Anger at £500,000 smoking rooms in new hospital wing

Doctors have raised concerns about the decision to build seven smoking rooms, at a cost of £500,000, in a new £46m Belfast hospital building.

The Royal Victoria Hospital says it intends to go ahead with the scheme, despite the growing trend for non-smoking hospitals, on the basis that it is impossible to stop smokers from lighting up.

"This is a non-smoking hospital already," said a spokeswoman. "But it means that we always have patients standing – with their drips attached – outside to smoke, and relatives who are distressed who can't be near their loved ones.

"People will smoke in inappropriate places even if you tell them not to, and you can't police the place 24 hours a day."

An editorial in the latest edition of the British Medical Journal criticised the move, saying "resources expended on smoking rooms might be better used to fund a concerted effort to implement a smoking ban and to expand smoking cessation activities". The article, by Martin McKee, professor of European public health, and Anna Gilmore, a research fellow, both at the London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine, with Thomas Novotny of the University of California's school of medicine, noted the "importance of sending out a consistent message" on smoking. "One key area where action is still needed is a ban on smoking in public places," they wrote.

A ban on cigarettes in the workplace would have the same effect on smoking as doubling their price, a recent study found.

A spokeswoman for the hospital said there would be benefits from concentrating smoking among patients and staff in single rooms on each of the seven floors of the new building. "We will have a reduction in cleaning costs around the hospital, and a reduced risk of fire," she said. "And patients don't like having to walk past people who are smoking – the mess of the butts and ash and so on."

Gerry McElwee of the Ulster Cancer Foundation told the BBC that the decision was "very disappointing". "If we were treating people suffering from addiction to alcohol, we would not give them a bar or even seven bars, we would help them to deal with their addiction," Mr McElwee said.

"We feel this building should be a new flagship centre but it is flying in the face of logic, which is seeing smoking rooms in older buildings being phased out."

Christine Burns, director of facilities at the hospital, said it was a fact that people smoked in hospitals. "As we know only too well, people smoke in hospitals. They don't leave their cigarettes and matchboxes at home when they come here, either as a visitor, a patient or a member of staff," she said.

Northern Ireland's chief medical officer blamed tobacco addiction for the plans. Dr Etta Campbell said putting smoking rooms in hospitals was not a good use of public money, but said this had to be balanced against the safety of staff and patients. "I do not believe it is a good use of public money, but 30 per cent of people in Northern Ireland are addicted to tobacco," Dr Campbell said. "Patients and, indeed, visitors often resolutely refuse to stop smoking when they come into hospital.

"As you will see as you walk along our hospital wards, they smoke in inappropriate and often very dangerous places.

"I think it is important that we protect patients and staff from the consequences of that type of tobacco smoke. But clearly we would want no one to smoke in a hospital environment."