Ayrshire hospital workers could be fined up to £2,500 if they break smoking ban laws.
Gatekeepers of the no-smoking perimeters could face tougher fines than smokers if they knowingly allow anyone to light up within the 15-metre banned zone.
Staff with designated responsibility would face up to £200 on the spot (reduced to £150 if paid within 15 days) and £2,500 if an offence leads to a prosecution.
New national laws brought into force on Monday mean that smoking was banned with 15 metres of an NHS hospital setting.
It means anyone caught lighting up outside hospital grounds – including underneath canopies and overreaching structures – would face a £50 fixed penalty notice which could rise to £1,000 if the case goes to court.
But hospital workers would face a far stricter sentence if they were to permit anyone to smoke within the perimeter.
Health charity Action on Smoking and Health Scotland (ASH) say the smoking ban will have a "positive impact" in protecting people from the harmful effects of breathing in toxic tobacco smoke.
Sheila Duffy, chief executive of health charity ASH Scotland, said: “Extending current legislation to include outdoor areas in NHS Ayrshire & Arran will have the positive impact of protecting people from the harmful effects of breathing in toxic tobacco smoke through vents, windows or doorways while they are being treated and recovering in hospital.
Lynne McNiven, director of public health at NHS Ayrshire & Arran, says the law will boost hospitals' 'smoke free grounds' policy which was introduced in 2014.
Ms McNiven added: "Anyone found to be smoking within the no smoking perimeter will be asked to stop right away. The no smoking law will benefit everyone by keeping hospitals free from health-harming hazards."
The main facilities affected in Ayrshire will be Ayr Hospital, Kilmarnock's Crosshouse Hospital and Ayrshire Central Hospital, Irvine.
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