Pictured from left are Evelyn Hikuroa, leader of the NSFANZ Maori strategy and senior lecturer at Manukau Institute of Technology; Grace Wong, director of NSFANZ and senior lecturer at Auckland University of Technology; and Pauline Allan-Downs, member of the Ministry of Health Smoking Cessation ABC Approach Steering Group.
A leading anti-smoking advocate has proposed a measure that could seriously boost the number of serious or sentinel events reported in the health system – but potentially save many lives.
Sector Capability and Innovation Directorate acting deputy director-general Ashley Bloomfield attended the inaugural meeting of Nurses for a Smokefree Aotearoa/New Zealand’s Expert Advisory in Wellington last month.
He believed that not to offer Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) to smokers in hospital should be recorded as a serious or sentinel event. Such events are the most serious hospital mishaps.
Bloomfield said smoking-related diseases were the single leading cause of preventable death in New Zealand, killing 12 times more than road accidents each year.
Fifteen delegates from across the country representing 11 nursing groups came together to discuss how nurses could be supported to complete ABC smoking cessation intervention training and to deliver interventions.
The ABC e-learning tool provides nurses with the information they need to initiate and deliver interventions. It was launched by the Ministry of health in March 2009 and so far 5000 health professionals had completed the learning programme. The advisory group said there was the potential to boost that number considerably by making all nurses aware of what it could offer them and their clients.
