Quality standard

Quality statement 5: Healthcare services: employee contracts

Quality statement 5: Healthcare services: employee contracts

Quality statement

Healthcare services use contracts that do not allow employees to smoke during working hours or when recognisable as an employee.

Rationale

Healthcare services have a duty of care to protect the health of people who use or work in their services and to promote healthy behaviour among these groups. Healthcare services set an example to the wider community and ensure that 'no smoking' is the norm. Using contracts that do not allow employees (including contractors and volunteers) to smoke during working hours or when recognisable as an employee, reflects the services' commitment to implementing and enforcing a smokefree policy.

Quality measures

Structure

Evidence of arrangements within healthcare services to use employee contracts (including contractor and volunteer contracts) that do not allow smoking during working hours or when recognisable as an employee.

Data source: Local data collection.

Process

Proportion of healthcare services that use employee contracts (including contractor and volunteer contracts) that do not allow smoking during working hours or when recognisable as an employee.

Numerator – The number in the denominator that use employee contracts (including contractor and volunteer contracts) that do not allow smoking during working hours or when recognisable as an employee.

Denominator – The number of healthcare services in the specified geographic area.

Data source: Local data collection.

Outcome

Staff, contractors and volunteers found smoking during working hours or when recognisable as an employee.

Data source: Local data collection.

What the quality statement means for directors and senior managers of healthcare services or their representatives, commissioners and people who work in healthcare services

Directors and senior managers of healthcare services or their representatives ensure that contracts that do not to allow smoking during working hours or when recognisable as an employee are used and enforced for all employees (including contractors and volunteers).

Commissioners ensure that they commission healthcare services that use and enforce employee contracts (including contractor and volunteer contracts) that do not allow smoking during working hours or when recognisable as an employee.

People who work in healthcare services (including contractors and volunteers) do not smoke during working hours or when recognisable as an employee as set out in their contracts.

What the quality statement means for patients and visitors

Patients and visitors of healthcare services are in a setting in which employees (including contractors and volunteers) do not smoke.

Source guidance

Definitions of terms used in this quality statement

Healthcare services

All publicly funded community, primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services. [Adapted from NICE guideline PH48 and NICE guideline PH10]