Defiant smokers vs young cancer patient

By Angela Thompson
Updated November 5 2012 - 9:21pm, first published July 14 2009 - 10:45am
A smoker ignores the  warning signs at Wollongong Hospital.
A smoker ignores the warning signs at Wollongong Hospital.
Six-year-old Hailey Ryan-Leach and her father, Todd Leach, outside Wollongong Hospital. Pictures: SYLVIA LIBER
Six-year-old Hailey Ryan-Leach and her father, Todd Leach, outside Wollongong Hospital. Pictures: SYLVIA LIBER

Six-year-old Hailey Ryan-Leach is a heartbreaking sight as she enters Wollongong Hospital with a protective face mask to undergo post-chemotherapy treatment.Her little body has been slugged with six courses of chemotherapy since she was diagnosed with lymphoma.But the mask isn't a result of her disease. It is necessary to protect her from the haze of toxic cigarette smoke at the Loftus St entrance.RELATED COVERAGE -------------------------------

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  • Hospital stubs out smoking -----------------------------------------------------Hailey completed her treatment in April and now visits Wollongong Hospital once a week to have a line in her chest cleaned and re-dressed.Hailey's father, Todd Leach, is outraged at having to strap a mask to his daughter's face to protect her weakened immune system from the cigarette smoke.He is calling for greater policing of a cigarette ban that is supposed to protect visitors to the region's health facilities."It's difficult to get access through the back door because of the smokers," he said."Last time there were four of them sitting there smoking. She had to walk in the middle of the road to get around them." Smoking on South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area Health land was banned in March 2008 as part of NSW Health's Smoke Free Workplace Policy.Metre high signs advise the prohibition, however Mr Leach says they are not being enforced. He claims three security guards were within sight but did nothing to move smokers on during his last visit."They said, 'there's nothing we can do, they (smokers) tell us to get stuffed'," he said."Why put a sign up if there's no-one to enforce the sign?"There's all these on-the-spot fines for drinking, parking ..."Smoking's a serious health concern for people who go to hospital, and no-one gives a damn." Mr Leach suggested responsibility for issuing fines could fall to Wollongong City Council, however, a spokeswoman said council could only enforce penalties for throwing cigarette butts on the ground, as this was a littering offence.A spokeswoman for the area health service, Kimberley Moore, said the service was not yet seeking the power to fine."We're not at this point in time because we need to give the policy a chance of working and being implemented," she said."There's no quick fix to this." Ms Moore said security staff conducted twice-hourly patrols of the grounds, asking smokers to move on, and the hotel services manager also did patrols.Staff found smoking on hospital grounds faced disciplinary action.The health service's manager for the division of population health, Pauline Foote, said staff would conduct observational studies of smoking on-site within the next six weeks.A second study would take place six to 12 months later to see whether the policy was having an effect.
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