Pets As Therapy (PAT) is a national charity that aims to enhance the health and wellbeing of thousands of people in communities across the UK.
The Cotswolds Lakes Pets As Therapy volunteer team bring joy to colleagues, patients and visitors at Cirencester Hospital every week; and also provides support in Lechlade, Fairford, North and South Cerney, Kemble and other locations in Cirencester.
Led by former nurse and midwife Dr Helen Sweet, the team dedicate their own time to regularly visit the hospital to lift the spirits of all those they come across. We joined Helen with her Cavapoo Ci Bach (Welsh for little dog!) and fellow volunteers Lorraine and cavalier King Charles spaniel Tricksy, Lynne and cavalier King Charles spaniel Reggie, Fi and black labrador Inca and Roz and cocker spaniel Alfie for last week’s visit with Coln Ward Manager Karen Fawcett. Following the visit, Helen explained why she got involved with Pets As Therapy:
“I felt it would be nice to do something to give back – but also, now that it’s accepted to bring dogs and other animals, into hospital, I wanted to bring my PAT dog, and other PAT dogs. So, we’ve got this going and we’ve now got something like twelve regular people visiting – but two that come round on a regular basis to the wards – one regularly to community care – to community staff – and then the rest of us fill in and come to staff support and also patient support”.
The visit took in wards and departments across the site, where the well-behaved team spent a calm, but busy time visiting everyone who wanted to meet and stroke the well-behaved furry friends. Indeed, it takes a special kind of temperament to be a Pets as Therapy dog, as Helen explains:
“They have to be very safe and secure like this little one – we always insist on the dogs being calm and quiet and gentle. We welcome volunteers for people who would like to work with us and provide training and support, and we do all the necessary checks for the hospital such as
DBS checks. We’re very careful to make sure the patients want to see the dogs, because not all people do. But it does make a difference – you can actually see the difference over a period of between five to ten minutes of just contact and being with the dog – you also see it with the staff who come down and they might be a bit stressed and, you know, they’ve had a tough day and they come and stroke the dogs and I think it cheers them up”.
When a PAT Dog or PAT Cat visits a hospital ward, patients tell us that their stress levels reduce and it’s a joy to interact with a pet, especially if they are missing their own family pet back home. Children who may be fearful of an operation or medical procedure get distracted by a comforting four-legged friend, which allows concerned parents to relax a little too.
Visits by PAT Teams also boost the mental health of patients, as well as visitors and hospital staff. Ward Manager Karen really values the visits:
“The patient’s faces light up with they see the dogs when the volunteers visit them each week, they interact with the patients with a friendly wag and soulful eyes.
Pets As Therapy Team enters the hospital
Hospitals can be scary places for some people and the dogs and their friendly volunteer owners can break the ice and make the space a little bit more welcoming. The dogs are really amazing at making the patients smile, and this in turn means they are happy to engage with therapy and rehabilitation on the ward, so it improves their care too.
“The dogs also visit monthly especially for the staff at the hospital, visiting each department for 10 minutes or so to have time with them, after which they return to their department happy and with a more relaxed ready to continue the day. Our shared aim is for the visits to help make the staff feel appreciated and valued.”
“The Pets As Therapy volunteers do more than the regular visits, they join us for recruitment days, dress up for Christmas and Halloween and our annual hospital fete to meet people and showcase what they do. We absolutely love having the dogs and the team of volunteers and really value everything that they do for all of the patients, relatives and visitors.”
If you’d like to learn more about Pets As Therapy, the support they provide and how you can support them, visit: petsastherapy.org
