Arranging a referral service appointment
If your pet needs to be referred you must discuss this first with your veterinary surgeon who will either contact us on your behalf or advise that you arrange an appointment directly with us yourself. If your pet needs to be seen urgently then your vet will need to telephone us in order to arrange the appointment for you.
Your vet may wish to discuss your pet's case with us by telephone prior to making a decision regarding referral. In some cases he or she may send us X-rays beforehand – we provide a rapid reporting service for vets who send us radiographs.
Your vet should be able to supply you with a client information sheet that has a map on the back. Alternatively you may wish to view and download a map from our Location web page.
Preparation for an appointment
Please arrive prior to your appointment time to enable your pet to be registered before seeing the veterinary surgeon. Our reception staff will be happy to make you a cup of tea or coffee on arrival, and a member of nursing staff will always be available to show you around the practice on request.
If you are unable to keep your appointment or you are held up in traffic, please let the practice know as soon as possible. We will always endeavour to see your pet at the time of your appointment; this is not always possible, however, due to factors such as the distance many of our clients travel, traffic problems and unforeseen emergencies.
If you are at all unsure about what to do regarding your pet's referral to us, please do not hesitate to telephone our reception staff who will be happy to help.
What will happen on the day of my appointment?
Unless told otherwise, please do not feed your pet on the morning of your appointment, but water should always be freely available.
Diabetic animals should be fed and given any insulin as normal unless you have been specifically instructed otherwise. If time allows, please give your pet the opportunity to go to the toilet before the appointment. Please clean up after your pet if you exercise him or her outside the practice - there are several dog waste bins with supplies of bags located around the car park.
Dog Owners
Please keep your dog on a short lead at all times in the car park and the waiting room, for your dog’s safety and that of others. You may borrow a lead from reception if necessary.
Please avoid sitting with your dog in the designated cat waiting area.
Cat Owners
Please keep your cat safe in a closed basket at all times while you are visiting the practice. There is a designated cat waiting area available for your cat’s comfort.
During your appointment Willows’ referral veterinary surgeon will take time to obtain a detailed history of your pet’s medical background as well as the current problem. A thorough clinical examination of your pet will then be performed and any findings and provisional diagnoses will be fully discussed with you at the time. Your pet may then go home after the consultation with suggested management or treatment, but it is also quite possible that further tests or procedures e.g. blood tests, imaging (X-rays or scans) and/or surgery may be required.
Whilst we will make every effort to perform investigations and possible surgery on the same day as the consultation (if this is in the best interests of your pet and in line with your wishes), there is no guarantee that it will be possible to do everything on that day. It may be that initial work will be done on the day of your appointment, and that your pet may be hospitalised for further diagnostic and possible surgical procedures to be carried out over the next few days, depending upon circumstances. It is also possible that your pet may need to go home after the consultation (possibly on treatment) and return for diagnostic or surgical procedures at a later, mutually convenient date. Again, this depends upon the circumstances of the case and the current workload at the practice.
It is important to understand that, like a large human hospital, Willows provides an Accident and Emergency service, and urgent cases must take priority when we are organising our patient care.
Please remember to bring any X-rays, referral letters and other documentation from your own veterinary surgeon with you.
Payment options and Insurance claims
For further information on payment options and insurance claims please click here.
To download an information sheet and location map click here
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