Woke up to hear that Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge has been placed in special measures.
According to BBC News, 'One of the biggest NHS trusts has been placed in special measures after inspectors found it was "inadequate".'
But don't worry. While Addenbrooke's was failing on various levels it still found time to target smokers, as ITV News Anglia reported last year.
I'm no expert in running a hospital but I do know what the public thinks are the most important priorities facing the NHS and it's not banning smoking in hospital grounds.
According to a Populus poll commissioned by Forest in June this year:
Tackling smoking was considered to be the lowest in a list of [ten] government priorities for the National Health Service, behind even obesity and alcohol issues
Asked to rate government priorities for the National Health Service, respondents rated investing in new doctors and nurses as the highest priority.
Addressing response times at A&E was the second highest ranked priority overall. Improving general waiting times was ranked third.
Among the issues listed, tackling smoking was the lowest priority, behind tackling obesity and alcohol misuse.
Try telling Addenbrooke's. A year after the hospital introduced its second attempt at a 'smoke-free' policy the Cambridge News reported:
More than 11,000 people have been challenged by security staff at the Addenbrooke's site since the smoking ban was introduced just over a year ago.
Eleven thousand!! Consider the time, effort and manpower it must take to "challenge" that number of people on such a large site.
Last week CEO Keith McNeil resigned saying the hospital faced "serious challenges" including a "growing financial debt".
Meanwhile, without a hint of irony, the hospital's website continues to boast, We are proud to be a 'No Smoking' site:
As Private Eye used to say, pass the sickbag, Alice.