A terminally-ill man was granted his “final wish” in hospital when staff allowed his beloved dog to visit him one last time.
Staff at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee allowed Peter Robson’s border collie Shep to visit him, even though there are strict rules around allowing animals on hospital wards.
NHS Tayside’s infection prevention and control policy doesn’t allow animals into hospitals except in “exceptional circumstances”, such as at the request of a terminally ill patient.
Robson’s granddaughter, Ashley Stevens, said it was his last wish to see his pet.
The 70-year-old grandfather was in hospital suffering from fibrosis of the lungs.
Stevens posted an emotional video on Facebook of the encounter as she praised NHS staff for going “above and beyond”.
The post accompanying the video read: “Absolutely amazed and touched today from NHS Ninewells Hospital, our grandads last and final wish was to see his dog one more time.
“Still in shock that the wish was granted and they went above and beyond today and made a dying man very happy. Cheryl Whyte charge nurse of Ward 3 you are an absolute angel and we are all eternally grateful you don’t know what this meant to our grandad.”
Thursday’s Facebook post has been shared more than 4,300 times and the staff at the hospital have been widely praised.
Ward three senior charge nurse Fiona McCallum said: “I am so proud of Cheryl and the rest of the team for this caring and compassionate act.
“The team worked with colleagues in infection control to make this possible and I can’t thank them all enough for going above and beyond to bring some comfort to Mr Robson and his family.”
NHS Tayside chief executive Lesley McLay added: “Our thoughts are with Mr Robson’s family as they deal with their loss at this difficult time.
“The ward 3 team has done a wonderful thing for this family. It is often the little things that mean the most to patients and their families and I’m so pleased that the staff were able to grant this wish.
“The team in ward 3 were the first ever Gold Outstanding Team winners in our STAR Awards last year and, with actions like this, it’s not hard to see why.”