Professionals from the Braga Local Health Unit now have consultations to stop smoking

The Braga Local Health Unit (ULS) held, on March 21st, the first smoking cessation consultation for its workers, included in Occupational Medicine, in conjunction with the institution’s own Pulmonology Service.

In a statement, ULS explains that the new consultation will take place once a month, and appears as a response to the high percentage of employees who smoke at the institution.

Álvaro Oliveira, coordinator of the Occupational Medicine Office at ULS in Braga, explained that “this process begins with the consultations that the Occupational Medicine Service carries out on a daily basis”.

After being signaled, “professionals who meet the necessary conditions and who express a desire to stop smoking are requested to collaborate with Pulmonologist João Cruz, responsible for the smoking cessation consultation”, explained Álvaro Oliveira, quoted in the statement.

The implementation of the new smoking cessation consultation results from a “long-standing tradition of the Pulmonology Service in this area of ​​support for smokers, with many initiatives and collaborations, particularly with the University of Minho, over several years. This coordination between the Services has been desired for a long time, and what we want is to respond to the needs of our employees”, said Rui Rolo, director of the Pulmonology Service at ULS in Braga.

Marta Costa, a nurse at Braga Hospital, has been a smoker for over 25 years and was the first user of the new smoking cessation consultation for employees at the Braga Local Health Unit (ULS).

The professional expressed her intention to stop smoking, which led to this request for help. “I went to Occupational Medicine because I really want to stop smoking and this support comes at the right time. The process was quite simple, which I consider to be important in order not to lose motivation,” said the nurse, who considered the initiative to be an added value for all employees who want to stop smoking.

Smoking cessation consultations for users have been taking place at the Family Health Units of ULS in Braga for around 20 years, in a personalized register, where users find medical support and begin their journey to quit smoking.

In this sense, explains the statement, ULS de Braga decided to extend the consultation to the institution’s professionals, in what promises to be a model that will make an important contribution to the physical and psychological well-being of our employees, while preventing illness and healthier habits are promoted.