
nickh
Well-known member
Founding Member
This one may be controversial with some but then people are free not to get involved
, and it is a cause I totally support.
From 1st July all mental health inpatient units in England will have to close their smoking rooms. Some units have no access to a secure outdoor area meaning that anyone detained under the Mental Health Act will have to give up smoking on admission. WISH (Women in Secure Hospitals) have set up a campaign to oppose this called Stubbing Out Our Rights and launched a petition. The web-site is at....
http://www.stubbingoutourrights.org.uk/
You can sign the petition on-line or download a paper copy (in fact the campaigning ideas there are ones which we might adopt for our own purposes - ok adopt = nick
). There is also a link to the Mental Health Foundations Report on this issue which looks fascinating.
My own experience as an in-patient was that the vast majority of people smoked and personally I cannot imagine how I would have got through the experience if in addition to everything else I had to give up nicotine. One extraordinary thing about these regulations is that prisons are exempt!!!!!! So you are better off as a convicted felon than as a Mental Health patient. Says it all really
.
Nick.
PS: I'm afraid I had never heard of WISH before this (I am soooooooooo ignorant) - it was set up in 1991 as User Led organisation to address the conditions of Women in Secure Hospitals. Maybe others here will know more of this organisation.

From 1st July all mental health inpatient units in England will have to close their smoking rooms. Some units have no access to a secure outdoor area meaning that anyone detained under the Mental Health Act will have to give up smoking on admission. WISH (Women in Secure Hospitals) have set up a campaign to oppose this called Stubbing Out Our Rights and launched a petition. The web-site is at....
http://www.stubbingoutourrights.org.uk/
You can sign the petition on-line or download a paper copy (in fact the campaigning ideas there are ones which we might adopt for our own purposes - ok adopt = nick

My own experience as an in-patient was that the vast majority of people smoked and personally I cannot imagine how I would have got through the experience if in addition to everything else I had to give up nicotine. One extraordinary thing about these regulations is that prisons are exempt!!!!!! So you are better off as a convicted felon than as a Mental Health patient. Says it all really


Nick.
PS: I'm afraid I had never heard of WISH before this (I am soooooooooo ignorant) - it was set up in 1991 as User Led organisation to address the conditions of Women in Secure Hospitals. Maybe others here will know more of this organisation.