Children's Unit full of smiles after celebratory arts and crafts day for NHS's 70th anniversary

A day full of arts and crafts, dogs and a lot of happy children took over Swindon's Great Western Hospital yesterday (27 June).

The GWH's Children's Ward was left smiling after their recent visit from PAT (Pets as Therapy) dogs Ted and Jette and a breath of fresh air from Swindon-based artist Sue Green.

On 27 June, the NHS celebrated 70 years since it was founded in 1948.

PAT is a national charity which aims to enrich people's lives through volunteers working within their local communities alongside their pets. The volunteers take their animals to places such as residential homes, schools, and hospitals.

The role of the PAT dogs is that they visit children in hospital, some of which would have come out of surgery, which helps them to loosen up after a stressful event.

The Hospital school works with in patients, out patients, night patients and children in the community. Children from the ward and who use the Hospital School, as well as children from the community that the hospital engages with, have been invited to partake. The art piece is a combination of painting, felt materials, and sewing.

Lys Kirby is one of the hospital teachers and has been Head of Hospital and Home Education for 20 years. When asked why she wanted to organise this event for the NHS, she said: "Because we love them so much we wanted to celebrate them. We invited children not in hospital but not well enough to go to school."

When asked about the impact of the dogs on patients, Lys added: "You can feel and touch the difference they make - they are just wonderful. They're so uplifting, that's why this art project is so meaningful to us and it's our way of saying thank you.

"Because the dogs generate so much warmth it gives people on an unhappy day something nice. I've never done so much of a fulfilling art project - we're just so lucky to have met Sue."

Sarah Green - from The Art Society Upper Thames - donated £500 to the Children's Unit which enabled the Hospital School to commission local artist Sue Green, of Cowshed Studios, to create an art piece that celebrates the PAT dogs and how they benefit the children on the ward.

Sarah said: "We look for a project every year, involving young people in the arts. We were looking for something with warmth which will have an impact. It's a brilliant idea bringing the PAT and art together."

Ted has been visiting GWH's Children Unit for the last two years; his primary role is to go room to room and bring comfort to the children in the hospital and create a positive interaction which will hopefully generate a good experience for them.

Ted's owner Gill McKinnon said: "It starts when we get in the lift. 99 out of 100 people will see him and smile. no one has ever questioned why he is in the hospital."

In order for Ted to become a PAT dog he had to go for an initial assessment after six months since being adopted. Gill said: "You have to have owned the dog six months, and we adopted him when he was eight. It's to see how they cope with strange noises and strangers stroking them. They want to see if they can cope with being touched anywhere- some dogs don't like their backs being touched, so it's things like that."

It has been suggested that dogs can have a positive impact on physical health, as well as a person's well being. Gill added: "They say that being around a dog can reduce heart rate and blood pressure."

Lys added: "They make you stop and take a moment. It's very calming. It helps get people out of the house- the lure of dogs is so powerful. It makes the hospital a positive experience."

Sue Green, who is a textiles-mixed media Artist and Tutor at Cowshed Studios, was very pleased with the finished product. She said: "The people will see it and smile. It's a lasting memory of the dogs. We've made the dogs look quite generic so that even the smaller children can identify them."

Sue has been working alongside the Children's Unit to create something colourful and eye catching for the children, parents and staff to enjoy.

Children from the ward and who use the Hospital School, as well as children from the community that the hospital engages with, have been invited to partake. The art piece is a combination of painting, felt materials, and sewing.

The finished art piece will be up in the Children's Unit from the middle of July.