Former mayor of Clare Tommy Brennan is fuming over the introduction of a smoke-free campus policy at Ennis hospital.
Mr Brennan, who is a smoker for the last 50 years, has claimed the policy will force patients and smokers off the hospital grounds on to the main Ennis to Galway road where they could get knocked down by a speeding car.
“Who will police this new policy? Will the HSE employ someone to follow patients in their pyjamas who want a smoke into trees and bushes?” he asked.
“I think it would be more in line for the HSE to open up the new 50-bed unit in the hospital instead of introducing this policy. If any patient leaves the hospital grounds for a smoke and takes a turn, they could get killed on the Galway road.”
The Mid-Western Regional Hospital Group introduced a smoke-free campus policy yesterday on World No Tobacco Day.
Ennis hospital manager Frank Keane said the issue of “policing” this policy did not arise as the hospital was merely promoting a healthy lifestyle choice and supporting patients to stop smoking.