Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) is providing a special crèche – reserved for a particular kind of four-legged friend.

In what is believed to be the first project of its kind in the country, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) and Guide Dogs have teamed up to create a rest area for the very important canines.

Visually-impaired patients visiting QEHB can now leave their guide dog in a designated area while they are escorted to their appointment by their carer or a specially trained hospital volunteer.

The first guide dog to use the special rest area was Lyle, a three-year-old black Labrador, who accompanied his owner, Simmy Gould, 25, from Solihull, to her clinic appointment.

Simmy was diagnosed with Alstrom Syndrome, a rare genetic condition which affects eyesight, when she was aged seven. The national centre for Alstrom Syndrome moved to QEHB from Torbay Hospital in Devon in 2012.

The scheme is designed to build on links between the hospital and Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, which resulted in QEHB hosting a week-long awareness event last October.

Volunteers at the hospital have also been taking part in Guide Dogs' sighted guide training sessions to help blind or partially-sighted visitors to get around.

UHB Senior HR Manager Antony Cobley said: “We already enjoy a good relationship with Guide Dogs, and they have already trained a number of volunteers at the hospital.

“It became clear that guide dogs couldn’t be allowed into all areas of the hospital because of the health risk. We haven’t been able to let them into certain areas, such as critical care.

“But we identified a rest area behind the main Information Desk so blind and visually impaired people can now leave their dog secure and happy while a volunteer guides them to their appointment and then guides them back.”

Mr Cobley said Guide Dogs would supply a bed and a bowl for the new canine rest area at the hospital.

Simmy, who was accompanied by her mother Mary, said: “It is wonderful to have this area for Lyle because it is stressful when you go to a clinic, and you are more aware of having a dog with you getting in the way.”

Her mum added: “This is much nicer and better for the dog, because with the fresh air coming through it helps keep them cool. It is someone thinking outside of the box.”

David Thompson, Guide Dog Mobility Instructor, said: “This is part of the collaboration we have enjoyed with the QE which has resulted in hospital volunteers being trained as guides.

“We also had our Guide Dog Week with a stand in the hospital, during which we had conversations about what else could be done to help this particular group of people.

“We thought it would be a good idea to have a crèche for dogs because there are areas of a hospital where it isn’t appropriate to take a dog. So the thought was to have this area behind reception, which is totally enclosed, where a dog can be tethered.”

He added: “This is a great idea and we hope it will be a model for other health authorities and hospital trusts to follow. It is setting the standard.”

The project has coincided with the move, in March, of the Birmingham Mobility Teams from Worcester to co-locate on the Birmingham Royal Institution for the Blind (BRIB) site in Harborne where, together with the National Blind Children’s Society (NBCS), they are sharing a building with Focus Birmingham, alongside Queen Alexandra College (QAC).

Colin Vince, Mobility Team Manager, said "We are absolutely delighted to be in Birmingham and part of the new site offering us the opportunity to work even more collaboratively with other key organisations in the sector. Crucially, this will ensure we can continue to provide improved access to a range of services for children and adults with a visual impairment.”

“The support we have received from staff at QEHB has been amazing and we hope to continue working closely with them in the future."