Coronavirus - Seeking Veterinary Care

Covid-19 and Veterinary Practices

With each daily update issued by our Government on the Coronavirus pandemic, we want to make sure that we are taking all the appropriate steps to protect our clients and staff, whilst ensuring that our patients continue to receive the highest standard of care.

We are doing our very best to ensure that our staff stay fit and well so they can continue to look after your pets. The only way we can do this is to minimise our contact with the public. We are putting ourselves at risk by being at work, and we will continue to do so because we are passionate about the welfare of the pets under our care, but we need you to work with us. Our main entrance is locked and only in exceptional circumstances will we be able to allow clients to enter the practice.

To facilitate this, we have put a number of measures in place that you can read about further down this page. We would like to thank all our clients and staff for your continued support and adherence to our temporary changes at this time. Any updates will be posted on this page of our website and our practice Facebook page.

If you’re concerned whether your pet could be at risk or want to know how to enrich your pet’s life at home if you need to self-isolate or work from home, read our Coronavirus-19 advice. To help you further, we have also created a list of COVID-19 FAQs.

Please take a look at our video on appointments and Covid 19 Autumn/Winter 2020 here.

#STAYHOMESAVELIVES

One of our Vets, Suzie’s artistic impression of our Covid-19 emergency teams:

 

 

Coming to our practice

Please bear in mind that our doors will remain locked to prevent our clients from entering the practice During our normal opening hours, call us on 01909 472059 to speak to a member of our team regarding consultations for your pet, flea and worm treatment, repeat prescriptions, and emergency care.

Should you require emergency veterinary advice or treatment outside of our normal hours, we typically provide an out of hours service until 8pm daily, and then Vets Now in Sheffield provide emergency care for our clients at all other times – find out more.

 

Travelling to the practice

If you are feeling unwell, have had contact with somebody who has tested positive for Coronavirus, or have been asked to self-isolate, please DO NOT travel to the practice with your pet. We will be offering the option to post out medication (at cost) for those unwell clients who need it. For any unwell clients who have a pet in need of urgent attention, we will provide care, but may need to perform a telephone consultation to assess the situation beforehand. If you are self-isolating, please call us and we will discuss the situation. If you are elderly and have someone else who can attend the practice in your place, we would advise this. We are also currently asking that where possible, only one person attends the practice with their pet.

Read Government advice on staying alert & safe here

 

   NHS Coronavirus Advice                 WHO Hand Wash Technique

       

 

Consultations

Following government guidelines, we are continuing to minimise face-to-face contact between our clients and our staff. Therefore, clients are not permitted entry to the practice. For clients who are shielding, you will still be able to have a telephone consultation with one of our vets first.

On arrival at the practice, our clients should call or text to notify our team and then wait in their vehicle to avoid gatherings in our waiting rooms. Instructions on how to text us on arrival are featured around the practice. When the vet is ready for your appointment, they will call you back to verbally discuss your pet’s history before delivering instructions on bringing your pet inside. As mentioned above, clients are not permitted to enter the practice. Therefore when instructed to do so, clients should bring their animal to the appropriate entrance (you will be informed which door by us over the phone) where a member of our team will receive your pet from you. The vet will then carry out their clinical examination of your pet whilst you wait in your vehicle. The vet will then call you again to discuss their findings and any potential treatment plans. Payments for consultations, medications, and treatments will be taken over the phone. Following government advice, the use of cash should be avoided where possible. Your pet and any medications will then be ready for collection at our night entrance door.

 

Operations including Neutering

We’ve now started scheduling neutering and non-routine operations. To book this service, please speak to a member of our team. You will be booked an admit appointment and asked to park around the back of the practice. Reserved parking spaces are available and appropriate signposting for our admissions door. These measures are to reduce traffic at your main entrance and allow our staff in different departments to work separately.

For operation admits, you can text us on arrival (instructions around the building) – the same protocol above will apply in terms of contact with our team. Your pet will be admitted through our labelled ‘admissions door’. Your pet will also be discharged to you through this door following their operation later in the day. On arrival to collect your pet, please call our daytime number (01909 472059).

 

Medications and Pet Food

Pet foods from our shop and prescription diets are still available to purchase. Repeat prescriptions for medications including preventative flea and worm treatment are also available to be processed. We still need all prescriptions to be checked by a vet before being authorised. This is a legal requirement we are bound to and is usually achieved within 72 hours. This is to make sure the correct medication at the correct dose is put through.

As our main entrance is closed, we are asking clients to order these items by calling the practice only. Any payments will be requested over the phone to limit the risk of transmission. We can then arrange with you when to collect your pet’s food and/or medications. Collection requires clients to call the practice from your vehicle in order to let our team know of your arrival. Your items will then be passed to you via our night entrance door along with an invoice for your payment. Alternatively, medications may be posted (at cost) to clients to limit unnecessary travel.

Covid-19 Practice Risk Assessment

Our risk assessment for all of the measures mentioned above is available to view here: Covid-19-Risk-Assessment

Pet enrichment

While many pets will be loving the extra attention from their owners being at home more, did you know there are a variety of ways you can enhance both your own and your pet’s lives even further?

• Enriching the home environment for dogs
• Enriching your cat’s indoor life
• Environment enrichment for small mammals