A relaxation of the smoking ban in the grounds of Merlin Park Hospital in Galway has been agreed by members of HSE West following a call by chairman, Fine Gael Councillor Padraic Conneely, for more flexibility on the issue. At its May meeting this week councillors agreed that a designated area should be set aside for smokers, in place of the current protocol that obliges people to walk up to half a mile to a blue line at the hospital entrance.
The chairman raised the issue of the smoking ban at the third consecutive meeting of HSE West in the past three months, stating that the situation had now become ludicrous, particularly in the Merlin Park Hospital site, which boasted 150 acres of land. “I saw people outside going behind bushes; now they weren’t going to the toilet, they were smoking. Can we have this situation continue, with 150 acres of land outside here and people having to walk down to the main road for a cigarette? To see people hiding in bushes is not acceptable. This is like a big farm of land on the Currach; you would rear a good horse or cattle here. Surely people should not have to go down the road where they could be killed by a car.”
Cllr Tomas Mannion quipped: “You’ll have to invest in a chainsaw I think to find them hiding behind the trees.”
Tony Canavan, Chief Operating Officer HSE West, said there was policy in place for exceptions to be made for patients, not for visitors and not for staff.
Seven additional forum members, including Mayo county councillor Cllr Seamus Weir, called for flexibility on the issue, particularly in relation to psychiatric patients and people “who might be sedated on medication.”
John Hennessy, Director of Opeations, HSE concluded: “There seems to be a majority in favour of relaxing the rules on smoking which somewhat surprises me. There is a sympathetic approach on long-stay patients. Very few products cause as much harm to people’s health and cost as much to the health service as smoking and we are unapologetic regarding the smoking ban.”
Chairman Cllr Padraig Conneely said: “All we are asking for is common sense.”
