When your pet is admitted to our main surgeries with hospitalisation facilities, you can be sure that they will be well cared for with our team of vet nurses and vets.
Your pet will be admitted by one of our vets or nurses, and we will go through a detailed consent form, checking that we have all the contact information that we need, any medications that they are taking, and anything that may make their stay more comfortable such as food preferences or toilet habits.
After admission
Your pet may be connected to a drip, be given some medication or have some tests such as blood samples taken. Then they will be given a kennel. Our dog, cat and exotic wards are all separate, reducing stress and meaning that the lighting and temperature can be best suited for each species. Cat kennels all contain litter trays, boxes for hiding in and warm comfortable bedding. The dog ward has a range of walk in kennels for big dogs and smaller kennels for little dogs, again with warm bedding. The exotic ward contains several vivariums with heat lamps, UV sources and various substrates as needed.
Care plan
Every patient has an individual medication and observation form for each day of their stay. Here we write a care plan including dosage and timing of medications to ensure that each pet gets the treatment that they need. We also write careful notes on clinical examination findings and other important information such as toileting and eating.
Night care
At varying times per site, there is handover from day staff to the night nurse. At this time there is a ward round, and each patient is discussed in turn, with any important details passed on. During the evening the nurse will administer medications when needed and monitor and record vital signs. The vet on call is available for the nurse to consult if they have any concerns about the inpatients.
Exercise
Dogs are regularly taken outside for the chance to go the toilet. We have an enclosed yard where dogs can be let off the lead but we find some dogs prefer to use the grass outside the surgery. Cats are checked regularly and have their litter tray changed when needed. Inpatients are often fussed and groomed by our nurses, and they will often spend lots of time hand feeding and tempting inappetant patients to eat.
Although our nurses do go to bed at the surgery, our inpatients are checked at least once during the night (including the chance for a night-time wee) and more often if the vet feels this is necessary.
Handover
In the morning there is a second ward round when the day staff are briefed with the events over night. Every pet is then examined by the vet, who will then update the owners and make a plan for the day, which may include further treatment, investigations or hopefully to be discharged back home.
