(Pet) animals can serve an important social and sometimes therapeutic function. Therefore, patients are given the chance to see their dog or cat during their hospital stay. This can be done in the pet visiting room provided for this purpose.
Who is eligible for a visit?
- Patients staying at the hospital for at least 7 days.
- Dogs and cats with a fully completed pet passport (including all basic vaccinations) that are groomed, housebroken and healthy.
- no open wounds or skin problems
- no diarrhoea or vomiting
- no runny nose
- no inflammation of the eyes or ears
- no excessive scratching, head shaking or chewing
- no hair tangles
- well-groomed nails
How does the visit take place?
The patient is accompanied by a hospital volunteer, and the pet is brought to the hospital accompanied by a close relation (e.g. a family member).
During the visit, both the volunteer and the person accompanying the pet will remain present in the room.
The visit must be planned at least 5 days in advance by a nurse from the ward where the patient is staying. You should therefore always discuss a visit by your pet with your caregivers first.
The visit lasts for a maximum of one hour.
Practical
Location
Gasthuisberg Campus
The pet visiting room is located near Palliative Care. The patient is picked up by a volunteer and escorted to the pet visiting room.
The person accompanying the pet may park on Parking Oost.
Pellenberg Campus
The pet room is located off Blok 4 (on the right side of the building). The patient will be picked up by a volunteer and escorted to the pet visiting room.
The person accompanying the pet may park on the visitors' car park.
Compulsory walking route outside the building
On each of the campuses, the accompanying person must follow a compulsory walking route through the outside to the pet visiting room. Pets are not allowed in the rest of the hospital. The route is indicated at the bottom of this page.
The person accompanying the pet must keep their dog on a leash or transport their cat in a cat basket all the way to the pet visiting room.
Opening hours
- Every day from 10:00 to 18:00, except public holidays
- A visit may last a maximum of 1 hour and no more than one visit can take place at a time.
Booking
Discuss your pet's visit with a nurse on your ward. They will then schedule the visit upon agreement with the treating doctor and nurse.
The patient themself will inform a close relative who can come to the hospital with the pet.
Number of visitors
Together with the pet, a maximum of 3 people (including the accompanying person) are allowed to visit.
Important to know
On both campuses, the escort follows the mandatory route outside to the pet room. Pets are not allowed inside of the hospital. View the routes with accompanying photos for the Gasthuisberg campus and the Pellenberg campus.
On Gasthuisberg campus:
There is no fenced outdoor area at the pet visiting room.
We recommend keeping the pet on a leash or on your lap, or only using the indoor area.
On Pellenberg campus:
There is no fenced outdoor area at the pet visiting room. However, the campus does offer several possibilities to walk outside with a dog or cat.
However, keep the animal on a leash at all times.
Dogs and cats with a fully completed pet passport (including all basic vaccinations) that are healthy, cared for and housebroken.
Do you have another pet that would be suitable to visit? Discuss this with the nurse on your ward. The latter will refer the question to the hospital hygiene department.
Only dogs and cats with a fully completed pet passport (with all basic vaccinations) can visit.
Before the start of each visit, the animal passport is checked by the volunteer accompanying the patient. This is a prerequisite for the visit to go ahead.
During the visit, certain guidelines apply to ensure hygiene and infection prevention:
- If the pet sits on the patient's lap, a fleeced impermeable cloth must be placed on the patient's lap. Such cloths are provided for you.
- Mandatory disinfection of hands after contact with the pet. Hand alcohol is provided for you.
- As you are accompanying the pet, please leave the pet room (both inside and outside) clean after you leave.
- Provide your own bags to clean up any excrement. A rubbish bin is provided.
- After the visit, disinfect all used surfaces with the disinfecting wipes available.
Indoor area (Gasthuisberg en Pellenberg)
- Seat, chair and table
- Fresh water
- Fleeced impermeable cloths, gloves, mouth masks, hand alcohol and wet wipes
Outdoor area (only Gasthuisberg)
- Partly covered
- Outside bench
The person accompanying the pet may bring familiar toys and biscuits or sweets for the pet.
If one patient has several dogs and cats that are used to each other and live together, they can visit at the same time and be present together in the pet room.
Pets from different patients may never visit at the same time.
We aim to keep the room clear for 30 minutes before and after each visit so that different pets do not cross each other either.
The owner of the pet is responsible and liable for the animal. It is therefore important that they, together with the person accompanying the pet, ensure that safety is guaranteed during the visit.
The person accompanying the pet remains present and alert during the visit, anticipating fear, stress or severe reactions from the pet.
The pet room is close to a ward where patients receive therapy. It is therefore preferable to keep the visit quiet.
As much as possible, please prevent the pet from making much noise. If this cannot be controlled, the volunteer will decide to put an end to the visit.