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Provision of emergency care

We are permitted to remain open to provide emergency veterinary care.

We are working under specific guidance from the RCVS which has been updated in view of the coronavirus situation and states:

“Although veterinary practices may remain open, in order to comply with the most recent government requirements, the number of clients seen face-to-face should be kept to an absolute minimum….

… animals should only be seen in emergencies or where, in the judgement of the veterinary surgeon, urgent assessment and/or treatment is needed in order to reduce the risk of patient deterioration to the point where it may become an emergency in the near future”

Only urgent cases and those that have been triaged by a veterinary surgeon and fall into the appropriate category can currently be offered appointments.

We will not be performing routine appointments or procedures such as vaccinations, neuterings, nail clips etc. If you feel you need veterinary advice for your pet, please ring us for a telephone appointment. We will let you know when routine work restarts.

The good news is that the RCVS have also temporarily relaxed the rules governing remote prescription, so we are now able to offer consultations by telephone. We may ask you to send photos or videos, should this be the case please ensure they are in focus and clearly demonstrate the area of concern. Please note there is a charge for this service. You may also request a free nurse telephone consultation but please be aware that nurses are unable to prescribe prescription medications.

Vaccination reminders

Please note our recall system for vaccination reminders has been suspended until further notice. Please contact your local branch if you believe your pet is due a vaccination to discuss the available options, however, if your pet is adult and previously vaccinated, it is likely the risk from delaying vaccination for up to 3 months is low.

Additionally, for dogs where a first vaccination of versican DHPPi has been given, onset of immunity for parvovirus, distemper and adenovirus occurs after 3 weeks. A second vaccine is required to “bump up” that initial immunity but your puppy will have some protection after the first vaccination. Onset of immunity for leptospirosis is 4 weeks after the second vaccination.

We recommend you keep kittens in until we are able to give them their first vaccinations. Puppies who have not had their first vaccinations should ideally be confined to your house and garden.

Should you feel that your neutering or vaccination request comes under the heading of urgent for welfare reasons please give us a ring to discuss although please note that very few cases would be classified as such and  appreciate that we are prioritising staff time for poorly pets.

Repeat medication requests

Due to the rapidly changing COVID-19 situation we are changing our protocols for repeat medication requests. We would like to thank you for your ongoing patience and understanding whilst our teams are adapting to new working environments to ensure we can still provide essential urgent and emergency care where it is required.

Please do not make unnecessary trips to our surgeries at this time. This is not only to protect our teams, but yourselves and the wider community. We are open for urgent and emergency care only.

We will prioritise essential medication requests e.g heart medications, anti-epileptic medications, pain relief etc.

Please give us at least 5 days notice for your prescription requests, while we are still receiving deliveries, they are no longer daily so we now need more notice to process your requests additionally, we will be able to only prescribe one month of medication at a time.

If your pet is in need of these routine flea and worm treatments please delay your request to give our teams time to adapt to the new restrictions on their work and prioritise poorly pets.

If your cat suffers from Flea Allergic Dermatitis and relies on regular prescription flea treatment to manage their condition please make our reception teams aware and we will ask the vet team to action this request along with other essential medication requests.

In the interest of protecting our clients, patients and staff over the coming weeks and months, we will be implementing some protocols to minimise the spread of Coronavirus within our practice. We are here to help you as we always do but there will be guidelines that we will need our clients to follow.

If you have or are looking to book an appointment with us then please let us know if any of the following apply:

* You have travelled outside the UK within the last 14 days
* You or someone you live with, or your animals have been in contact with someone with COVID-19 symptoms
* You are suffering from suspect COVID-19 symptoms (cough, high temperature, shortness of breath)

Please don't worry if you answer yes to any of our above questions as we will work with you to ensure your pet is looked after appropriately.

If you do have a concern regarding waiting for your appointment within our public waiting area, please call reception to notify them of your arrival and wait in your car. 

Please follow instructions given to you by staff, our protocols are in place to keep everyone safe.

Many thanks for your understanding.

Do animals get coronaviruses?

Coronaviruses are very common in animals and there are many different strains (types) which are different from COVID-19. In general, they normally cause problems like coughing or diarrhoea that are relatively mild.

Do animals get COVID-19?

There have been no confirmed COVID-19 infections in animals. Some coronaviruses are zoonotic which means they can jump from one species to another, for example human to animal or the reverse. There is some suggestion that COVID-19 originated from animals(bats) but this is not yet confirmed.
COVID-19 seems to spread from human to human, not animals.

How do animals contribute to the spread of COVID-19?

At the moment we don’t think animals play a significant role in the spread of COVID-19. However, if a person with COVID-19 is in contact with an animal they could potentially spread the virus to another person via the virus being on the coat of the animal. In this situation the animal is a fomite (something that can transfer a virus from one person to another without them having to meet).

Can I get COVID-19 from my pet?

No, but if they have been in touch with someone infected with COVID-19 then there is a slight risk. Make sure you wash your hands before and after feeding/playing with your pet and avoid kissing, licking or sharing food with them

Can animals be vaccinated?

No, we have some vaccines for other types of animal coronaviruses but they are not useful when thinking about COVID-19.

RISK ASSESSMENT

We are taking steps to manage and minimise the risk of Covid 19 to all our clients and staff. Please see our risk assessment for further details on how we are aiming to achieve this.