Vets in Fakenham ¦ Summerhill Veterinary Centre

PRACTICE TOUR

RECEPTION
Our waiting room is spacious and has an open friendly feel to it. Our receptionists endeavour to provide our clients with a warm welcome.

VET CONSULTING ROOMS
We have two large rooms for vet consultations. They contain all the necessary equipment for examining your pet, be it for a routine vaccination or when your pet is unwell.

Consulting Room Nurse Consulting Room

NURSE CONSULTING ROOM
This room is used specifically by the nurses. They admit in-patients prior to surgery, as well as assessing them post-operatively. In addition the room is used for their preventative clinics.

DIAGNOSTIC ROOM
Much of our diagnostic equipment is stored and used here. Our x-ray machine is a high power unit, and we have an automatic processor in the adjacent dark room. This means we can develop our x-rays within minutes to promptly diagnose any bony abnormalities or conditions within the chest or abdomen.

Our ultrasound machine enables us to non-invasively examine organs within your pet. We use it to look at soft-tissue structure such as the heart, liver, spleen or bladder. As in humans, another use for it is in pregnancy diagnosis. Our machine has colour Doppler capabilities, this allows us to study blood flow, which is particularly important in assessing certain heart conditions.

ECG

One of our ECGs (electrocardiographs) is also stored in this room. It measures the electrical activity of the heart, and is used in the diagnosis of irregular heart rhythms.

We have a large number of different sized endoscopes (fibre optic cameras). Some are flexible and are used to look into the oesophagus and stomach, or the trachea and lungs. Others are rigid, and are mainly used for examining inside joints, but also can be used to see inside noses and bladders. As well as being able to visualise these areas (which otherwise would only be accessible with surgery), we can remove foreign bodies and take biopsies.

PREP ROOM
As the name suggests, this room is used for the preparation of a patient prior to surgery. Firstly the animal is anaesthetised, then clipped and cleaned, prior to being moved through to one of the two operating theatres. We also use this room routinely for taking blood samples, and any dental procedures. Our compressed air dental unit ensures that we are able to descale, polish and burr teeth, enabling us to do the best job possible.

MAIN OPERATING THEATRE
This theatre is used for the majority of surgical procedures. These can range from routine neutering to advanced spinal surgery. The theatre contains a lot of highly specialised equipment for the sole purpose of monitoring your pet during its anaesthetic. We measure your pet’s blood pressure, heart rate and blood oxygenation continuously, which along with the presence of a dedicated nurse allows any anaesthetic to be as safe as it possibly can be.

Operating Theatre

SECOND OPERATING THEATRE
This theatre is slightly smaller than our main theatre and is commonly used for minor procedures.

LABORATORY
Most of our lab work involves analysing blood samples. We have a large number of blood machines on site, that are able to give us results within minutes. Blood samples are obviously taken when your pet is unwell, but we also take samples routinely in healthy individuals. Mainly this is prior to anaesthetics, but we also offer them along with vaccines, and certain nurse clinics. The aim of this is to detect any disease processes as early as we possibly can. We have numerous other test kits within the lab, for more specific tests, along with our microscope which is used for a whole range of roles, from urine examination to mite identification.

Lab Lab

KENNELS
The kennel room is for the obvious task of housing our hospitalised patients. We have a variety of kennel sizes to cater for all creatures great and small. The room temperature is thermostatically controlled independently of the rest of the building.

Within the room we have a specific oxygen kennel. This allows an animal to be maintained in an oxygen rich environment without the stress of having to wear a face mask. Any patient that has to have a drip has an individual drip machine attached to their kennel. This machine ensures that your pet receives exactly the correct amount of fluid. There is a nurse’s work station in the middle of the room, so that we can provide continuous supervision of the in-patients.

Kennels Kennels