We are the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service (IOWAS) Care Dog Team, bringing dog-shaped happiness to IOWAS staff since April 2023!
The idea of using care dogs to benefit the wellbeing of IOWAS staff developed after a visit to the Emergency Services Mental Health Symposium in 2022. At that event the team were able to see first-hand how effective the dogs were at supporting some of our emergency services colleagues, and we were put in touch with Canine Concern. When the idea was proposed on the Island, there was immediate support from our senior management team, including the Head of Ambulance who volunteered her own dog for the scheme!
In April we held an assessment day and welcomed Steve from Canine Concern over to the Island, and despite the rough weather on the crossing he had a lovely day meeting 12 of our Ambulance Care Dogs! They all passed with flying colours and have since been enjoying their visits to the Ambulance teams in the station and the control room. We have had lots of lovely feedback from the staff who have met the dogs, and also the managers have noted an improvement in team morale and positivity after each visit. This is particularly important for our Call handling team who work in a very difficult environment, and they enjoy the chance to have a break and a cuddle with a care dog whenever they can.
We now have 15 qualified Ambulance Care Dogs of all different shapes and sizes, and they are very much part of the team here now. In the future we will be exploring ways to establish an “emergency response” dog that can be deployed to support staff affected by traumatic incidents – this is something we have trialled here and found to be really effective in helping improve crew welfare. We’re really grateful to Canine Concern for their support in setting up the scheme and for continuing to provide advice and support to our “Dog Squad” members.