HOSPITAL grounds in Wirral could soon be made smoke-free in a bid to relieve the £78m burden on the borough’s economy.

Healthy Wirral, the initiative designed to encourage re-shaping of health services and social care in the borough, has formally signed up to the NHS Smokefree Pledge at Birkenhead town hall.

The pledge will help to ensure NHS sites are smoke-free and that every front-line healthcare professional discusses smoking with their patients.

The Smokefree NHS pledge means identifying people in Wirral who smoke and offering support to help those who want to quit, as well as creating healthy smoke-free environments in NHS buildings and grounds.

The overall economic burden of tobacco use to Wirral is estimated at £77.7m a year.

Simon Banks, chief officer of NHS Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “Smoking remains the single greatest risk factor for poor health and early death in Wirral.

"The NHS Smokefree pledge supports the work being done through the Healthier Lives pledge, which aims to work with local people, to support and enable them to live healthier lives.

“The Wirral Partnership is working collaboratively to reduce the number of people who smoke in Wirral and is committed to taking action to reduce the unacceptable levels of inequality, particularly in relation to poor health across the borough.

“But this is more than just banning smoking from hospital grounds – it’s about ensuring we offer support at every opportunity to encourage and help those who want to quit.”

Cllr Chris Jones, the local authority’s cabinet member for adult care and health, said: “Wirral Council fully supports efforts to reduce the number of people smoking, make more places smoke-free and support those addicted to tobacco to quit.

"We aim to make smoking history for our children.”