Services

Diagnostics

Of course in most cases we hope to diagnose your pet without having to do any tests. A careful examination and a thorough discussion with the owner is still the most valuable part of diagnosing any patient.

Each surgery offers comprehensive diagnostic facilities:-

Ultrasound scanning is painless and harmless to our patients. As in human medicine ultrasonography is a very important tool allowing assessment of many areas without being invasive – with the heart and abdomen (internal organs) being the most important. We also offer scanning as a pregnancy diagnosis service.

Endoscopy allows us access areas inside the patient (for example inside the nose, or inside wounds looking for grass seeds) without having to do more major surgery.

Each surgery has on-site x-ray and blood analysis machines and automatic x-ray processors, for instant results. These instant results are particularly important for critically ill or emergency cases.

We have ECG and echocardiography (heart scanning) equipment for cardiac scans, and monitoring for patients with heart disease.

Operations

Each site has equipment for anaesthetics and operating facilities for surgical procedures. Theatre is regarded as the highest priority for cleanliness within a well-run surgery. Our post-operative infection rate is extremely low. Whether it is a ‘routine’ procedure such as neutering or an emergency surgery in the night, the same high standards of care apply. We only use the most modern and safest anaesthetics which are specifically licensed for veterinary use. We use a wide range of anaesthetic agents such as propofol, isoflurane and sevoflurane according to the requirements of the individual patient.

We have pulse oximetry which can monitor the level of oxygen in a patient's bloodstream, just by putting a little clip on their tongue. Some patients will have blood tests prior to their operation to ensure they are fit for the anaesthetic. Most important of all, our staff monitoring the anaesthesia do not just rely on machines, but also on their experience and training looking listening and feeling the patient continually.

Hospitalisation

Each surgery has a modern and hygienic ward for both day-patient and hospitalized inpatients. Oxygen therapy can be provided. Each surgery can offer 24hour on-site nursing to care for patients kept overnight.

Consultations

We offer consultations by appointment, as we are keen to keep your waiting time short. Consultations are run as morning surgery 9-11 am and afternoon surgery 4-7pm. We try to allow for clients to see the same vet during a course of treatment for continuity. The surgery is open for emergencies even outside of consulting hours: unless they are away on visits, each surgery has a vet present all day. Outside of normal consultations, our nursing and reception staff are always happy to give free advice on your pet's diet, worming, flea control. Routine health checks and vaccinations are performed by the vet. We offer free consultations for new puppies and kittens (see new client page).

Free friendly advice, pet product sales

Our nurses are on hand throughout the day, and are always happy to give advice on products which we sell including flea treatments, worming, routine pet foods, specialist pet foods, and other pet products.

Dentistry

We have dedicated ultrasonic dental descale, dental blurring, cutting and extraction equipment, with polishing tools. This work is done under anaesthetic, in order to remove plaque from the teeth and remove diseased teeth. Dental disease and plaque can contribute to longer term problems such as kidney disease in cats and heart valve disease in dogs, and the importance of managing dental plaque and unhealthy teeth is now recognized. To help pets' dental health we wanted to make this treatment as affordable as possible, and so we now offer cat dental descale and extractions at £150, and dog dental descale and extractions at £180. Each of these includes a general anaesthetic, up to three extractions, ultrasonic descaling, polishing pain relief and antibiotics as appropriate.