Pets as Therapy Dogs are back at St Andrew’s Healthcare

​After 7 months of COVID lockdown and guidance, St Andrew’s Pets as Therapy Dogs have made a welcome return to our hospital grounds in Northampton.

We have 7 PAT volunteers, who between them own 21 dogs.  Last week the four-legged friends, who’ve been greatly, returned to meet some of our patients.

Chris Yates, PAT dog Volunteer, said:

"It has been 7 months since we last visited St Andrew's but my three dogs realised where we were as soon as we had entered the gates and began to get excited straight away.  It’s incredible to see how much they have missed the patients too".  

Each ward had one dog join their orienteering walk and the patients were all pleased to see and stroke them.

Dawn Wright,  Voluntary Services Manager, said:

"It has taken a lot of effort and risk assessments to get our dogs back into St Andrew's and seeing the delight on the patients (and everyone else's) faces confirms it was all worth it.  We are so, so pleased to have them back and look forward to seeing them at the regular patient walking activities that will be happening within our grounds."

Volunteers make a huge contribution to the well-being and recovery of our patients and provide the perfect enhancement to our staff, in helping transform lives of people affected by mental health issues. Our support structure ensures that St Andrew's Volunteers' gain as much as they give from volunteering

To find out more about how to get involved in volunteering at St Andrew’s, visit www.stah.org/careers/volunteering