Covid-19: PRACTICE UPDATE

Firstly, we want to thank all of our clients for continuing to support all departments of Towcester Veterinary Centre during such a strange time. During lockdown, we followed government guidelines, with the advice of our governing body, to ensure the welfare of animals under our care and protect both staff and owners. These guidelines have continued to change over the last months and we have adapted to each of these changes. Our commitment remains to keep everyone as safe as possible, whilst continuing to provide the same high standards of veterinary care.

We are now able to offer non-emergency and routine treatment for clients. This has come with some changes so please do consult our reception team for more advice. We are operating on a reduced team in every department so please ensure you pre-book consultations where possible and always let the office know if you no longer need your appointment. Failure to do so may result in account charges.

Read below for the changes to each department:

Small Animal (Towcester, Weedon and Paulerspury)

If your pet needs veterinary care, then please adhere to the following protocol. Please note that our practice is now open from 8:30am – 5pm.

1) Contact either the Towcester, surgery on 01327 350239, Weedon on 01327 344999 or Paulerspury on 01327 366307.

2) Our reception team will be able to book you in at the relevant practice. Please note that currently our Paulerspury practice is ONLY open for routine boosters and will be completing all of these for clients in the Towcester / Paulerspury area. All other appointments will be seen at the Towcester practice (NN12 6JW). Our Weedon practice is open for routine and non-routine appointments.

3) On arrival to any of our practices, please remain in your vehicle and call the surgery number (found in point 1 above). Our reception team will mark you as ‘waiting’ and a member of the veterinary team will come out to admit your pet.

4) During the admission process, the treating vet will collect your pet and discuss the clinical history with you from a safe distance. You will not be allowed to enter the surgery. Once in the consult room our vets will examine your pet with the assistance of our nurses. The vet will then discuss any treatment options and medication with you from a safe distance outside the clinic or via a telephone call. Please note that each member of our customer-facing team will be wearing the relevant PPE following the most-recent government guidance.

5) Once your pet has received veterinary treatment, please call to pay over the phone. Alternatively, you can pay via bank transfer using the bank account details found at the bottom of your invoice. Please use your unique account number found on the top of each invoice as a reference for the payment so we can allocate it correctly.

Farm Animal

• Our farm vets will be wearing all relevant PPE to each visit and respectfully ask that you socially distance where possible.

• To collect medication from the practice, pre-ordering is essential. Contact our reception team and allow 48 hours for collection. Once you arrive at the clinic you will not be allowed into the waiting area so call the mainline and a member of the team will then bring the medication out to you. We are now open at Weedon and Onley for medication collections so please state where you’d like to collect from during ordering.

Equine (Towcester and Onley)

Our equine team is now able to attend all urgent and non-urgent appointments for your horse however, there are some changes to our working practices:

• Our equine vets and nursing team are all practicing social distancing and will be wearing appropriate PPE when indicated.
• Our offices at both Towcester and Onley are closed to the public to ensure the safety of both employees and clients. When you arrive at the equine clinic, please call either 01327 811007 or 01788 52300 to notify the reception team of your arrival.
• Our phonelines are now open from 8:30am-5:30pm. Outside of these hours any calls to the mainline will be diverted to the emergency on-call vet.
• We are now able to offer routine work on a discounted visit (a £20 fee which can be split between different clients at the same yard) or clients may bring their horse to clinic. To determine what would be most suitable for you, please discuss this further with our reception team.

Thank you to our clients for continuing to support Towcester Veterinary Centre. Our independent practice relies on client loyalty to be able to continue providing veterinary treatment to animals in Towcester and the surrounding areas. Please do not hesitate to contact our team on either 01327 350239 or 01327 811007.