FOI 8055 - Dogs used for therapeutic or medicinal purposes

Date: 24 April 2023 to 24 April 2026

  1. Does the trust use dogs for any therapeutic or medicinal purposes (eg. PAT / autism/epilepsy/ diabetes assistance) within your hospitals or for patients at home? 
  2. If so, are these dogs engaged as part of the NHS or through an external organisation (such as Support Dogs charity) 
  3. Please could you specify how many dogs have been engaged for each of the last ten calendar years (2012-2022), broken down by purpose. (eg. PAT / autism/epilepsy/ diabetes assistance) 
  4. Please list the main breeds used with the most commonly used breeds first. 
  5. How many full time members of staff (trainers, handlers, officers etc) worked with these dogs for each of the years in the same period? 
  6. What was the trust’s total budget for each of these years and how much was allocated to the dog unit? 
  • Request ID:
    FOI 8055
  • Category:
    Trust - Service Data
  • Response:

    May 2023

    1. Does the trust use dogs for any therapeutic or medicinal purposes (eg. PAT / autism/epilepsy/ diabetes assistance) within your hospitals or for patients at home? PAT only
    2. If so, are these dogs engaged as part of the NHS or through an external organisation (such as Support Dogs charity) Dog Handlers/Owners recruited through hospital volunteer process. All dogs registered with Pets as Therapy or Canine Concern.
    3. Please could you specify how many dogs have been engaged for each of the last ten calendar years (2012-2022), broken down by purpose. (eg. PAT / autism/epilepsy/ diabetes assistance) Please see table below.
    4. Please list the main breeds used with the most commonly used breeds first. Please see table below.
    5. How many full time members of staff (trainers, handlers, officers etc) worked with these dogs for each of the years in the same period? Please see table below.
    6. What was the trust’s total budget for each of these years and how much was allocated to the dog unit? No budget – voluntary service.
    7.  Dog Owner

      (Volunteer) 

       Purpose/Breed

       Start Date

       Leaving Date

      Volunteer 

       

      Pets As Therapy

      Chocolate Labrador

      10/11/2008

      26/08/2018

      Volunteer

      Pets As Therapy

      Chocolate Labrador 

      10/11/2008

      26/08/2018

      Volunteer and Assessor

      For Canine Concern

       

      Pets As Therapy

      Pomeranian 

      03/07/2019

      01/01/2020

      Staff member

      (in addition to role) 

      Pets As Therapy

      Boxer

      02/03/2020

      01/12/2020

      Volunteer

      Pets As Therapy

      Greyhound 

      07/01/2020

      05/10/2021

      Staff member and Assessor for Canine Concern – part of current role 

      Pets As Therapy

      Havanese x Maltese

      08/2019

      Still current

      Volunteer

      Pets As Therapy

      Husky 

      22/06/2022

      Still current

      Volunteer 

      Pets As Therapy

      Golden Retriever

      13/01/2022

      Still current

       

      Staff member

      (in addition to role) 

      Pets As Therapy

      Border Collie

      23/06/2022

      Still current

      Volunteer 

      Pets As Therapy

      Golden Retriever 

      03/04/2019

      Still current