ROYAL Bournemouth Hospital says it's doing all it can to help smokers quit the habit after new figures revealed that the area is the worst in the south west for hospital admissions caused by smoking and in the bottom 25 per cent of all health districts in England when it comes to hospital admissions for this reason.

An analysis of NHS data showed that the town ranked 128 out of 150 health districts in England, with 2,037 smoking attributable hospital admissions per 100,000 of the population in the last year. The England average is 1,530 hospital admissions per 100,000 which means that more than 500 extra people for every 100,000 of the town’s 187,000 population came through Royal Bournemouth Hospital’s doors last year with smoking-related conditions.

A hospital spokesman said: "On admission to RBH, smoking history is assessed by the admitting clinician and those who are smokers are given advice on smoking cessation and may be offered nicotine patches where appropriate. Referral for smoking cessation support is encouraged and LiveWell Dorset contact details are provided to those who wish to stop. We recognise however that smoking prevalence remains high in some areas of Bournemouth, associated with higher levels of deprivation and our primary care and public health colleagues target these groups."

The hospital said it worked with its partners at Public Health Dorset to reduce the levels of smoking through LiveWell Dorset, the county's single point of access service for anyone wanting to quit smoking, drink less alcohol, get active and lose weight.

"In the five years that LiveWell Dorset has been operating, 5,269 people have been supported by LiveWell to quit smoking and 2,268, 43 per cent of those people are from Bournemouth," said the spokesman.

"Across Dorset the Royal Bournemouth Hospital is an active member of the lung project which is aimed at giving quicker diagnosis of cancer cases," he added. "The lung project also aims to ensure patients are seen quicker when they present to their GP with symptoms to encourage them to stop smoking as soon as possible. We work with local pharmacists, again to help receive earlier referrals for cancer cases, but this will help give people access to information to help stop smoking earlier as well."

In October, LiveWell Dorset will invite the county to join Stoptober, the largest mass quit attempt in the country.

n Residents wanting to quit smoke can register with LiveWell via freephone 0800 840 1628 or at livewelldorset.co.uk. LiveWell will direct smokers to their local community cessation service as well as offering behaviour change coaching.