“Life-savers”: the Guinea pigs who supported autistic patient Jess through long hospital admission

Two loveable Guinea pigs - Buzz and Nutmeg - have been hailed ”little life-savers" after staff at Priory Hospital Glasgow agreed to care for the animals alongside their pet-loving owner during an extended hospital admission.

Jessica Brown, 27, who is autistic, needed urgent life-saving treatment at an eating disorder unit (EDU), but struggled to find a hospital that would allow her to bring her pet guinea pig Buzz along.

However, when her referral team contacted Priory Hospital Glasgow, the staff discussed how best to accommodate the request and adjusted their protocols, allowing Jess to stay close to her pet.

While Buzz was on the ward, staff created a daily schedule to attend to his needs and even put in place a personalised evacuation plan to ensure his safe removal from the building in case of an emergency.

“It was clear we could use our expertise to help Jess in her recovery, but to work with her, Buzz would have to come too,” said ward manager Julie Beck.

“Jess was very unwell at the time, and we know that hospital environments are extremely difficult environments for autistic people and that she need additional support.

“We knew Jess had been socially isolated at home and Buzz was her primary source of company. While being admitted to hospital was the right thing, it was clear that leaving Buzz behind was not in the best interests of her mental health or recovery.”

Julie explained that while the benefits of therapy animals in mental health units are well-known, it is uncommon for a ward to accommodate an animal full-time. However, the potential risk to Jess’s recovery if Buzz wasn't present was too significant to overlook.

“The importance of staying with Buzz meant Jess had been unable to find a suitable hospital placement anywhere else and we know Jess is not alone in facing this issue.

“The concept of therapy animals is well-known within mental health facilities and there are positive benefits as animals are known help reduce stress physiologically and increase attachment responses that trigger oxytocin, a hormone that increases trust in humans.

“Despite that, most services would not allow a pet to move into a ward full-time as there are a lot of factors to consider. However, in Jess’s situation we were aware Buzz would be key to her recovery process so we accepted him onto the ward.

“It was a learning process for us but the team felt strongly about giving Buzz a chance if it meant they had the opportunity to work with Jess and improve her quality of life.”

Jess was asked to educate the clinical team on how to look after Buzz and it became a normal part of their daily routine – with Jess even becoming confident enough to leave Buzz with staff on the ward while she took short trips home.

“Having Buzz on the ward became the norm for the team and they loved having him around,” explained Julie. “Quite often team members would pop in at the start of each shift to see how he was and to find out if there was anything he needed.

“Buzz had a calming effect on Jess, even on the most difficult of days, and served as an excellent distraction. During times of distress, she would take the time to either sit with him in her bedroom or clean out his cage. She was excellent at keeping on top of this.

“As Jess’ admission continued, she was authorised to take short periods of leave at home, and she became happy for the team look after Buzz in her absence. The team loved caring for him and did an excellent job of maintaining his hygiene and offering him company.

During her admission, Jess's health improved, and she gradually spent more time outside the unit, including taking on a volunteer role at a charity shop. She attributed much of her progress to the way the team had handled Buzz’s care.

However, in a sad turn of events, Buzz became unwell and had to be put down, leaving the hospital team extremely concerned about the impact on Jess’s progress.

Julie explained: “"Jess was deeply upset when Buzz passed away and took some time to recover, but she also recognised that, after the success of having Buzz with her, she was in a position to give another guinea pig a home."

“Given the fact all of our procedures were already in place, we were fully supportive of this and, before long, we welcomed a new guinea pig called Nutmeg to the ward.

“Jess looked after Nutmeg with just as much love and care as she had shown Buzz, while also continuing to work towards a discharge back to the community.”

Hospital admissions for eating disorder patients are often lengthy due to complexity of patient needs and the longer-term therapeutic work required.

Jess continued to make progress and, 33 months after her initial admission, she was discharged from hospital into a Priory residential care service where she continues to live today with increasing independence. And Nutmeg has been joined by a new guinea pig called Bo.

Jess, who is now advocating for more hospitals to review their policies on allowing pets to stay with their owners during admissions, said: “Buzz was my little life-saver and I was really grateful to be supported to then bring Nutmeg into hospitals.

“I think it would be amazing and beneficial if other mental health units didn’t have such a strict no pets rule. I hope my story - and the work of the team at Priory Hospital Glasgow - can inspire other hospitals to re-consider their stance.”

Julie added: “We have kept in contact with Jess since her discharge, even more so because we’ve had so much interest in the Guinea pigs!

“We’re proud of the difference we could make to Jess by finding a way to accommodate Buzz and Nutmeg.

“We know her mental health journey is ongoing, and her guinea pigs have given her a sense of purpose in life. The love and support she continues to show them is wonderful to see.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

• Studies have proven that the presence of animals can be beneficial for young autistic people, while research also shows the mental health benefits of pets for people experiencing forms of social isolation.
• Priory Hospital Glasgow provides evidence-based treatment for a range of mental health problems, including treatment for eating disorder, depression, as well as alcohol rehab and drug rehab, and private autism assessments for adults.
• Priory is the UK’s largest independent provider of mental health and adult social care services. Since 2022, 80 patients with complex autism have been transitioned out of hospitals run by Priory, the NHS and other providers and into Priory’s residential or supported living services, helping them live more independently and in the right environment for them.

Contact: [email protected]

About Priory and MEDIAN Group 

Priory is the UK’s largest independent provider of mental health and adult social care services. Priory treats more than 70 conditions, including depression, anxiety, addictions and eating disorders, as well as children’s mental health, across its nationwide network of sites. Priory also supports autistic adults and adults with a learning disability, Prader-Willi Syndrome and brain injuries, as well as older people, within specialist residential care and supported living facilities – helping as many people as possible to live their lives.

Priory is part of the MEDIAN Group, the leading European provider of high-quality mental health and rehabilitation services. The MEDIAN Group comprises: Priory in the UK with 290 facilities and 5,000 beds caring for 28,000 people, MEDIAN in Germany with 120 facilities and 20,000 beds caring for around 250,000 patients, and Hestia in Spain with 15 facilities and 2,100 beds caring for 11,000 people in Spain, with more than 29,000 employees across the group.