FOI 8055 - Dogs used for therapeutic or medicinal purposes

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