[1/3] Greta Donnay, 56, who is hospitalized at Sint-Trudo hospital, plays with her dog Rambo, in Sint-Truiden, Belgium July 5, 2023. REUTERS/Bart BiesemansSINT-TRUIDEN, Belgium, July 6 (Reuters) - A Belgian hospital has built a pavilion to allow pets to visit patients who are in palliative care or with illnesses that require long-term care in a bid to boost patients' wellbeing. Most hospitals worldwide do not allow pet visits for reasons of hygiene and contamination risks, and for years long-term patients at the Sint-Trudo hospital who wanted to see their pets had to do that in the hospital courtyard. But in conversations between cancer patients and hospital psychologists, the idea grew for a dedicated indoor space - separate from but connected to the hospital - and the result is a pet visit pavilion that opened last month. "For long-term hospital residents, mental wellbeing is very important in their recovery, and reconnecting with pets really helps," said spokeswoman Miet Driesen at Sint-Trudo in Sint-Truiden, Belgium.

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Persons: Greta Donnay, Rambo, Bart Biesemans SINT, Miet Driesen, you've, Driesen, Bart Biesemans, Geert De Clercq, Sandra Maler Organizations: Sint, REUTERS, Belgian, Thomson Locations: Sint, Truiden, Belgium, TRUIDEN