Health staff may be issued masks to stop legal claims over smoking
Source: Irish Times (ie), 2004-08-12
Author: Carl O'Brien
Intro:
Staff in health facilities exempt from the smoking ban, such as psychiatric hospitals, may be issued with masks in order to prevent legal claims over exposure to harmful tobacco smoke.
Psychiatric hospitals in the Dublin area have received legal advice advising them to consider issuing masks or filters to staff who work in close proximity to patients who smoke.
The legal advice, commissioned from Arthur Cox & Co solicitors, could have implications for nurses across the country working in prisons, hospices, psychiatric hospitals and nursing homes.
They are all exempt from the ban due to safety concerns over patients or inmates being denied access to cigarettes.