New health services could plug NHS gap

A stop smoking service in our area says that helping to change people's lifestyles rather than resorting to medical treatment may be the way forward in reducing smoking levels.

Smokefree Life Nottinghamshire offer help and advice to those thinking of giving up cigarettes, in addition to services offered by the NHS. But, in parts of Yorkshire, the NHS are set to deny operations to smokers for six months, instead directing all patients towards external services.

The move is being criticised as a drive to cut costs without considering the effect on patients, but Kash Kashrew from Smokefree Life Notts says “using our services can be the best place for someone to start. Not everybody has time to go to their doctors for appointments, and some of them are not sure if they're ready to quit or not. So we can help them to make those decisions.”

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