving patients at the hospital who were having a cigarette break.
One patient had a dizzy spell while outside smoking and fell, injuring their elbow, while another went for a cigarette in a wheelchair and fell, rupturing their Achilles tendon.
A third patient was stubbing out a cigarette in an ashtray and tripped and fell, suffering lacerations to their eyebrow and abrasions to both knees.
Another patient finished a cigarette and put their back out when standing up, while one patient left a ward for a smoke without informing staff and fell in a corridor.
A sixth patient stumbled while walking up steps after having a smoke, and another suffered a seizure and grazed their chin following a smoke.
The incidents have come to light in information released to the Herald on Sunday under the Official Information Act.
Under Waikato District Health Board's non-smoking policy, patients, visitors and staff are not allowed to smoke on any part of Waikato Hospital's extensive Hamilton campus including outside on the grounds.
Staff were also not allowed to smoke in uniform and new staff were offered quit-smoking support.
The policy has been in place for 20 years but has been controversial in recent times.
In 2009 a mental health patient at the hospital's Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre was hit by a bus after being told she had to go outside to smoke.
The accident happened just two weeks after Waikato DHB became one of the first to enforce a smoking ban across the country's mental health facilities.
The 50-year-old was treated at the hospital's emergency department and at the time a safe designated smoking area was set up inside the campus for patients, however this no longer exists.
In 2012 the DHB explored ways to deny jobs to smokers saying people who worked in health had a responsibility to promote healthy living.
However a spokeswoman said this was no longer the case.
Since 2007 there had been 104 complaints from patients and visitors at Waikato Hospital regarding smoking, the policy or policing of the policy.
Staff were also annoyed by smoking on campus with common feedback in a recent staff survey for the smokefree policy to be more actively enforced.
