Client Communication About Covid-19

We are only open for Telephone Consultations, Emergencies and to fulfil urgent prescriptions. All routine appointments have been postponed, once all restrictions have been lifted we will be in contact with you to rearrange your appointments.

The BVA has announced further guidance due to the indefinite nature of the lockdown period. All of the below will be carried our whilst still maintaining the social distancing measures outlined above. This includes the following: –

• Vaccinations – some vaccinations can now go ahead, including primary vaccinations and year 1 boosters for cats and dogs. Annual leptospirosis vaccination can also be carried out as well as rabbit vaccinations. We can also carry out additional components of core vaccinations if your pet visits for the above.
• Neutering – although we are not carrying out neutering routinely at this time, we are able to assess each pet on a case by case basis following a video consult. Neutering may be performed if its essential for welfare, if your pet lives in a mixed sex pairing or if your cat cannot be kept indoors.
• Microchipping – microchipping can be undertaken if the animal is already in the practice for an essential service.

Our Covid-19 Care Questionnaire will help you understand if your pet’s health needs are urgent and point you in the right direction for help. 

A routine appointment would classify as nail trim, general health check (when you have no concerns), nurse weight & confidence clinics and routine anal gland expression. All routine surgeries have had to be postponed, with some select exceptions which will be carried out whilst adhering to social distancing rules outlined above.

Following the additional lockdown period, the BVA has announced further guidance due to the indefinite nature of the lockdown period. All of the below will be carried our whilst still maintaining the social distancing measures outlined above. This includes the following: –

• Vaccinations – some vaccinations can now go ahead, including primary vaccinations and year 1 boosters for cats and dogs. Annual leptospirosis vaccination can also be carried out as well as rabbit vaccinations. We can also carry out additional components of core vaccinations if your pet visits for the above.
• Neutering – although we are not carrying out neutering routinely at this time, we are able to assess each pet on a case by case basis following a telephone consult. Neutering may be performed if its essential for welfare, if your pet lives in a mixed sex pairing or if your cat cannot be kept indoors.
• Microchipping – microchipping can be undertaken if the animal is already in the practice for an essential service.

At the moment, we’re only seeing urgent cases in our surgery face-to-face. This means that we’re handling as much as we can over the phone. All cases will first begin with a telephone triage consultation and if we believe we can treat your pet without seeing them in the surgery we will.

You’ll tell the vet about the issue that’s troubling your pet and the vet will ask questions that are appropriate to the assessment.

Many pets can be assessed using features available on a modern smart phone, such as videos taken before or during your call or images of your pet. The vet may direct you to perform some basic checks over the phone, so best to have your pet nearby when you call.

If, after speaking to you about your pet’s condition over the phone, we decide that we need to see them, we’ll book an appointment time for you to bring them in.

Emergency appointments are by appointment only, so if you believe you require to be seen please contact the practice on 01565 337999 to arrange an appointment.

As defined by the British Veterinary Associations, an emergency is defined as an immediate threat to life; significant impact on health/welfare and likely to deteriorate if left unmanaged. In normal circumstances these are cases that would be seen out of hours or fitted in on the same day.

An emergency would include (but is not limited to):

• Severe trauma, eg RTA
• Seizures
• Significant weakness or collapse
• Cough >one-week duration
• Difficulty breathing (open mouth breathing in cats)
• Dystocia
• Acute severe lameness
• Abdominal swelling
• Significant bleeding
• Retching
• Toxin ingestion (if phone/video triaged as significant)
• Struggling to urinate or defecate
• Excessive urination or thirst
• GI signs (vomiting and/or diarrhoea) with significant mental depression
• Ongoing treatment and monitoring of Addison’s patients
• Monitoring of unstable diabetics
• Flystrike
• Ileus (small mammals)
• Euthanasia

Our Covid-19 Care Questionnaire will help you understand if your pet’s health needs are urgent and point you in the right direction for help. 

• Mild trauma, eg nail pulls
• Skin issues, including flea allergic dermatitis
• Anal glands/scooting
• Post-op checks
• Repeat medication checks, if stable
• Vomiting/diarrhoea in a well animal
• Jaundice
• Pallor
• Dental complaints
• Lumps
• Wounds
• Non-acute lameness
• Eye complaints
• Anorexia
• Vaginal discharge
• Non-specific lethargy

Our Covid-19 Care Questionnaire will help you understand if your pet’s health needs are urgent and point you in the right direction for help. 

To reduce face-to-face contact we are posting out medications to you via Royal Mail Recorded Delivery for £4.99. Please allow 2-3 working days for all deliveries. Where medication can not be posted, in the case of controlled drugs, refrigerated medications or urgent supplies, we will arrange collection from the practice once payment is received.

We are following the BVA advice for the veterinary sector relating to Covid-19. This means we’ve dramatically reduced the number of patients we’re seeing face to face throughout this time and we have processes in place which mean your pet will be collected from your car. 

• All unnecessary client contact must be stopped.
• Clarify a client’s medical status with regard to Covid-19
• Obtain histories over the phone
• Use technology to triage and consult wherever possible
• Consider remote prescribing in line with RCVS guidance
• Obtain payment over the phone
• Ensure contact-free collection of medication is in place, with a specific, secure collection time and place organised in advance
• Post medication if appropriate following Post Office guidance and, where applicable, following RCVS controlled drugs guidance

We have also taken the BVA’s advice on running a skeleton staff. We are operating with only half our team at a time, therefore we ask that routine requests (for example requests for worm and flea treatment) are kept to a minimum.

This Means:

• Clients should wait in the car/outside and telephone on arrival
• Animals should be collected from outside the practice by a member of staff
• Clients should remain outside whilst the patient is examined away from the owner
• After examination, treatment plans should be discussed and agreed over the phone
• There should be as few people working in the practice as possible, maintaining appropriate physical distances as much as possible. We have therefore split our workforce into small teams (eg 1 vet/1nurse) to minimise overall contacts
• Staggering breaks between teams in case one team needs to isolate
• There is no expectation on vets and nurses to undertake home visits to an infected household unless: it is essential for animal welfare; the risk can be adequately controlled (for example the animal placed outside the home upon the veterinary surgeon’s arrival); appropriate PPE is worn; and there is no other way the animal can be brought to the practice