Health Creation Week gave us a powerful opportunity to pause, connect and think differently about the role we all play in supporting healthier lives. As Smokefree Lead at Hampshire Hospitals, I see every day how prevention can transform outcomes, not just for individuals, but for families and communities too.
This week wasn’t just a series of events; it was a shared commitment to making prevention part of everyday care.
Bringing prevention to life
Across our hospitals, Health Creation Roadshows and Connection Cafés created spaces for meaningful conversations about health and wellbeing. Colleagues were able to explore support around stopping smoking, physical activity, weight management, alcohol awareness and more.
What stood out to me most was the level of engagement. These weren’t passive experiences. Staff were checking their blood pressure, taking part in carbon monoxide monitoring, asking questions and sharing their own stories.
Those conversations matter. Every interaction is an opportunity to support someone to make a positive change, whether that’s a member of staff or a patient.
The power of partnership
Health Creation Week also reinforced something we know to be true: we can achieve far more when we work together.
From Smokefree Hampshire to Be Active partners and our catering and wellbeing teams, collaboration was at the heart of everything we delivered. These partnerships helped us bring a wide range of expertise into our hospitals, making support more visible and accessible.
One of my highlights was seeing how these connections translated into practical ideas, whether through healthier food options like the new salad bar pilot, or joint conversations about how we can better support our patients beyond their clinical care.
Turning ideas into action
The Health Creation Think Tank was a particularly valuable moment during the week. Bringing together clinicians, public health colleagues and system partners allowed us to step back and look at the bigger picture.
For me, the most important outcome wasn’t just the ideas themselves, but the sense of shared ownership. Together, we identified small, practical pledges. These are things we can realistically build into our day-to-day work to better support prevention.
These might seem like small steps, but collectively they have the potential to make a real difference to the people we care for.
A shift in how we think about care
Health Creation Week aligns closely with the wider direction of the NHS, moving from treating illness to preventing it in the first place.
In my role, that means continuing to embed smokefree conversations into routine care, supporting colleagues to feel confident raising the topic, and ensuring patients know that help is available. It also means recognising that smoking is just one part of a much bigger picture.
Prevention isn’t owned by one team or one service. It’s something we all contribute to in every interaction we have.
Looking ahead
Health Creation Week showed us that there is strong appetite and real energy for this work across our organisation and reminded us that improving health isn’t just about what happens in a clinical setting. It is about every conversation, every connection and every opportunity to support someone to live a healthier life. The lasting impact of the week is simple: prevention feels more visible, more practical and more achievable.
If we continue to build on the partnerships, ideas and enthusiasm we saw this week, we can make prevention a natural and lasting part of the care we provide, benefiting our patients, our colleagues and our communities.
Clare Rowe Jones
Smokefree Lead
