'Take a Breather' Grimsby Hospital outdoor space transformation planned
Outdoor space at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby, is planned to be transformed to help support people to stop smoking.
A new landscaped area and heritage trail is planned on the hospital site. The project started in 2022 when a team began to look at how to best support patients not to smoke on the site, understanding that tobacco dependence is a long term, recurring condition rather than a lifestyle choice.
Local NHS representatives and councillors attended a briefing about the plans on Thursday, January 30. The new landscaped area would be within sight of the 1890 workhouse building part of the hospital, located close to the hospital's restaurant.
A cycle shelter's panels will be replaced and decorated with heritage graphics, and it would have lights. An adjacent area of green space and former smoking shelter area will be turned into a garden.
The council put the local NHS in touch with Our Big Picture, based in Bethlehem Street, Grimsby, to develop the 'Take A Breather' plans so far. "This part of the site was full of containers and had no purpose," its CEO Paula Denton said of the outside area to be transformed, when Our Big Picture joined the project a year ago. "It's very much trying to create a space where people can take a breath of fresh air."
Local artist Adrian Riley has helped to envisage what the project would look like. The landscaped area would include:
Site heritage references through glass sculptures and QR codes available to download to learn more, and follow heritage trails
A low maintenance garden, and wildflowers and trees
Quotes on benches and a path from people's personal experiences of journeys with tobacco dependency
The estimated cost of the project is £150,000. The Health Tree Foundation is supporting it, and it is likely a bid will be made to National Lottery Heritage Funding as well. There is a way to go on when the changes will happen, with work also to be done with the hospital's estates team on how to ensure the landscaped area does not become a place to smoke.
Smoking is not permitted anywhere on the hospital's grounds, to protect the health of patients, visitors and staff. But Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLAG) acknowledges it is not easy for those who smoke.
"The vision by the team is amazing," said Kate Wood, chief medical officer at NHS Humber Health Partnership, to the BBC and LDRS. "We really need to support our whole population to stop smoking," she added. But this was doing it in "a graduated fashion", acknowledging how "incredibly difficult" it is to stop.
The hospital has a tobacco dependency team to offer support for inpatients and parents-to-be to stay smokefree while on site. Vapes are permitted onsite away from entrances and open windows, in recognition that this is one of the most effective methods to support people not to smoke.
"I first started working on this project when we were rolling out the tobacco dependency treatment teams in hospitals," said Katie Connolly, marketing and communications manager for Humber and North Yorkshire Centre for Excellence in Tobacco Control. "This work started in 2022, across the ICB region. What we noticed really quickly walking around the sites is how many people are smoking on the sites."
"It's understanding where people are and offering them a viable alternative," she said of the approach. "And I think that comes in the form of nicotine replacement therapies, which our tobacco dependency team offer, or a distraction, which this garden provides a beautiful opportunity."
"You breathe clean air, you take in some of the history on the site, you've got nice surroundings, and then people can go back in and they've taken a breather." The project comes as the Tobacco and Vapes Bill progresses through Parliament. This would make it legally enforceable to ban smoking on all hospital sites in the country.
North East Lincolnshire's free tobacco dependency service can be accessed by GP or self-referral, including an online form on Live Well North East Lincolnshire. Behavioural support and the likes of patches and e-cigarettes are available through this.
"Ultimately, when we can help people to stop smoking, they're going to have a longer, happier, healthier life. It's so important particularly around this area, where the smoking prevalence is so high."
Ms Denton said Our Big Picture was "thrilled" to be involved. "It's bringing in a local arts organisation that can help develop these kind of projects.
"It's all about us building really good public spaces and quality spaces in our town."