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THE DOWNS VETERINARY PRACTICE
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THE CLIENT INFORMATION BROCHURE 59, Great Brockeridge, Westbury on Trym Tel: 0117 9622828 Fax: 0117 9622727 www.downsvets.co D Bush MA VetMB CertSAS MRCVS “Combining traditional veterinary values with 21st
century technology and expertise”
Who are we? The Downs Veterinary Practice was set
up in 2002 by Damien Bush. Damien qualified from Damien is ably backed up by his support staff. Estelle St John-Smith is head nurse and is an experienced qualified veterinary nurse. What makes us different? The Downs Veterinary Practice aims for
the highest standards in clinical and client care. This means that we possess the latest
medical and surgical equipment, and keep up to date with advances in the veterinary field
to ensure we can give the best quality treatment available. More than this, though, we
care for our clients as well as our patients, and so provide convenient consulting times,
long consultations to give us the time to explain treatment options and we are always at
the end of a phone for advice. What facilities do we have? We provide the standard facilities you
would expect of any veterinary surgery, such as a surgical theatre, waiting room and
consultation rooms. We have facilities to hospitalise patients, and to provide 24 hour
patient care if necessary. We also have x-ray, ultrasound, two endoscopes, the latest in
house blood testing equipment and sophisticated surgical equipment. What services do we offer? As well as providing basic and
advanced veterinary care for illnesses and accidents, we are also proactive in preventing
diseases. To this end we offer a variety of clinics run by the nurses, such as weight
clinics, senior “well-pet” clinics and puppy socialisation parties. We provide
leaflets on a number of common conditions, and a video and book lending library. We will
do house visits if requested, but bear in mind that we are far more limited in what we can
provide for an animal in the owner’s house than we are at the surgery. What are our opening hours? We are open Monday to Friday , between 8am and 7pm.
Consultations are by appointment between 8.30 am and 10.30 am and 4.30 pm and 6.30 pm. However, urgent and emergency cases will be seen
immediately. On Saturday we are open Where are we? Downs Veterinary Practice is on the
corner of Great Brockeridge and
What are our trading terms? All treatment and services are payable
at the time - it is practice policy not to provide credit. For large procedures such as
major surgery, a deposit may be required in advance. Estimates of costs can be provided,
please ask if you require one. If finances are likely to be a problem, please tell us in
advance so we can discuss all the options available. Do we recommend pet insurance? Simply, yes. Modern techniques and
equipment allow us to perform advanced medical and surgical procedures for your pets, but
the costs can add up. Taking out pet insurance means you do not have to make difficult
decisions regarding your pet’s treatment. There are a number of companies providing
pet insurance, with a large range of premiums. Try to get one which gives lifetime cover
for a condition, rather than stopping payments after a year.
When making a claim, you need to contact your insurance company for a claim form,
fill in and sign your part, and then give it to us to fill in the rest. Apart from
exceptional circumstances, we require payment before sending the claim form, and the
insurers then compensate you directly after deducting their excess. Unlike some veterinary
practices, we make no charge for filling in claim forms. What do we recommend regarding
vaccinations, fleas and worming? As you may be aware, there are some concerns currently regarding the safety and need for vaccinations in dogs and cats. Research on this subject is constantly being published. The latest research shows that vaccination is still a very necessary and safe procedure, and the argument revolves around how often we should vaccinate. This varies with the individual animal’s lifestyle and age and we can discuss your pet’s needs during the vaccination consultation. The diseases against which we vaccinate are sadly still common and so we strongly recommend all pets are vaccinated.
We recommend using Stronghold as an all round anti-parasite treatment. This is
effective against fleas and roundworms and against ear mites in cats and mange in dogs.
Flea treatment is often required in the warmer weather from April to October, but in
centrally heated houses may be required all year round. Bear in mind that supermarket and
pet shop flea and worm products are commonly inferior to the prescription only products,
both in terms of how well they work, and also in some cases their safety. What do we recommend regarding
neutering of pets? We recommend all cats not to be used
for breeding should be neutered at 5-6 months of age, both to avoid behavioural problems
and to prevent litters of unwanted kittens being born. We recommend bitches not to be used
for breeding are spayed before their first season to reduce the risk of mammary cancer
later in life, although in some exceptional cases we may recommend they have a season
first. There are some health benefits to castrating male dogs, which can be done from 9
months of age, but this procedure is not essential if the dog is not showing behavioural
problems and does not come into contact with unspayed bitches. Do we provide prescriptions? If you would prefer to have your
prescription medicine dispensed by a chemist instead of us, then please ask for a
prescription. A fee is payable for writing a prescription. Do we give discounts to people on
low incomes? We have no set discounts for people on
low incomes. If you envisage any difficulty with payment, please let us know in advance,
so we can discuss the options, such as referral to a pet charity. What do you do if you have a
complaint? We hope to keep our clients satisfied
and happy. However, if you do feel you have reason for complaint, please contact either
the practice manager, Dawn Walters or Damien Bush either by phone or in
writing, and we will do our very best to resolve any problems to your satisfaction. Even
if your complaint seems like a small one, we would still like to hear it in order to
improve our service for all our clients. What happens if you have an
emergency when we are closed? Our dedicated emergency service has
vets trained in emergency medicine available 365 days a year. Just call the usual number
0117 9622828, listen to the whole message, and you will be given details of how to arrange
an emergency appointment.
How do you contact us? ·
By phone on 0117 9622828 ·
By fax on 0117 9622727 · By e-mail on downsvets@btconnect.com ·
By writing to:
The 59, Great Brockeridge
Westbury-on-Trym
BS9 3UA The first method of contact for urgent
cases and for making appointments should be the phone. |
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Send mail to downsvets@btconnect.com with questions or comments about this web site.
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