There were 8000 hospital admissions caused by dog bites and strikes in 2017/18. 1/8 of victims were children under the age of 10.
In 2018 Alder Hey Children’s Hospital had 203 Emergency Department attendances for dog bites to children. Over half (118) of these resulted in admissions to hospital.
It has been estimated that in the financial year 16/17, the cost of dog bites at Alder Hey was £211,603 even without consideration of the follow-up visits required for wound checking or refashioning.
The psychology team’s basic aim is to use a virtual reality program to help children participate in their therapies, and act as a safe place to test what they have learned e.g. If a child is taught CBT in order to manage anxiety when meeting a dog, they can meet a virtual reality dog and practice – all the time knowing that they are safe.