by Graham Tutthill

East Kent hospitals boss Stuart Bain is not prepared to provide staff with shelters where they can smoke.

And he has reminded them that smoking while in uniform is a breach of policy.

Mr Bain, chief executive of the East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust, had previously told staff they should not smoke around hospital buildings.

"It is certainly not my intention that the organisation is seen to be victimising or stigmatising smokers," he said.

"I recognise that many smokers would prefer to give up, and that the habit is one which is difficult for many to break.

"However the fact remains that one of the key issues for the NHS in promoting healthy living and preventing future disease is campaigning to reduce and eventually eliminate smoking.

"We have made a positive decision not to provide smoking shelters on NHS premises. To do so would, in my view, undermine our key public health messages about smoking.

"I am also clear that for staff to be seen smoking in uniform is against our uniform policy. Not only does it present the wrong message and image in relation to the NHS’s position on smoking but also raises concerns in many of the public’s eyes about cleanliness and hygiene issues relating to uniforms. This is an important matter of public confidence and perception."

Mr Bain said it was also not acceptable for large numbers of staff to gather in front of homes next to hospitals "frequently littering their neighbourhood with cigarette butts and litter from foodstuffs".

He said he was asking smokers to do so discreetly, off site, not visibly in uniform and not in a way that was perceived as anti-social by local residents.