At Warsaw’s WUM Palliative Care Clinic, patients meet their pets beside their beds, prompting Professor Tomasz Dzierżanowski to launch a national campaign to enshrine the right in law.
Poland’s First Palliative Clinic Allows Pet Visits
WUM’s Palliative Care Clinic is the first in Poland to formally offer patients the possibility to meet their own dogs and cats while staying in a hospital setting. Visitors must be healthy, vaccinated, calm and under the supervision of a caretaker.
Animals Reduce Fear and Aid Pain Management
Medical staff observe that even a brief encounter with a familiar pet noticeably lowers patient anxiety, improves mood, and increases a sense of security. Patients also become more receptive to medical procedures, and the presence of animals can soothe families and staff alike.
Professor Dzierżanowski’s “Patient Rights Card”
The professor has drafted a “Patient Rights Card for Contact with Companion Animals,” which has already received more than 28,000 signatures. The document frames the right to meet a pet as part of personal and family life and urges hospitals to adopt procedures that allow such meetings.
Legal Gap in Patient‑Pet Contact Regulations
Current legislation does not explicitly govern the presence of patients’ pets in hospitals; only assistance dogs have specific legal guarantees. Many hospitals therefore impose general bans due to uncertainty and safety concerns. The initiative aims to elevate the right to pet contact from internal bylaws to a nationwide standard.
WUM Clinic Sets a National Example
As one of the earliest clinics in Poland to institutionalize pet visits, the WUM facility demonstrates how such practices can be integrated safely and routinely. Should the forthcoming legal changes succeed, the Warsaw model could serve as a blueprint for hospitals across the country.