We are a Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) approved equine hospital.
The vets and nurses at BELL EQUINE provide 24 hour cover, 365 days a year for the horses and ponies under their care.
Unfortunately, during the current the global outbreak of coronavirus, our usual way of working has had to change in light of government guidlines, but we hope to return to normal as soon as possible. We are of course still providing our 24hour, 7 days a week emergency service during this time.
To provide this degree of care means that sometimes the vet who gets called out at night, may be working at least some of the following day, so we ask you to only call us out of hours IF YOU HAVE A GENUINE EMERGENCY THAT NEEDS URGENT AND IMMEDIATE TREATMENT. If you are unsure whether you have a genuine emergency, you can contact the duty vet by calling our normal number 01622 813700, and press 1 to be put through to our pager service who will arrange for the duty vet to call you to discuss your concerns. Vets are trained to ask the right questions but are dependent on you being able to provide accurate answers. It is very helpful if the horse owner or carer can make some basic assessments of their own before calling the vet.
The sort of things we need to know include:
The answers to these questions can significantly assist the vet in deciding when an emergency visit is required.
(KC / AG 2020)
We recommend you minimise the risk of emergency calls and ensure your horse remains in good health by adopting a proactive preventative health care approach, including regular vaccination, parasite control, dental care, good nutrition and perfect management for your horse.
Even if you are not there yourself to see the vet, please make sure all essential information is available in case of an emergency. This should include:
In addition to the basic emergency service commitments, our equine vets also provide emergency cover for cases referred to our specialist equine hospital by other vets so there are always several vets and one equine nurse on duty. In addition there is a vet on site to look after our inpatients at all times. Also, we are on call for point to points, events and other equestrian pursuits that often take place over a weekend, so we do not carry out routine visits outside normal office hours. Frequently more than one emergency may occur simultaneously and our staff to trained to prioritise calls they receive, so that the most serious cases can be dealt with first.
Finally on a lighter note, one thing that hasn’t changed since the days of James Herriot: A vet on an out of hours callout will always appreciate the provision of half a bucket of warm water, soap and a clean towel as well as the offer of a cup of tea or coffee!
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