Arrival
On arrival at Cave Veterinary Specialists you will be greeted by our Reception team who will welcome you and your pet and book you into our diary. We will weigh your pet if it is a dog and ask you to complete some forms which tell us all we need to know in order to take care of your pet, especially if they need to stay in hospital.
We have separate cat and dog waiting areas to make sure all our patients feel safe and comfortable.
Diagnostic Tests
Your specialist will greet you and take you to a consulting room to examine your pet and discuss your pet’s full history. Together you and your specialist will decide upon on how to proceed with further treatment.
If you and your specialist decide your pet needs diagnostic tests to investigate what is making them unwell, they will take your pet through to one of our wards to be made comfortable.
We have separate cat and dog wards to ensure every patient’s needs are met.
Most patients start their journey with diagnostic tests. These are tests we use to determine exactly what is wrong with the patient, so we can plan how to treat them. This may be X-rays, blood tests, MRI scans, or one of the many other sophisticated diagnostic tools we have available at Cave Vets.
Some tests are undertaken on the ward (such as blood tests). Others require the patient to have sedation or anaesthesia to enable the tests to be undertaken (to make sure the patient is still and relaxed). You will always be informed if this is required and be asked for your permission before tests are undertaken.
Further Investigations
Once we have the results of diagnostic tests, and can tell what is wrong, we can plan treatment. This may be a surgical procedure (an operation) or may be medical care which will be undertaken in the ward. Some veterinary specialisms can undertake interventions (corrective treatments) during diagnostics testing, so that a separate procedure is not needed. This would be dependent on the individual case.
If a patient needs surgery, they will be taken through to our operating theatre suite.
After surgery, the patient will be looked after by highly trained registered veterinary nurses until they have recovered enough to be taken back to the wards.
If the patient’s condition does not require surgery, they will spend the rest of their time in wards or one of our other specialised areas, receiving the required medical treatments, until they are ready to go home.
Surgery and After Care
The specialist, or one of our highly trained veterinary nurses, will meet you at the end of your pet’s journey to discharge them from hospital, tell you how to care for them at home for the remainder of their recovery, and anything to look out for. We are available by telephone to discuss any worries following discharge (leaving hospital) should you need us.
Some patients may be seen and treated all in one day and will not need to stay in hospital. For instance, this is the usual journey for patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Every journey is different, however our promise to you is to offer outstanding care and excellent communication with you and your referring vet throughout your pet’s stay with us.
If you have any questions, please call us on 01823 653510.