At Ashgrove we are privileged to have 11 RVNs (Registered Veterinary Nurses); 2 SVNs (Student Veterinary Nurses) and 2 VCAs (Veterinary Care Assistants)
Our Registered Veterinary Nurses have undertaken 2-4 years of training via either the Diploma or Degree route. After years of hardwork and a combination of University theoretical learning and in placement practical experience; they swear an oath to become registered on the RCVS code of Professional Conduct– meaning they are accountable and responsible for their actions, integrity and competence.
The role of the Registered Veterinary Nurse includes:
- Inpatient Care – monitoring the recovery of surgical and medical patients and liasing with the Veterinary Surgeons to ensure a suitable treatment plan is made and followed. This includes monitoring their vital parameters; fluid intake and output; analgesia (pain relief); nutrition; comfort and stimulation 🐕🐈🐇🐁
- Preparing patients for anaesthesia – our RVNs are involved in preparing, calculating and administering medications (under Veterinary direction); intubating the patient and surgically preparing the patient 💉
- Monitoring patients under anaesthesia – carefully ensuring your pet is kept safe under anaesthesia by closely monitoring vital parameters🩺
- Laboratory work – including taking and processing urine and blood samples
- Diagnostic imaging – taking and processing radiographs (x-rays) and assisting with other diagnostic procedures such as ultrasound and endoscope 🩻
- Nursing consultations – providing help and support to clients and pets. Our nurse consultations include: post operation checks, weight checks, dental checks, puppy checks, nail clips, anal gland emptying and some vaccinations and injections 👩⚕️
- Infection control – ensuring the equipment and practice remain clean and tidy at all times! 🧹
- Stock control – ordering medicati
Our team were getting into the festive spirit today in aid of Save the Children UK by wearing our favourite Christmas Jumpers! 🎄
How are your pet's getting into the Christmas spirit on this snowy day? ☃️
🌟 PRACTICE UPDATE 🌟
We hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather - long may it last! We’d like to give you all a bit of an update as to how we, as a practice, are moving forward with the new COVID guidelines.
We will continue to ask owners visiting the practice to wear a mask, unless they are exempt. We are a small independent practice and any staff absences due to COVID means that we sometimes have to scale back on routine procedures and we don’t like doing this. Our staff will continue to wear masks to protect clients and other staff members. We can provide a mask if you forget yours. Please do not come to the practice if you think you have COVID or are isolating.
As some of you may have noticed, we are allowing clients back into our waiting rooms again. In order to help with this we ask that you turn up on time for your appointment - please do not turn up early as this creates congestion within the practice and you may be asked to wait outside until there is a space. We also ask, where possible, that only one adult attends the appointment.
We have also begun allowing one client in to the consulting room with their pet, however this can vary depending on vet/nurse circumstances and room availability.
Please note if you would like to wait outside for your appointment and do not wish to enter the practice this is not a problem, please just do as before - ring the bell/knock on the door and let the staff know you are there.
We’d like to thank you all again for your patience and understanding as we navigated through the unknown during the pandemic and, as ever, we always appreciate your kind words 🥰
‼️ Practice Update ‼️
With the world slowly getting back to normal, we are very happy to announce that we are beginning to let clients back into the building. We are so grateful for everyone’s patience and understanding, we know how frustrating the last 18 months have been.
Our two practices, on Belmont Road in Aberdeen and North Deeside Road in Peterculter, only have small waiting rooms so we will kindly ask our clients to abide by the following guidelines to try and keep everything flowing smoothly and keep everyone safe:
😷 Please wear a MASK covering your nose and mouth if you wish to enter the building
☝️ Please try to have ONE person only attending the appointment where possible
🛎 When you arrive at the practice, please RING the doorbell or knock on the door and remain outside; if you have a pet in a carrier, they may be brought inside where it is quieter and warmer prior to their appointment
🤗 At the time of your scheduled appointment, a member of staff will INVITE you in to the building and ask you to sanitise your hands and have a seat in the waiting room
⏰ Please DO NOT ARRIVE EARLY to your appointment otherwise you may have to wait longer outside
💊 If you are collecting medication or food, please remain outside and we will bring your items to you
👩⚕️ The Vet or Nurse may ask you to come through to the consulting room, but most clients will be asked to remain in the waiting area whilst their pet is examined/treated
🚗 If you are not comfortable coming inside, you are welcome to stay outside or go back to your car and we can call you when we’re done
As always, we do our very best to avoid delays but sometimes pets need more time and treatment than initially thought, and we see emergencies throughout the day, so make sure you have wrapped up nice and warm just in case you have a wee wait.
Pictured below is the lovely Fergus who made himself at home whilst waiting for his appointment!
Cough Cough Kennel Cough
Kennel cough seems to be doing the rounds again, we are certainly seeing an increased number of cases at the moment so we thought it was a good time for a recap!
🐶 Kennel cough is the common name given to infectious bronchitis in dogs. Just like in humans, a number of different bacteria and viruses can cause the illness, normally a combination of both. It affects the upper respiratory system, causing them to cough.
🤧 Kennel cough is a nuisance but is rarely life-threatening, some dogs may be a little bit quieter but they usually continue to eat, drink and behave normally. Whilst it is very uncommon, some dogs can develop Pnuemonia.
⏰ After exposure to kennel cough, it can take up to 2 weeks for symptoms to show
🥳 Coughing is usually triggered when dogs get excited or if they pull on their harness/collar.
😮💨 Some dogs sound like they have something stuck in their throat and they may bring up some white foam or retch at the end of coughing.
🤕 Most dogs do not need antibiotics and recover naturally with a bit of time and TLC after 1-3 weeks.
🍯 A teaspoon of honey 2 to 3 times a day can help soothe a sore throat
💉 There is a vaccination for dogs for kennel cough which helps to reduce their chances of becoming infected, and makes their symptoms milder
💪🏻 A dog can have kennel cough multiple times in their life but they are usually protected against reinfection for 6-12 months afterwards
😴 If you think your dog has kennel cough, it is best to stay away from other dogs for 2 weeks to avoid passing it on; we recommend gentle exercise and swapping their collar for a harness to take the pressure off the windpipe
💊 Cough suppressants and anti-inflammatories can be given to make your pet a bit more comfortable as they make a natural recovery
If your dog is bright, eating well and playful, you may not need to visit us but we are always here if you want advice or are worried. Give us a shout on
🕘 Changes for new clients and repeat no-show offenders 🕒
If you have phoned us recently then you will know we are very busy at the moment and don’t have many spare appointments each day. Unfortunately we have had a number of clients make appointments and then not show up for them.
We understand life gets in the way sometimes but missed appointments means we can’t offer them to emergency cases and sick pets on the day.
To try and tackle this, we are implementing some changes:
❗️If you are a NEW client wishing to make an appointment with us, when you phone to make your FIRST appointment you will need to pay a £35 deposit to secure your appointment. This deposit will go towards the consult/vaccination fee and any treatment costs. If you cancel your appointment more than 24 hours in advance you will get this deposit back.
❗️If you miss TWO appointments without contacting us in advance, you will need to pay a £35 deposit to secure your next appointment.
We hope you will understand why we are having to make these changes. Most of our clients are fantastic and we hope these changes will help make sure we have appointments available for you when you need them.
Lots of love from the Ashgrove Team ☺️
An update from Ashgrove Vets
