SMOKING shelters are set to be rebuilt at East Lancashire’s hospitals, less than three years after they were torn down.

Smoking was banned in all East Lancashire Hospitals Trust’s buildings and grounds in December 2005, but new chief executive Marie Burn-ham is set to apply to local councils to have them reinstated.

It is hoped the move will free the entrances of both the Royal Blackburn Hospital and Burnley General Hospital from the crowds of smokers who regularly gather there, flouting the ban.

The decision is also in response to patient opinion surveys, which showed that many wanted somewhere to smoke while in hospital, despite the health risks.

The trust could not confirm how many shelters were planned, or how much they would cost, but a spokesman said work would be done to ensure they were placed sensitively around the hospital grounds.

Miss Burnham, who took on the role of chief executive just three weeks ago, said: “We hope that this will help keep the entrances clean and smoke-free as there will no longer be any excuse for patients who smoke to stand in entrances when they have a dedicated place to go.”

Anti-smoking group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) gave her decision a cautious thumbs-up, but urged the hospital to continually review the situation.

Spokesman Amanda Sand-ford said: “Crowds of people smoking in a doorway can be very off-putting for the patients, visitors and staff who have to walk through the fumes and a situation like that is totally inappropriate for a hospital.

“Although it is regrettable that they feel they have to take this step, we understand how addictive smoking is and the difficulty for long-term pati-ents who smoke, as well as the high stress for people visiting relatives.

“We understand the concerns of the management, but urge them to keep the policy under review.”

Blackburn with Darwen’s health scrutiny committee chairman Roy Davies also welcomed the change.

He said: “People who smoke will always find somewhere to have a cigarette so why not control it and then you have some chance of enforcing the ban everywhere else on the grounds?

“If a patient who has smoked all their lives is dying and a cigarette is their only solace, where is the harm?”

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