Dog days are coming in General Practice: FPM Wellbeing

By Samantha Rigby
In
Posted Monday July 15, 2019

Dog days are coming: FPM Wellbeing

Dog Days are coming for primary care, and I don’t mean we’re finally going to be seeing the sun…

Do you know what the one thing that all of our Practice Manager followers have in common on Twitter? A love of dogs!

That is mirrored here in the FPM office, and we thought we would shout about the wellbeing benefits of our furry friends (and share our cutest pictures too). It all fits in with our focus on wellbeing this summer too!

Need to feel better after a ruff day?

Dog owners don’t need to be told that man’s best friend can always be relied on to lift your mood, but it’s been found that short-term interaction with dogs can offer us benefits too, such as people in a hospital or care home.

As a dog owner myself I know I always feel better after a snuggle from my cocker spaniel, Roux. He gives me reason to ramble in the Peak District at the weekend or even get some exercise after work on a summer evening walk.

We put together this collage of our ‘Office Dogs’ beloved by the members of the FPM team:

Let’s retrieve a few useful facts

Studies show that owning a dog may help prevent children from developing allergies
Stroking a dog has been proven to decrease stress
Having a dog can boost your social life - think taking family dog walks
It can help keep you fit and healthy, as well as lose weight if you want to!
Having a dog can help stave off depression
Dog owners are 30% less likely to visit their GP!

These benefits are off the leash…

We set out to look at whether there are any GP Practices out there that use “Animal Therapy” with a weekly canine visitor and found an example of a dog ‘working’ in a GP Surgery in Derbyshire.

The dog accompanied a GP in some consultations and had a hugely positive impact, including increased patient satisfaction, decreased staff stress levels and less instances of staff needing to deal with aggressive behaviour.

The dog was so popular, patients would specifically ask for appointments when the dog would be on site!

Exploring all the paw-ssibilities!

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) supports these findings, stating that 90% of nurses think that animal therapy could help depressed patients. The RCN have been working hard to try and “remove the taboo of what is a really remarkable area of care”, with recent guidelines published to support health care providers with integrating animal therapy in to their services.

So the facts speak clearly, we know the benefits that having a dog brings to our homes and our families - maybe it’s about time we started to realise the benefits in the workplace too?

We’d love to hear about your canine companions and how they help boost your wellbeing. Share your stories with us on our Twitter and Facebook pages, and don’t forget to follow us on social media for all of the latest news and updates that matter most to Practice Managers.

Comments

Gary 17/07/2019

definitely that case - an early morning walk with the dogs does set me up for the day, even though it was apprehensive about getting up that early! It gives me some time to think about the day ahead, and then taking him out on an evening gives me time to reflect on what i've done. Plus you get to see more of the people and places where you live - meeting other people, sharing ideas and striking up new friendships can't be bad. Besides, he's the best part of the family - doesn't answer back, likes to be hugged and listens to you rant and rave when nobody else will !

Helen Murray 16/07/2019

Until I got my dogs I had no idea how much they become part of the family, the household. Every day they make me laugh, keep me active and give me unconditional love. They definitely support mental health well-being and I wouldn't be without them. #dogsarefamily