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Quit Buddy wins at national General Practice Awards

28 November, 2013

From left: Scott Moy from sponsors Agenda Medical Locums, Rachel Potter, Alison Tattersfield, Leanne Kipling and Vanessa Colgan with presenter Robin Ince

Quit Buddy, an innovative stop smoking text service provided by City Health Care Partnership CIC (CHCP CIC), scooped the coveted Respiratory Team of the Year award at last night’s prestigious General Practice Awards in London.

Quit Buddy was selected from hundreds of entrants to be a finalist in three categories: Innovators of the Year, Respiratory Team of the Year and Nursing Team of the Year. Four members of the team travelled down to be present at the glittering ceremony and were absolutely delighted to be chosen as winners.

Carol Waudby, director of specialist community services at CHCP CIC, is particularly pleased that the value of Quit Buddy has been recognised nationally. ‘Our stop smoking services are doing a fantastic job and it’s innovations like this that are helping us to cut smoking rates in Hull, the East Riding and in Knowsley, Merseyside. Winning Respiratory Team of the Year also means that the judging panel acknowledged that services like Quit Buddy can contribute significantly to people’s respiratory health.’

Quit Buddy offers smokers support and information via their mobile phones and is designed to help people to stay on track whilst quitting. Registration is easy. All someone needs to do is text the word BUDDY to 61825 and a stop smoking specialist will contact them to activate their account. Quit Buddy clients also have access to free nicotine replacement patches and gum.