Carer Dan Mushens wants a discussion on workers being exposed to smoke on home visits
To coincide with National No Smoking Day on 14 March, there was a healthy amount of media coverage dedicated to the unhealthy impact of second-hand smoke on household pets – and rightly so.
Our furry friends rely on us humans to ensure their wellbeing needs are met, and to inflict our negative lifestyle choices upon them just doesn’t seem fair.
Since March 2006, it’s been an offence in Scotland to smoke in enclosed public spaces and since October 2015, legislation has been in place making it a criminal act to smoke in a car with passengers under the age of 18.
These are positive steps helping to reduce the impact of second-hand smoke on others, but similar to pets, there’s another minority within society who are still routinely exposed to other people’s exhaled toxic cocktails.
Thousands of care at home and housing support employees visit service users in their own homes each and every day, and since October 2017, they’ve been required to register with the Scottish Social Services Council.
The SSSC estimate that over 45000 applications will be made within the first 12 months, making it the largest group of workers on the register.
I’ve now been employed in the social care sector for eight years, primarily supporting people to maintain their tenancies and to recover from the manifestations of alcohol related brain damage (ARBD). The service user group I work with tend to experience memory deficits and impaired cognitive ability with around 60% of them smoking regularly in their homes.
As a non-smoker myself, after spending several hours in the home of a smoker it is all but impossible to leave the house without traces of nicotine and smoke evident on my person and possessions. I can sometimes visit the home of a smoker three times daily, four or five days a week.
Returning home from work involves placing my shoes, bag and coat in the utility room before fumigating them all with Febreeze, then putting all my clothing in the laundry before having a shower. Only then can I interact with my four-year-old twins. Headaches and tickly coughs aren’t uncommon.
Through conversations with my fellow employees as well as acquaintances from other service providers, it’s apparent this is a widespread problem.
Social care providers who offer care at home and housing support services are obliged to adhere to the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005, and most provide internal policies and guidance to ensure employee safety in such situations.
However, implementing smoke free environments in service user’s homes seems to reply on the goodwill and understanding of the individual. No smoking for an agreed timeframe prior to the visit and ensuring ventilation are the usual requirements but combined with memory problems, this isn’t always achievable.
My own organisation would fully support me should I choose to cancel home visits due to any perceived unsafe environment, but due to the nature of care work, I intrinsically want to help people and feel a reluctance to withdraw my support.
Colloquially, I’ve also heard people say they just accept the status quo as they don’t want to be seen as a ‘trouble maker’.
A bigger discussion is surely needed in regards to this problem.
Dan Mushens is a recovery practitioner for the Scottish mental health charity Penumbra
