Supporting community patients

Very Brief Advice (3 A's) – Making Every Contact Count

All health professionals have a duty of care to protect health and promote healthy behaviour. Therefore, each contact with a Service user should be seen as a unique opportunity to provide very brief advice:

Ask - their smoking status.

Advise - the organisation is smokefree, the benefits to their treatment and recovery if abstaining, cutting down or quitting smoking and the wealth of support available.

Act – provide information and arrange access / referral for further support if required.

For patients wishing to cut down or quit smoking, provide details of support options.

Support options for service users

1. A Level 2 trained member of staff in your team

2. The local stop smoking service (see resources)

3. If a mental health patient – a mental health community smokefree group (see resources

4. Provide information about other support available by apps, texts and e-mail (see resources)

Choose the best support for you, your local stop smoking service:

Your GP or there may be a scheme in your local pharmacy other support available by app, text or e-mail (see resources).