A trainee therapy dog, who is based at Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital, has graduated with flying colours to become ‘head of happiness’ at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.
Alfie the cockapoo joined the trust, which manages the Royal Blackburn, Burnley General, Accrington Victoria and Pendle Community hospitals, in January 2022.
He was just nine weeks old when he joined and his role was to support patients and colleagues, become a familiar face on the hospital wards and a much-loved member of the team.
The trust’s charity ELHT&Me used a grant from NHS Charities Together to introduce Alfie, who offers unique wellbeing support to patients, visitors and colleagues and ensure he was properly trained.
His presence has had an immeasurable impact, providing comfort to individual colleagues and teams in need of a friendly face.
He even met their Royal Highnesses, William and Catherine at Clitheroe Community Hospital in his first week.
Alfie is based at the Spiritual Care Centre at Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital and lives with Rachel Fielding, chaplain and therapy dog practitioner for the trust.
In just 18 months he has blossomed into a remarkable therapy dog, bringing smiles and happiness to countless individuals throughout the trust’s sites and the local community.
Rachel said: “From the first day Alfie came to the trust his every action was honed to form him into a calm, listening and gentle lad.
“His behaviour at work needs to be exemplary and once we were reasonably confident his trainer, Dave Gilmore, first assessed him at home to ensure his behaviour and manners were good – if he is not a good boy in a familiar environment, he would not be a good boy under a strange, new stressful situation.
“Once he had passed the home test, Alfie was assessed at the hospital with a suitable patient, who was a retired veterinary nurse, and different groups of staff.
“The usual dog rules were also assessed, such as walking to heel, listening to commands, being non-reactive to noise. He also had to take treats gently and wait patiently.
“Alfie passed each stage first time and with flying colours.”
As a fully trained therapy dog Alfie will now be able to visit patients and staff anywhere, including the children’s wards, and provide comfort and companionship in a clinical setting.
He will also be able to attend bed visits for patients facing end of life to help give comfort to both the patient and their family and friends and make the situation more bearable.
It also means two volunteers, who come to Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital to assist in infection control, can now take Alfie on their own to support staff and give him a lunchtime walk.
Alfie worked alongside the trust's former therapy dog, Jasper, who died of cancer in April.
Head of ELHT&Me, Denise Gee, said: “Alfie is a testament to the power of animal-assisted therapy and the profound impact it can have on individuals' lives.
“The trust is immensely proud of Alfie's accomplishments and we are looking forward to the continued positive influence he will bring to our colleagues, patients and East Lancashire community.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here