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Job summary

Main area
Volunteers
Grade
Volunteer
Contract
Voluntary
Hours
Flexible working
Job ref
277-7849005-VOL
Employer
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Queen Marys Hospital
Town
Sidcup
Salary
VOLUNTARY ROLE
Closing
18/03/2026 23:59

Employer heading

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust logo

PAT DOG Queen Marys Hospital Site

Volunteer

Job overview

PAT DOG, Queen Marys Hospital, Flexible Working

This is an exciting opportunity to be working alongside staff and patients on a ward providing a Pets as Therapy service, in an effort to bring comfort and companionship to patients, staff and family members. Animal-assisted therapy offers huge potential to the healthcare profession in a range of disciplines and, in the UK at least, is greatly under-utilised.  

Main duties of the job

Key Task and Responsibilities:

·         To motivate patients

·         Support the therapy team

·         Offer Comfort (dog)

Working for our organisation

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children’s centres, schools and people’s homes.

We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families.  This is strengthened by our new values:

  • We’re Kind
  • We’re
  • We Listen
  • We Care

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

This is an exciting opportunity to be working alongside staff and patients on a ward providing a Pets as Therapy service, in an effort to bring comfort and companionship to patients, staff and family members. Animal-assisted therapy offers huge potential to the healthcare profession in a range of disciplines and, in the UK at least, is greatly under-utilised.  

·         To motivate patients

·         Support the therapy team

·         Offer Comfort (dog)

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Owner & Pet must have passed the PAT training and assessment

Communication

Essential criteria
  • Applicant must have excellent communication skills

Skills

Essential criteria
  • Applicant must be patient, kind and caring and be able to interact with people with all types of capabilities

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Veteran AwareNo smoking policyAge positiveInvestors in People: GoldImproving working livesArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Step into healthPride In Veterans

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Julie Langford
Job title
Voluntary Services Development Manager
Email address
[email protected]
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