For some patients in hospice or palliative care, the hardest separation is not only from home, but from the animal that makes it one. A proposed law in Poland would give dying patients the right to receive pet visits, raising difficult questions for hospitals in Spain, the UK and across Europe.

One last pet visit can matter so much at the end of life

For many people, a dog or cat is not just a pet. It is another family member that follows them from room to room, loves unconditionally, waits by the door, sleeps beside the bed and somehow knows when we need their company.

In Poland the question being raised is if a dying patient should have to spend their final days cut off from the animal they love?

Polish MPs have proposed a legal change that would give patients in stationary hospices and palliative medicine wards the right to have contact with their domestic animals. The proposal would amend Poland’s Act on Patient Rights and the Patient Rights Ombudsman, meaning pet visits would no longer depend only on whether a hospital or hospice decides to allow them.

The debate has been shaped by deeply human cases in Warsaw. One woman with advanced cancer was reportedly more worried about the dog waiting at home than about herself. Another seriously ill patient was reunited with his cats in a palliative ward, a moment doctors said showed how much comfort an animal can bring when words are no longer enough.

In practice, the rule would affect the kind of moment that rarely fits neatly into hospital policy: a patient asking to see the dog that has slept beside them for years, or the cat still being cared for by relatives at home.

How Poland’s proposal would turn comfort into a patient right

The Polish proposal would not create an open-door rule for animals in hospitals. Managers would still be able to refuse or restrict visits logically where there are infection risks, safety concerns or practical barriers.

Hospitals also have to protect other patients, staff and visitors. While some wards care for people with weakened immune systems and others have strict hygiene rules or limited space.

But the important change is where the conversation begins. Instead of families asking for an exception, the patient’s need for contact with a beloved animal would be recognised in law.

That shift in the Polish case could influence other European countries to follow suit. It asks whether emotional comfort at the end of life should be treated as an optional extra, or as part of dignified care. 

Patients in Spain depend completely on individual hospital rules

Spain does not appear to have a single national rule giving hospital patients a general right to see their pets. Instead, the answer depends on the hospital, the region and the patient’s condition.

In Andalucía, the Hospital Civil in Málaga launched “Tu mascota te acompaña”, meaning “Your pet accompanies you”, through its palliative care unit in 2025. The programme is aimed at terminal patients who have expressed the wish to say goodbye to their companion animal before their last day in hospital.

The scheme allows authorised and identified pets to visit under agreed safety rules. It is a compassionate model, but still a local programme rather than a national guarantee.

How UK patients face the same emotional uncertainty 

In the UK, pet visits also depend heavily on local rules.

Royal College of Nursing guidance says patients’ own pet dogs are generally not permitted in healthcare settings, except in exceptional circumstances. Hospices and some care settings are among the places where such visits may be appropriate.

Some NHS hospital policies are more direct. Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, for example, permits domestic pets to visit end-of-life patients only, while also warning about infection, allergies and patient safety.

These uncertainties and lack of general standing rules could sound unreasonable and without sense. A patient is allowed many human visitors, but not the dog or cat that has been a part of their family and daily life for years.

Hospices are often more flexible than acute hospitals, but permission is still usually needed in advance. The visit may require veterinary documents, a lead or carrier, a responsible handler and agreement from staff.

Europe is slowly making space for animals in care

Other European countries show that the idea is spreading. In France, residents in care homes known as Ehpad and independent living residences can now keep pets under certain conditions linked to hygiene, safety and the resident’s ability to care for the animal.

French hospitals are also experimenting. In Paris, Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital has introduced a protocol allowing dogs and cats to visit hospitalised patients under strict hygiene conditions and individual assessment.

In Italy, some local health authorities permit dogs and cats to enter inpatient healthcare facilities if families meet set rules. 

It would seem that Europe is beginning to recognise the emotional role of animals in illness, but remains to take any concrete action towards legitimising the issue. 

How families can ask for permission for a visit

Families hoping to arrange a pet visit should ask as early as possible, especially if a patient is in palliative care or facing a long hospital stay.

Most hospitals that allow visits will want proof that the animal is healthy, vaccinated and under control. Visits may be refused if the patient is clinically unstable, in isolation, dependent on continuous oxygen, severely immunocompromised, allergic risk is high or the animal is likely to become distressed.

Poland’s proposal has put a quiet but painful question into public view. In the final days of life, should a pet be considered another familiar visitor, as it may be their strongest link to emotional connection and their home?

People planning a weekend in Paris will face temporary restrictions that have nothing to do with security or public events. As extreme temperatures continue to grip Europe, the French authorities have announced a ban on drinking alcohol in public and restrictions on takeaway alcohol sales in the capital.

The emergency measures come after officials warned that hospitals are under severe pressure as the heatwave continues, with ambulance crews responding to far more medical emergencies than usual.

The decision underlines how seriously French authorities are treating the current weather conditions. This is no longer simply a question of people feeling uncomfortable in unusually hot weather. Doctors are dealing with more heat related emergencies, intensive care units are filling up and health officials are urging people of every age to change their daily routines until temperatures fall.

Why Paris has introduced temporary alcohol restrictions

The measures will be in force over two consecutive nights.

From midday on Friday until 7am on Saturday, drinking alcohol in public spaces across Paris will be prohibited. The same restrictions will apply again from midday on Saturday until 7am on Sunday.

In addition, shops will not be allowed to sell takeaway alcohol between 6pm and 7am on both evenings.

The rules do not affect bars, cafés or restaurants, which can continue serving customers as normal.

According to the French authorities, the aim is to reduce the number of alcohol related incidents that could place even more pressure on emergency departments already dealing with the consequences of the heat.

Paris police chief Patrice Faure said hospitals in the capital were approaching saturation point.

To help cope with the situation, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced that France had raised its national health emergency response to its highest level. The move allows hospitals to increase staffing levels and organise resources to protect the most vulnerable patients during the heatwave.

The warnings coming from doctors have become increasingly direct.

Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said many people still believe that extreme heat mainly threatens older adults or those with existing health conditions. She stressed that this assumption is wrong.

According to Rist, young people have also suffered cardiac arrests during the current heatwave. She revealed that ambulance services in Paris dealt with four times the usual number of cardiac arrest cases over a single 24 hour period.

Officials have not released confirmed figures for deaths directly caused by the heat, but Paris deputy mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said mortality in the capital was rising.

Speaking on French television, he criticised people who continued jogging outdoors despite the temperatures, saying there was nothing wrong with taking a short break from exercise until conditions improved.

The message from public health officials has been simple. Drink plenty of water, avoid physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and do not assume that being young automatically protects you from the effects of extreme heat.

Spain already under intense heat, Germany prepares for the next blast of heat

Although France remains under intense heat, the weather pattern is beginning to shift.

Spain, which recorded 45.1C in Andújar earlier this week during its exceptional June heatwave, is expected to cool slightly as Atlantic air begins moving across the country.

Temperatures will remain high in many areas, with forecasts still reaching 38C or 39C, and the impact of the heat in Spain has already been significant.

The country’s MoMo mortality monitoring system estimates that 213 deaths recorded between Sunday and Wednesday could be linked to high temperatures. Of those, 95 occurred on Wednesday alone.

Germany could see temperatures reach 40C, while much of the Czech Republic is now under extreme heat warnings as forecasters expect the same hot air to spread across central Europe.

France also faces another challenge.

After days of exceptional heat, meteorologists are forecasting powerful thunderstorms across parts of the west of the country. Winds of up to 110 kilometres per hour are expected along sections of the Atlantic coast.

The first day of the Garorock Festival has already been cancelled because of the forecast, while temperatures could still climb to 42C before storms arrive.

The extreme weather has also affected France’s electricity network, with three nuclear power plants taken offline because of the heat.

Europe is seeing longer, hotter summers

The latest heatwave has once again highlighted how vulnerable Europe has become to prolonged periods of extreme temperatures.

According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, Europe is warming faster than any other continent, with temperatures rising at roughly twice the global average.

That trend is bringing more frequent heatwaves, increasing pressure on healthcare systems and placing greater strain on water supplies and energy infrastructure.

Wildfires have also become a growing concern.

More than one million hectares burned across Europe last year, with Spain among the countries most severely affected.

For millions of people, the consequences of this week’s heatwave have been impossible to ignore. Schools have had to adapt, hospitals have activated emergency plans, festivals have been disrupted and governments have introduced measures that would once have seemed extraordinary for a spell of hot weather.

Health authorities across Europe continue to repeat the same advice. Stay hydrated, remain indoors during the hottest part of the day whenever possible and avoid strenuous physical activity until temperatures ease. With much of the summer still ahead, officials believe those precautions could become necessary more than once before the season comes to an end.

More than 1,200 foreign residents are reported to be involved in legal action over changes to Portugal’s nationality law, according to immigration lawyers and advisory sources. The changes tighten the residency requirements needed to apply for Portuguese citizenship and alter how time spent in the country is calculated.

For some applicants, the new rules extend the qualifying period by several years, depending on visa type and residency status. Lawyers say the overall scale is still unclear, but more residents have joined legal action since the changes were announced.

Longer residency requirements change expectations

The standard residency period required for citizenship has been extended in certain cases, particularly for non-EU nationals. In addition, changes to how residency time is counted mean that some categories of stay no longer contribute in full towards eligibility. This has created confusion among applicants who had already begun counting down their qualifying period under the previous rules.

Immigration lawyers say many of those affected had been living in Portugal for several years and were planning their applications based on earlier expectations. For some, the changes have reset timelines they believed were close to completion. The main issue raised by legal representatives is not only the longer waiting period, but the inconsistency in how the new rules apply to different groups. Applicants in similar circumstances may now face different outcomes depending on when and how their residency was registered.

Disputes over transitional arrangements

A major point of contention is how the new law applies to people already in the system. Lawyers working with foreign residents say there is still no clear guidance on which applications will be processed under the old framework and which will fall under the new rules. This uncertainty has led to disputes and, in some cases, formal legal challenges.

For applicants, the lack of transitional clarity has created practical problems. Some who expected to submit citizenship applications this year now find themselves waiting indefinitely while the rules are interpreted and applied. In legal practice, much of the current workload involves clarifying eligibility under overlapping regimes rather than straightforward applications. This has added further strain to an already complex administrative system.

Portugal’s growing foreign resident population

Portugal has become one of Europe’s most popular destinations for foreign residents over the past decade. Many have been drawn by comparatively lower living costs, favourable tax arrangements for certain categories of expatriates, and relatively accessible residency routes.

That growth has placed pressure on administrative services responsible for immigration and nationality applications. Even before the latest reforms, applicants reported delays in processing times for residency renewals and citizenship paperwork.

Government supporters of the changes argue that the system needs to be updated to reflect higher demand and to ensure consistency with broader European Union standards. Several EU countries have tightened citizenship and residency requirements in recent years, citing integration and administrative capacity. Officials also argue that clearer rules will improve long-term stability in the system, even if they involve longer qualifying periods.

Political disagreement over direction of policy

The reforms have prompted debate over how citizenship policy should balance stability for residents with national immigration objectives. Supporters of the changes say citizenship should reflect long-term integration into Portuguese society, and that stricter rules help maintain clarity and consistency across applications. They also point to administrative pressure caused by rising demand.

Critics, including immigration lawyers and expatriate groups, argue that sudden changes undermine trust in the system. Many say people who moved to Portugal under previous rules made long-term decisions based on expectations that have now shifted. Some legal experts warn that frequent changes to eligibility criteria can discourage long-term settlement and create uncertainty for foreign workers, particularly those with families or long-term economic commitments in the country.

Scale of legal complaints remains unclear

While there is broad agreement that legal challenges have increased, the exact number of complaints linked to the nationality law changes has not been confirmed by official sources.

Lawyers involved in immigration cases say they are dealing with a growing number of coordinated enquiries and group actions, but there is no publicly available dataset that records the total number of individuals involved. As a result, estimates circulating in commentary vary widely, and the full scale of opposition remains uncertain.

Awaiting clarification on transitional rules

Further clarification from Portuguese authorities is expected on how transitional applications will be handled under the new framework. Until then, many applicants remain in a holding position, unsure of how their cases will be assessed or how long the process will now take.

For some, the issue is no longer simply whether they qualify for citizenship, but when they will be able to apply under rules that are still being interpreted in practice. The reforms mark a significant shift in Portugal’s approach to nationality policy. As legal challenges continue and administrative guidance develops, the effects of the changes are likely to remain a focus for foreign residents already living in the country.