Practice News
PET EMERGENCIESMonday 6th November, 2006
It’s a stressful time in the Hospital at the moment as we prepare for our inspection by The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons to maintain our ‘top tier’ hospital status. This check up ensures we provide facilities, equipment and a standard of care that keeps up with the rapid advances in the field of veterinary medicine whilst providing the best possible care for the pets that come to see us.
Part of these standards require us to provide on-site emergency cover 24hrs a day, 365days a year. Being on call comes with the job –I can find myself cursing my foolish choice of profession, whilst climbing out of bed at 3am on a cold January night to do a bitch caeserian. These emotions are soon replaced with huge satisfaction when the operation goes well and the fact I may be tired the next day but at least I won’t be pushing paper round at some deskjob.
Emergency calls can provide some of the most interesting cases we see and there is no telling what might turn up. Pets involved in road traffic accidents, poisonings and allergic reactions need to be dealt with swiftly so it is great comfort to our clients that we are always at the end of the phone ready to see them.
One of my first night calls as a keen young vet in Yorkshire was to a calving cow having difficulties. It was midnight but I was dressed and out the door smartish and sped off down the quiet country road I lived on. Suddenly there was a streak of black running out in front of my car followed by a sickening thump as it made contact with the vehicle –I caught a glance of it again in my rear view mirror as it fled in shock. Fifteen minutes of searching with the torch was unrewarding and I had to get off to see this cow. On my return I had another look but still not a sausage, I was still unsure if it was a rabbit a fox or what.
I finally climbed back into bed at 3am feeling somewhat guilty and was beginning to drop off when another call came in from a neighbour of mine reporting her cat had returned home looking distressed and limping –could he have been hit by a car she asked? It took a deep breath and a lot of grovelling to explain that her vet was the likely culprit. Luckily she was understanding and Murphy the cat made a full recovery.
Providing round the clock care is expensive and needs dedication from the nurses and vets involved but it’s an essential part of the job. It brings some of the most interesting and rewarding cases as we see them from initial crisis through to rehabilitation and back to full health.
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