Thank you for your patience and kindness, as our team continue to work through the pandemic.
Following the government announcement on 31/10/20, we would like to reassure you that our surgeries are allowed to remain open during the England lockdown starting on Thursday.
Please have a read of our latest guidelines before you visit in person, to ensure the safety of yourselves and our team:
- Do not attend the surgery in person if you have symptoms of Covid-19 or are self-isolating. Let us know and we will find a way to help you safely.
- To book an appointment for your pet, phone the surgery or book online for routine consultations.
- To reduce time spent in the surgery, if you need medication or food for your pet please phone or order online in advance. Please give us at least 48hr notice. We are offering local delivery – just ask for more information.
When attending the surgery, we can allow a limited number of people in the waiting room/reception area (maximum 3 customers).
- Please keep your distance from others and follow any instructions in the clinic. To help with this, we kindly ask that only one person attends with a pet where possible.
- Please arrive on time for your appointment. If you are unfortunately late, we may have to rebook your appointment.
- As per government guidelines, you will need to wear a face covering when inside the building.
- Please make use of the hand sanitiser on entering and leaving the building.
Due to the small size of our consulting rooms, and the need for an assistant to help the vet at close distance with most patients, we are unable to allow you into the consulting room with your pet. Exceptions may be possible for sensitive situations to allow privacy, and for euthanasia appointments – please advise when booking so we can allow enough time and take suitable precautions.
You are welcome to wait outside or in your car if you prefer, while your pet is in the surgery.
As a veterinary practice we have always taken hand hygiene and disinfection seriously; it goes without saying we are disinfecting contact points with increased frequency and washing our hands frequently.
We appreciate this isn’t the same type of personal customer service you are used to and thank you for your kindness and co-operation.
Advice for shielding/vulnerable pet owners
Please be reassured, we will still be able to help you. Here are just some of the ways we can help:
- The vet may be able to initially do a telephone or video consultation; our regulatory body has temporarily allowed us to prescribe medication remotely, which we aren’t usually allowed to do.
- If your pet does need an examination, hopefully you have a friend or family member that can bring your pet in to us. Otherwise, we can take the pet into the surgery while you wait in the car or help with transportation of the pet into the surgery.
- We can deliver food or medications to your home.
- We can take payment by card over the phone, or by internet transfer.
Are there any services you are not offering?
We are currently not offering our nurse weight clinics or dental clinics, but if you would like to have a chat about your pet’s health with one of our nurses, they are still offering free of charge telephone and video advice calls. We are not currently offering our free puppy parties, but our student nurse Laura Holderness is helping puppy owners via handouts and videos; for more info see this post.
General advice for pet owners
The British Veterinary Association has a dedicated page for animal owners here. This covers access to veterinary treatment, advice for if you have Covid-19 or are self-isolating, and general advice regarding coronavirus and animals.
The government have published advice for animal owners which you can access here.
We have put together specific advice for puppy owners, as this is a particularly challenging time for puppy socialisation and training – you can read more here.
If you are a cat owner, and your cat is finding it stressful having everyone at home, our article on feline anxiety may help you.
