Allow companion animals in Armidale Rural Referral Hospital

It was a heartbreaking moment for our family when a faceless administrator at Armidale Rural Referral Hospital prohibited Alsa, our beloved 3 kg miniature fox terrier, from visiting my mum during her hospital stay. For mum, Alsa is not just a pet; she is a source of immense comfort and emotional support for her and was critical for her when dad passed. The decision felt arbitrary, especially when Alsa, who was so calm that a nurse mistook her for a stuffed toy, had never barked or caused any disturbance during her visits. Alsa brought immense joy, not to just mum but other patients, nurses and even doctors that scratched her behind the ears and smiled widely.

Contrast this with our experience at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle, where Alsa was welcomed with open arms and her presence was recognised as beneficial to my mum’s recovery. John Hunter even has its own dogs that visit the wards to comfort patients on an ongoing basis. Decades of research show that companion dogs like Alsa can help patients heal and recover. They reduce stress, lower blood pressure and improve overall well being. Alsa’s visits to my mum were not a luxury but a necessity.

The same health district, two different rules

Armidale Rural Referral Hospital and John Hunter Hospital are both run by Hunter New England Local Health District. How can a dog be welcomed as part of a patient’s care in Newcastle which is a much bigger facility, yet banned at the door in Armidale?

This isn’t a question of state policy. NSW Health already allows companion animals to visit patients. Its guideline on animal visits in health services sets out how visits should be managed and where they aren’t appropriate, such as intensive care. A well-behaved 3 kg dog visiting a general ward is exactly the kind of visit the policy allows for. The ban at Armidale comes down to a local decision, not a NSW Health rule.

Strict about dogs, blind to smoking

While a tiny, quiet dog is turned away, the same administration turns a blind eye to the smoking that happens every day within metres of the Emergency Department entrance. That area has no fewer than half a dozen No Smoking signs, yet the cigarette butts keep piling up.

See this image as the image wouldn't successfully add to the petition, to protect people's privacy the photo was taken without anyone visible.

NSW Health’s Smoke-free Health Care Policy says hospital buildings and grounds are smoke-free, and state law bans smoking near the entrances of public buildings. Smoking is proven to be extremely harmful, and second-hand smoke is the last thing that patients arriving at Emergency, who may already be struggling to breathe, should have to walk through. Companion dogs improve outcomes; smoking makes them worse. Yet one is banned and the other is tolerated.

Hospitals already know how much the social environment matters. More than a decade ago, mental health wards in NSW stopped inpatients smoking after it became clear that people who didn’t smoke were taking it up because everyone around them did. If hospitals understand that's what happens around patients shapes their health, they should be enforcing the rules that protect patients from smoke, not the ones that keep comfort away from them.

Puppies are better than pills!

What separation cost us

When she was separated from my mum, mum suffered separation anxiety and Alsa herself grew depressed, losing weight and vitality, a visible sign of the distress both of them were going through. This separation likely extended my mum’s hospital stay, causing unnecessary strain on both human and canine companions and taking up a bed at a time when there is already so much bed block occurring in hospitals.

What we’re asking for

We are calling on Armidale Rural Referral Hospital and Hunter New England Local Health District to:

1. Allow well-behaved companion dogs to visit their loved ones in suitable wards, in line with NSW Health’s own guideline and as was the case at John Hunter Hospital
2. Apply the same rules across every hospital in the district, so families aren’t subject to the whims of an administrator
3. Actually enforce the smoke-free policy at the Emergency Department entrance and across the hospital grounds

This change will not only aid quicker recovery but also improve the mental health of patients and their furry friends, keeping emotional connections strong at a time when they are needed most.

Unfortunately HNELHD has no written policy on animals in hospitals and this needs to change.

NSW Health and LHD policies:

• NSW Health Smoke-free Health Care Policy
• SESLHD procedure citing NSW Health Guideline GL2012_007, Animal Visits and Interventions
• NSW Health Patient Matters Manual: Smoke-free policy

Please sign this petition to help bring the comfort and healing power of companion animals to hospital patients, and to make sure no family faces unnecessary separation at such a crucial time.