Since 2007 smoking has been banned in all enclosed and semi-enclosed public places in the whole of the UK.
In residential accommodation, including care homes, individual rooms, such as bedrooms, used by people over 18 years of age, can be designated as rooms where smoking is permitted. They need to meet certain requirements (no shared ventilation with other rooms not designated as smoking rooms, self closing doors), and must not be rooms which are used by non-smokers for any other purpose, eg TV room. The Regulations apply to all other areas of a residential care home.
The legislation also created a new offence of ‘failing to prevent’ smoking in an enclosed public place. If you work in a care home you may need to challenge residents who smoke in areas where this is not permitted. The person who ‘manages or controls’ the premises has the ultimate responsibility, so make sure you have guidance from your employer on how to handle such situations.
The Regulations do not apply to care workers visiting clients in their own homes, as these are not public places. UNISON suggests that a service user (or anyone else present with them) should be asked not to smoke for at least an hour before a home visit, nor during the visit, and to allow the worker to ventilate the rooms they work in by opening the windows. Employers can further improve the situation by ensuring that their staff do not have to visit one smoker immediately after another.
For more information see UNISON’s Health and Safety at work information sheet on Smoking.
