Contact details:
Please ensure we have a correct contact telephone number where you will be available to be contacted on the day of the procedure, should it be necessary. If you are not available on the phone, please ensure that we have a name and contact number of someone who can act on your behalf.
Insurance Forms:
If your pet is insured and you wish to claim for their medical costs please bring in your policy documents and a signed blank claims form on the morning of their procedure. We ask you to pay us directly when you collect your pet and we will process the insurance claim for you as quickly as possible. If you wish us to do a direct claim from the insurance company, it is necessary for us to have a written pre-authorisation from your insurance company. You will normally have an excess to pay and possibly a percentage of the cost, depending on the policy type and this should be paid when you collect your pet. Not all insurance companies will provide pre-authorisation.
Feeding:
Please do not feed your pet after midnight the night before his/her procedure, unless you have been specifically told to do otherwise. It would be best if your pet had a small meal late on, the night before the procedure. Please allow access to water right up until your pet comes into the surgery. For puppies and kittens, younger than three months old, please feed them a small meal at 5:30am on the day of their procedure. We advise that all cats are kept indoors the night before their procedure.
Toileting:
Please ensure your pet has been out for toileting purposes, before coming into the surgery and that any cats have had access to a litter tray overnight. This will ensure that they feel nice and comfortable when they come in, because they can be quite shy about toileting in the surgery.
Anaesthesia:
Your pet may be having a sedation or an anaesthetic. All anaesthetics and sedations carry a small amount of risk. This is increased in very old, very young or ill patients. It is the surgeon’s/anaesthetist’s job to minimise this risk as much as possible. A pre-operative blood test prior to anaesthesia helps the surgeon assess the function of important organs like the liver and kidneys and also helps pick up any early signs of disease, such as diabetes. Whilst this is advantageous in any pet, we always advise a blood test in patients over eight years of age. The cost of this blood test is £81.25 (Healthy Pet Club members get a 10% discount) and can be performed the morning of your pet’s procedure.
We advise a free pre-op check for all routine operations within a week of the procedure. This includes and examination and discussion about the procedure, post op care and cost involved.
Fluid Therapy:
This is also available as an option for your pet when having a sedation or anaesthetic. Intravenous fluid therapy is seen as gold standard for any procedure lasting longer than 30 minutes. It helps maintain blood pressure and circulation throughout the procedure and also speeds up recovery afterwards, which gets your pet up and about, ready to go home with you as soon as possible. We strongly recommend this option for all bitches being neutered, all pets getting dental treatment and any patient over eight years of age. The cost of the fluid therapy is £88.44 (Healthy Pet Club members get a 10% discount).
If you have any questions regarding either pre-operative bloods or intravenous fluid therapy, please speak to your vet or nurse on the morning of the procedure.
Post-Operative Information:
Smart Collars:
These are plastic “lampshade” type collars that are used to prevent your pet licking or biting at his/her wound and stitches. Many pets cope well with these, but for some patients (and owners) a Medical Pet Suit may be tolerated better due to increased comfort. If you wish to have a pet suit, rather than a smart collar, please let us know the morning of your pet’s procedure.
Going Home:
We will normally arrange a discharge appointment time when we admit your pet, but we ask you to phone the surgery on 01563 530775 after 1pm to confirm this time, as sometimes it is necessary to delay a discharge for various reasons.
At your pet’s discharge appointment the veterinary surgeon or veterinary nurse will discuss how your pet has been throughout their stay, give you information regarding any wound, feeding, exercise or medication advice and let you know when your pet’s next check-up is due.
