Animal therapy programme to be launched in March – Tufton
Published:Friday | February 18, 2022 | 12:05 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
HEALTH AND Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has his eyes set on launching the ministry’s animal therapy programme in early March at the Bustamante Hospital for Children in St Andrew.
Animal therapy, also termed as pet-facilitated therapy, is a type of treatment that involves the use of dogs or other domesticated animals to help patients with acute or chronic illnesses to improve their physical and mental health.
Tufton disclosed in an interview with The Gleaner last Friday, at a handover ceremony of personal protective equipment donated to the children’s hospital, that a committee had been formed and its first meeting focused on the programme’s logistics.
The committee, he said, includes a veterinary division to ensure animal health, an administrative representative from the children’s hospital, a representative from Hope Zoo and the Ministry of Health and Wellness, as well as the Montego Bay Animal Haven and the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (JSPCA), all of whom are committed to seeing the programme through.
The group is slated to meet again before month end to map out the specifics of selecting the animals, which will include dogs, rabbits, chickens, turtles, birds, tortoises, and other harmless animals, that will offer a sense of comfort to patients as a basic introduction to the programme.
In addition, they will discuss which patients would be eligible to benefit from the programme, and where the animals would be kept.
“The intention is to use these birds or animals to provide recovery therapy and the medical team ... will determine the patient categories and what approach would be used to provide support,” Tufton told The Gleaner.
He emphasised that this is not an unusual practice, as animal therapy has been shown to be helpful in other countries to provide important clinical, psychological, and therapeutic support to people in need.
“We believe that in the case of our children, Bustamante is a good place to start and to tweak and adjust where necessary, so that we can assess and decide how we proceed from there,” he said.
Delighted by the opportunity to bring happiness and cheer to patients ranging from toddlers to 12-year-olds, Executive Chairman of Bustamante Hospital Kenneth Benjamin, who also serves in the same capacity at the Hope Zoo’s Preservation Foundation, told The Gleaner on Monday that in his decades of experiences handling animals, one of the first places kids tend to visit is the petting zoo.
He said he is greatly anticipating that the programme will be successful as there are many children in the hospital who suffer from loneliness, given their critical conditions causing them to be bedridden and unable to play like other children.
“You bring a little joy in their life by bringing the animals to them,” he exclaimed, noting that as the programme develops, he also plans to construct a miniature petting zoo on the hospital’s grounds, housing enclosed animals for children to go and pet at their leisure and under the supervision of administrators.
He also foresees bringing in miniature horses for the older children to take them on walks throughout the respective corridors.
“It’s bringing happiness ... bringing love to them, as when a little dog comes and licks them, it’s showing affection. Some of these children are just there for weeks and months, so we just wanna bring a little smile on their faces,” he added.
PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT
With conversation on issues surrounding long COVID symptoms and how it might affect children, Tufton explained that the animals would undoubtedly offer the well-needed psychological support through the interaction with the patients. This, he continued, would be helpful for them after going through the post-COVID trauma and symptoms that also involve mental health-related issues.
“The interaction with them (animals) helps to relax the mind and enhances brain function, and excites and motivates an interest [which] definitely means that it would provide support in terms of post-COVID symptoms,” said Tufton.
Long COVID is defined as post-COVID symptoms that continue to affect a patient 12 weeks after they were infected.
Although he is unsure of how many post-COVID patients would benefit once the programme launches, Tufton said he is excited about the programme and hopes that such initiatives would “send a message to the greater society that the humane treatment of our animals is important, [and] that having a pet, and caring for that pet, and interacting with that pet in the right manner, can be generally therapeutic and help human behaviour and state of mind,” he said.