Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand Northland group director of operations Alex Pimm told the Northern Advocate that Whangārei Hospital and all HNZ sites in Northland were smokefree.
“People should fully leave the site, including our grounds, before smoking or vaping.
“Our security team monitor this, make enforcement decisions, and will ask people to relocate,” Pimm said.
But that was not her experience and she had complained in writing to the hospital.
Te Whatu Ora replied, in a letter, that security would take a more proactive approach but did not address her suggestion to station a guard at the entrance.
Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand’s formal response to a woman who complained about smokers at the entrance to Whangārei Hospital.
The letter said security would remind people to “move away from the doorway and into appropriate areas”.
The woman recalled smokers in other parts of the hospital grounds.
“Previously they [smokers] sat on the steps by the cafe where people were eating and drinking, and now they are on the chair at the entrance – yuck!” the patient said.
“Isn’t it illegal?”
The Ministry of Health is the lead enforcement agency for the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990, which requires all internal areas of workplaces and certain public enclosed spaces to be smoke and vape-free. Smoking is only permitted in open areas, though employers may choose to ban it entirely.
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, much of which she spent court reporting. She is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.