Meet Our Team: Sarah Holbrey

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     Sarah Holbrey is one of our Stop Smoking Advisor's. We interviewed her about her role in the community with the Leeds Stop Smoking Service.

How long have you been doing the role?

I started working for the trust in May 2014 and was new to the role of a Smoking Cessation Practitioner.

   

   Tell me a bit about your background

     I studied psychology and health psychology at university which ties in nicely with the health promotion and behaviour change aspects of my current role. I previously worked as a healthcare assistant in a low-secure mental health unit for Bradford District Care Trust and more recently as a researcher in dementia care research at the University of Bradford.

     What brought you to work at the Stop Smoking Service?

     I realised I did not want a career purely in research, but instead wanted to work in a more applied way, working closely with clients and being at the heart of an intervention where I can see the direct benefit an intervention has on a person’s well-being.

   Why did you want to work in the community?

I liked the idea of working across different settings and thought it would give me more opportunities to work with a broader range of client groups too.  

   Describe a typical day

     A typical day is usually a mix of clinical work and admin. If I have a clinic that involves setting up any equipment and resources needed for the session and welcoming both new and ongoing clients where I will discuss options with them, measure their Carbon Monoxide levels and support them to plan coping strategies in their quit journey. The admin side involves restocking my resource bag with things like record sheets, leaflets and booklets, answering emails, ensuring electronic records are up-to-date and other bits and bobs like faxing treatment requests.

   What area of your work do you find most rewarding? 

I love the clinical aspect of my role. It’s wonderful to see the changes in clients as they progress along their quit journey. Quite often people are nervous at first or unsure of what to expect from the service, or are feeling a bit low in confidence if they have relapsed. It’s so rewarding to see them grow in confidence once they achieve their quit day and I can see them changing in front of me, for the better, both physically and emotionally. And of course, knowing that I just might have saved someone’s life, as sadly, one in two people who smoke will die from a smoking related illness.

How would you like your career to progress?

I want to pursue a career in public health and health psychology so I can have a more direct influence on developing effective and evidence-based interventions. This of course means more studying, but I'm always keen for a challenge!  

Autumn is in the air

In my travels around the health centres, doctor’s surgeries and leisure centres across West Leeds last week, I noticed there is a definite autumnal feel in the air, with lots of brown crisp leaves getting blown into the health centre corridors.

I keep telling my clients that it’s a great time to stop smoking because the weather is on the turn and it is getting chillier so who wants to be stood outside smoking and shivering when they could be inside all cosy and warm. If that's not enough of an incentive, the money they could save could help them pay for Christmas. A 20 a day smoker could save over £500 over the weeks between now and Christmas. 

As well as quitting smoking to help improve lifestyle, our Healthy Lifestyle Service is on hand to support with other areas ( The Healthy Living Service is a city-wide service, you can find out more here ). At the start of October, we, the Stop Smoking Service, opened our first joint clinic with the Health Lifestyle Service. For the first time, people can come along to Armley Moor Health Centre on a Wednesday and get help with stopping smoking, advice on healthy lifestyle changes like diet, exercise and reducing alcohol consumption in one location. People can see our Stop Smoking Advisors, Emily and Emma, or our Healthy Lifestyle Practitioner, Tash. This is a truly is a holistic approach and one stop shop to a healthier lifestyle for the West Leeds community. New people are invited to come along at 6:50 pm and returning clients sessions run between 5:30pm and 6:45pm.

If you want to find out more about where the nearest clinic is for you, please get in touch, call 0113 843 4537.

Maree Diamond

Stop Smoking Advisor

The life of a Stop Smoking Advisor

Paul, who works at Leeds Teaching Hospital,
tests his carbon monoxide levels at a recent
Stoptober event the team held at the hospital. 

When I tell people I'm a Stop Smoking Advisor, they tend to react in one of three ways: firstly, surprise and interest; secondly 'So you're the sergeant major?'; thirdly, 'What a waste of time that is. People should just stop!'.  The first is very gratifying, the second slightly irritating and the third highly annoying.

People are often surprised. It is a different kind of job, helping smokers to disentangle themselves from a substance at least as addictive as heroin that they have unintentionally, and quite legally, woven into a poisonous web that affects the very fabric of their lives.

The fact is - it's a fascinating job.  I meet people of every age, educational background and culture.  I see some of them struggle against enormous odds to get rid of the habit that is literally trying to kill them.  There are individuals who find it incredibly easy to stop smoking and wish they'd done it two decades sooner, and those who simply can't imagine a life without cigarettes.  It never ceases to amaze me is the sheer guts and determination of so many people to set themselves free from their addiction.  Not everyone succeeds, but many do.  And when they turn the corner, perhaps after numerous attempts, their pride in their achievement is a joy to see.  For some, even people in their 50s and 60s, the simple congratulatory document that we present to them is the first certificate of any kind that they have ever received.

In future blog posts,  I hope to give a flavour of what our day-to-day work entails.  No two days are ever the same.

Smokers who come to sessions run by the Stop Smoking Service are 4 times more likely to quit cigarettes for good than if they try to do it on their own.  We also help people to stop using other forms of tobacco such as smokeless (chewing) tobacco like paan and gutkha, and shisha (waterpipe).

We are a team of friendly, experienced proffessionals who are here to help people give up tobacco.  Together with the Healthy Lifestyle Service, we currently run 46 weekly Stop Smoking sessions around Leeds.

To access support, or for more information, ring Leeds NHS Stop Smoking Service on 0800 169 4219 or check out  your nearest clinic here.  At some clinics no apointment is needed, you can just come along.

Dot Read
Stop Smoking Advisor