Spring 2010

We are happy to announce that we have become an RCVS Accredited Small Animal General Practice. RCVS accreditation is a voluntary scheme administered by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and involves practices being inspected by an RCVS Inspector and the standard of care they provide being assessed. Those practices which pass the inspection will be judged to reach either 1) Basic Common Core level, 2) General Practice, or 3) Hospital level.
It is usually the large practices with several branches who have the range of specialist equipment necessary to reach Hospital level, so we are pleased to have reached level two as a G.P. in the specialist area of Small Animals.
More details about the Practice Standards Scheme can be found by clicking on the RCVS Accredited Practice logo at the top right of all pages.

Having achieved accreditation will make no difference to the standard of care you receive from us but the certificate does provide proof that we are committed to achieving high standards in all areas of our veterinary work and are willing to demonstrate this commitment by passing examinations. The certificate itself can be seen on the wall, behind reception, if you really want to have a look at it.

We started working towards accreditation when we split the Belper surgery from the Derby one in October 2007, so receiving our certificate was the culmination of a long wrestle with red tape!

During the same period we were also busy with selling off the old Derby surgery and would wish to re-emphasise that we now have no connection with it at all. Under new ownership although the nursing staff remains the same the Veterinary Surgeons have changed and the ethos of the new business is not the same as ours. We are aware that their advertising implies a continuation of a previous enterprise but as neither Roger Till nor his son Matthew Till is now involved in the running of the business it is not a continuation. We mention this as some of our clients are still confused about the situation.


We now have two acupuncturists in the practice, Katherine Reynolds has completed her acupuncture training and has joined Roger Till as a member of ABVA and WVAG, more information can be found on our Acupuncture page. We have had some pleasing success with acupuncture for dogs, including on our receptionist Jenny’s dog who was treated for lameness. Cats are equally unconcerned by the placing of the needles but far less happy to sit still for half an hour, sometimes!

It is now over a year since we had the Heat Exchanger/Air Conditioning units fitted in the Surgery so we have been able to assess their efficiency in all weather conditions and we are very pleased with their performance. Even in this recent very cold spell they had no difficulty in maintaining a constant heat throughout the waiting, consulting and hospital areas and over last summer they cooled to the same constant temperature. The quality of the air is also improved and this has been much appreciated by staff and clients alike, the animals have not made any comments that we have understood but I expect they also approve.

We are always looking for ways to improve the services we offer to our clients and last year it was suggested by one of our staff that we consider changing our opening hours during Bank Holidays. After everyone had talked it over we all agreed that it would be a good thing to open as usual on all statutory holidays except Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Therefore if you need us during on Holiday days we will be available and providing our usual services, including operations, at our normal prices.

One service we have been unable to offer up to now is ultra-sound diagnosis but this has changed. We have recently bought a modern ultra-sound machine and our vets and nurses will be fully trained in its use by early May. Ultra-sound can be useful in diagnosing pregnancies, identifying foreign bodies, checking on the size of organs and looking at various elements of heart function. Although it can be used alongside x-rays to help get a fuller picture of an animal’s body, in  some cases it can replace the use of x-rays. This means that it MAY be possible to avoid risks involved in giving an anaesthetic and a dose of radiation and still reach a confirmed diagnosis.

The times we all dread is when a pet dies or has to be ‘put to sleep’, a loving owner suffers greatly at these times and so when an animal dies it is important that we can give reliable information about how their remains will be dealt with if they are sent for cremation. Our ‘funeral service provider’ is Pet Cremation Services and we have worked with them for many years. They have recently upgraded their facilities and started offering extra services which has prompted us to visit their Northampton premises to make sure we have first hand experience of their work. We hope this will allow us to answer all questions you may have at this difficult time and to discuss the various options available for dealing with the ashes after cremation.

Last April regulations concerning the prescribing of drugs were amended and we had to ask that we were given 24 hrs notice for the issuing of repeat prescriptions. We now have to have a system of double checking and double recording in place and the vets only have time to carry out these checks when they are neither consulting nor operating.
We are very grateful for the way our clients have been so understanding about the changes we have had to make.

During the year we have had sad, happy and funny times with our clients and their pets but perhaps the thing about 2009 which will stick in our minds the longest is providing accommodation for a stray guinea pig which was brought to us after being found on the Coppice car park at Belper Market Place. She was found after a cold night in the middle of December and was hungry, subdued and frightened. We did not manage to find her original owner but she became a great favourite with the staff, and very talkative and demanding! She has been christened Doris and found a new family for the New Year.

This year’s star looks likely to be Stevie a blue budgerigar who was brought in during January’s cold snap after being found in a garden. He was almost dead from the cold but surprised us by surviving. Despite advertising in the local press his owner has not come forward and so we have adopted him as the Surgery pet. You can find him in reception taking a great interest in all the clients and animals who come in. He is a beautiful boy but he doesn’t seem to talk, although that ability may develop with all the chatter going on around him!