Yesterday, Monday 12 December, Medway Maritime Hospital welcomed some very special visitors. Battersea Dogs & Cats Home Brands Hatch’s fluffy little residents brightened up the day of some of our ward patients. The dogs were especially bathed and groomed in preparation for their day out to the hospital.
“It isn’t pleasant to be ill at any time of the year but it is particularly felt over the festive season so it’s important to keep patients’ spirits up as much as we can. We do already have our PAT dog Katie who makes regular visits to the hospital which both staff and patients really appreciate so we were delighted to welcome our visitors from Battersea. We have been doing lots of work to improve the experience patients have when they use our services and we hope that these additional little touches help to improve patients’ stay with us” said Jacqueline McKenna, Director of Nursing at Medway NHS Foundation Trust.
Our little guests paid a surprise visit to a number of patients on our children’s, elderly and stroke care wards. Glyn Scott, Specialist Nurse at Medway NHS Foundation Trust said: “It’s great to see the way animals can really make patients smile and so many have said how seeing the dogs really brightened up their day. The dogs were so lovely natured – each with his or her own little character and you could simply watch them for hours. The visit has been the focus of conversation on many ward bays as patients share stories about their own pets or ones they once owned – it’s given patients something in common to talk about which is really nice.”
Battersea Brands Hatch Re-homing and Welfare Assistant Tanya Madden who visited the hospital with three dogs from Battersea Brands Hatch said: “The dogs really enjoyed their visit to the hospital and it was clear the patients loved meeting them all. Stroking dogs always seems to make people feel happier, so it was great to be able to spread some festive cheer among the patients ahead of Christmas.”
