Visually-impaired patients to be allowed to bring seeing-eye dogs to the hospital

As of April 1, when new legislation comes into effect, blind or visually-impaired patients will be allowed to bring seeing-eye dogs along when going into the hospital, reports the Czech daily idnes. According to the news site, while facilities are readying for the change, they stress that patients will have to have someone close by who they can call to care for the animal. The spokeswoman for Motol Hospital Pavlína Danková, for example, told the daily that while the hospital would respect the law, it was essential not to break any others, for example, regarding hygiene. Other facilities, such as the hospital in Mělník, suggested that personnel, if necessary, could walk the highly-trained dogs.