Why we need to stop treating the NHS like a spent cigarette - Ismail Mulla

Nothing quite sums up British attitudes towards the healthcare system than the gaggle of discharged patients standing outside smoking a cigarette. No regard for their own wellbeing or that of the victims of second hand smoke, who are forced to walk through the toxic cloud that they’re emitting.

Not only is it selfish but it’s also ignorant of the bigger picture. How much pressure is being piled on the NHS as a result of smoking still? And what of the innocent passersby who inhale the toxic emissions left behind by smokers.

This is a picture that is repeated at multiple different hospitals up and down the country. It doesn’t matter what the trust does to deter this filthy habit. Polite signs are ignored. The threat of fines are scoffed at. Designated smoking areas are left empty.

If people cast their minds back to six years ago, there was a wave of performative clapping for NHS staff. How quickly we’ve gone from saving the NHS to smoking it to death.

It really isn’t the fault of hospitals, some of which are trying their best to get patients to make healthier choices, including on the doorstep of their estate. For example Pinderfields Hospital hosts a fresh fruit and vegetable vendor, selling healthy produce. But as is often the case, you can lead a horse to water but getting it to drink is a different story. We are our own worst enemies sometimes.

I’ve always found the habit of smoking to be repulsive so maybe I just struggle to empathise with those who struggle with nicotine addiction. However, there is something to be said of civility and decency. Exercising patience and smoking away from the entrance of a hospital shouldn’t be out of the control of smokers.

However, the story inside is totally different. The NHS has many faults. The fact that there are 574 NHS managers across the UK who were paid more than the Prime Minister in the 2024-25 financial year will rightly infuriate a lot of patients, who have experienced first-hand the pressures that the healthcare system is under.

Recently, a family member of mine had a letter sent to them complaining about an appointment being missed, despite them never being notified of an appointment ever being made in the first place. When we raised this issue, the response was “that’s just the NHS”.

None of this, of course, is the fault of hardworking frontline staff. The nurses, doctors, porters, ambulance staff, cleaners, continue to work diligently in a flawed organisation. Yet they somehow manage to make it work for patients. A lot of these professionals go above and beyond the call of duty. Not only dispensing the proper care, doing so with a friendly smile.

Fixing the NHS should be just as much about ensuring that these people have a work environment that doesn’t perennially resemble a warzone. That is why Andy Burnham’s Government cannot let up on the drive to end corridor care in the NHS.

A patient is classed as receiving corridor care if their treatment does not take place in a clinically appropriate and safe setting.

Appropriate settings include things such as patients having privacy as well as access to food, water and toilets.

Lights should also be able to be turned off and noise levels minimised to allow sleep.

I’ve written in the past about how patients are stripped of their dignity as a result of being shoved into a corridor and being seen to by overstretched staff.

But it is also worth acknowledging the strain that this puts on the staff, who themselves are having to do the best possible job in near impossible circumstances.

Social care reform is obviously a key part of the puzzle. If pressure is going to be relieved on the NHS then patients need to be transferred much quicker. Currently, they have few places to go.

But there is something to be said about people taking personal responsibility over their health. If someone has had a health scare then surely at the forefront of their mind should be how do I look after myself better. Surely, the answer can’t be to stand at the entrance of the hospital and have a smoke?

There’s a danger that too many are taking the NHS for granted. Our taxes pay for it so why shouldn’t we lean on it as we please? But that attitude is what leads to this dangerous doom loop that the NHS finds itself in. The costs keep going up, pressures continue to increase and outcomes worsen.

That is why Britain needs to stop treating the NHS like a discarded cigarette bud.