Hannah Peripatetic Orthopedic Veterinary Service

09/08/2024

28/07/2024

11/07/2024

Did you know that smoking (ni****ne, so presumably also va**ng?) makes you a seriously bad surgical candidate? Glad our patients don’t do this!

07/07/2024

🐕 A new study from the RVC has revealed that delaying spaying of bi***es until between seven and 18 months causes a 20 percent reduction in the risk of early-onset urinary incontinence, compared with early-age spaying between three and six months. The findings will help vets make evidence-based recommendations on the timing of spaying, whilst taking into account other spaying considerations.

➡️ https://rvc.uk.com/vetcompass-dog-spaying-urinary-incontinence

26/06/2024

I hate the wet towel one. What a load of rubbish

27/05/2024

Recently, Veterinary Voices UK contacted the British Association of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (BrAVO) regarding their stance on excising (removing) the nictitans gland under sedation, after a number of the community raised concerns about cases they were seeing of dogs with long term issues associated with the removal of the gland, typically under sedation.

The BrAVO committee is very concerned regarding the practice of the removal of the pr*****ed tear glands (‘cherry eye’) of the third eyelid, rather than surgical repositioning of the pr*****ed tear gland. Whilst there is no published data proving that third eyelid gland excision leads to keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), it seems very likely that by removing up to 50% of the tear producing capability, in a breed of dog already predisposed to KCS, that dry eye will develop. Another point to consider is that anecdotally these iatrogenic KCS cases seem less responsive to standard lacrimogenic treatments.

The excision procedure (typically done conscious following the application of topical local anaesthetic solution) is often carried out at breeder-led fertility clinics when the dogs are very young puppies. In our experience, the new owners are not made aware that this has been done to their pet or of the potential future consequences associated with excision of the tear gland i.e. medically refractive keratoconjunctivitis sicca and associated sequelae.

In summary, we would strongly advise against excising pr*****ed tear glands of the third eyelid, especially in brachycephalic breeds, unless there was absolutely no other option. Surgical repositioning of the gland poses a better solution, albeit is not guaranteed to be successful.

In a situation where the tear gland must be excised, the owner should be made aware of the potential consequences of the procedure and should give fully informed written consent.

https://www.vetvoices.co.uk/post/cherry-eye-vvuk-and-bravo-position

23/05/2024

Hey look rabbit ears don’t work as a wormer, what a surprise!

The fashionable trend among pet owners to feed their dogs rabbit ears, in the belief that they can help act as a natural dewormer, is entirely misguided

05/05/2024

1 year old Dutch Herder security/protection dog fell from a roof. 3.5 broad Evolox plate and 5mm IM pin. Took some cutting!

Immediate post-op and 6 week follow-up. Staples where it had chewed its wound….

🤓 Don’t forget to include the entire bone and a marker on pre-op radiographs, and ensure compliance with a buster collar! Help your surgeon out! 😁

05/05/2024

4 year old farm collie injured by cows, grade 1 open fracture contaminated with slurry. Loaded 2.4 positional screw with 3.5 LCP.

Rigidity is key to preventing ongoing infection.

04/05/2024

We've all been here! 😁

01/05/2024

Facts and figures! We ain’t rich!

Do you think your vets make a lot of money? Wanna know the truth? Learn the ‘secrets’ behind the curtains… Take a look at Amity’s numbers here…

Amity Financial year Nov 2022 – Oct 2023 (All numbers do NOT include VAT)

Turnover - £445,450 (We took in about £534,540 of which £89,090 was VAT)

This is the number that Amity generated in that year. Where more than half a million sounds cool, almost £90k was given straight back to HMRC as VAT. Yes, we are fundamentally tax collectors for HMRC!

Some expenditures…

Salaries for your Amity Team who works hard - £196,449 (44%)

Purchases including consumables like vaccines, drugs, lab fees, syringes, needles, etc - £79,545 (18%)

Rent of the wonderful building - £21,478

Outside Services like the luxury of having orthopaedic and cardiology specialists coming in-house so you need not travel further for their services - £5,610

Lighting and heat (we feel the pinch of the rising rates, do you?) - £5,561

Business rates (council tax equivalent) and Water bills - £3,028

Telephone (no automated messages from us!) - £2,747

Postage (for your medications, birthday cards, anniversary certificates, etc) - £2,755

Advertising - £4,013

Subscriptions (for the vets to stay registered and keep up to date with the latest vet news) - £3,413

Repairs and renewals of equipment (have you seen our cat pens?) - £3,805

Accountancy fees - £2,280

Training for Vets and Assistants - £3,139
Legal fees - £5,299
Insurance - £1969

Repairs to property (Yes, it costs money to make Amity look like that!) - £1,407
Cleaning - £1,239

Computer system to keep your pets’ records intact, easily accessible and secure - £8,253

Books to keep updated - £925

Refreshments (Do you like the tea, coffee, biscuits, and chocolates served at Amity?) - £1,657

Bookkeeping - £720

Donation to VetLife (helpline for vet personnel) - £300

Gifts to clients (sympathy/congratulatory/thank you gifts including flowers and much more) - £5,058

Bank charges - £1,971

Other costs include payroll fees, bank loan interest, equipment depreciation, sundry, pensions, internet, staff entertainment, clinical waste disposal, medical gases, etc.

You would have observed that almost 50% of the turnover is spent on salaries. We believe in investing in our people. Equipment and services can be replicated and replaced. What makes Amity unique is 100% our team.

The net profit of Amity (Turnover minus all the monies spent to create the turnover in the first place) is £55,816 which is about 12.5% (known as profit margin).

Oh, don't forget the profit is taxed as well! So, from the profit of £55,816, £15,976.51 will be paid to HMRC as tax. (Still not in the vet's pocket! 😉)

Yes, the money generated was more than half a million pounds (£534,540) which seemed a lot. However, when you take into account how much it took (£478,724) to generate that amount into consideration, it does not appear to be that much left.

Remember that it is not how much money you make. It is more of how much money you have spent to make that amount of money. For example, if you have to spend £1 million to make £1 million, you take home nothing.

So, this is Amity. There are far easier ways to make money. There are businesses which have better profit margins. I know of a fish and chip van with a 50% profit margin and a burger van just down the road with a 38% profit margin. Well done to them for having a business with better profit margins.

At Amity, we enjoy what we do. We consider it to be a privilege to be doing something we love and helping both pets and their guardians. We are grateful to our clients who allow us to work in a job we love. We believe in providing the best care we can for them and their pets.

In all, we love what we do and we thank our clients for allowing us to work this way. Nothing brings us more joy than to see how we have positively affected the bond between our clients and their pets.

Are we in it for the money? Well, it is a business and we all need to get paid (I've tried to pay for my rent and groceries with my love for animals. It does not work!). Are we raking it in? At 12.5% profit margin, I hardly think so. What you pay is the cost and what you receive is the value. Only you can determine whether what you pay is of value or not. We understand that we are not for everyone and that is ok. It is paramount for pet guardians to work with a vet who is a great fit for them and this applies to other things in life as well, like relationships, friendships, jobs, etc.

Did you know that 54.5% of vet practices have a below-average profit margin of 8-12% (SPVS September 2016)? This means more than half of vet practices in the UK (corporate and independent) are working on an average of 10% profit margin. To put this in real terms, if you are charged £120 and £20 is VAT, only about £10 is profit and the rest are expenses it takes to generate the £120 in the first place. We consider ourselves lucky to be running a profitable business so we can continue serving our clients.

If you are our client, thank you for your trust in us taking care of you and your pet. If you are not, please be kind to your vets and know that they are not in it for the money. If they are ‘cheaper’ than others, know that they are working even harder to get you the results you receive. Be kind and nice to them!
Hope you enjoy the sunshine soon (well, we are in the UK, don’t hold your breath!). Stay cool!

Yours,
Lennon

30/03/2024

Little Cheddar the pug who had medial patella luxation surgery last year. Good to see her flying well!

21/03/2024

🐝

14/03/2024

14 week old 1kg Pomeranian puppy with bilateral simultaneous radial ulna fractures stabilised with 1mm plating kit from

10/03/2024

😱

26/02/2024

CPD week

11/01/2024

This is amazing 😻 take your best mate on CPD courses!

18/12/2023

06/12/2023

Oblique ilial wing fracture in a cat following trauma. Pre, immediate post and 8 weeks post-op.

01/12/2023

We have been notified that a poisonous plant is being used as decoration in a pot plant that can be purchased in garden centres and possibly florists.

The pot plant is Livistona rotundifolia (footstool palm; also known as Saribus rotundifolius) and pots of these plants are decorated with three fibrous balls. The balls are the skeletonised fruit of Cerbera odollam (su***de tree, pong-pong). Within each fruit is a kernel that is extremely toxic; a single kernel can be fatal if eaten and poses a risk to both pets and people. The toxic compounds in Cerbera odollam are cardiac glycosides, which are also found in foxglove, oleander, lily of the valley and other plants.

If you have these fibrous fruits in your pot plant, remove them and dispose of them safely. It you are worried your pet may have eaten the plant material contact Animal PoisonLine (01202 509 000)or your vet immediately.

30/11/2023

You can’t have one without the oooooother!!

23/11/2023

Do you have a Pug or a Pug-Cross in your family?

Could you help the The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) with their latest research?

They are looking into how the health of pure-bred Pugs compares to to their cross-bred cousins and it would be great if you got involved!

To find out more visit rvc.uk.com/pugs-and-pug-crosses or scan the QR code in the picture

22/11/2023

Tarsometatarsal disruption in a farm collie caught in tractor steps! Internal splint LCP.

15/10/2023

Apparently this is the car from Back to the Future!

10/10/2023

Still looking at referrals even on the weekend

08/10/2023

Stupid idea

06/08/2023

Instigating a witch hunt against a veterinary clinic is never OK

Leaving abusive and fake reviews is never OK

Threatening the livelihoods and careers of caring, dedicated professionals is never OK

Leaving vile accusations on a social media pages is never OK

Getting involved in a situation you know nothing about and posting horrible comments wherever you can is never OK

If you have a legitimate concern, there are ways and means to express those properly and privately, so that you don’t cause extreme distress and serious upset to my colleagues.

We care for your pets, it is a real shame you don’t seem to care about us.