Coronavirus Update April 2021
We are catching up with boosters and will contact you when your pet’s booster is due
We will be doing routine surgery, such as neutering, but please be aware that there is a waiting list for these procedures at the moment
We will be able to see pets for non-urgent care such as nail trimming
We will continue to triage all calls as our appointments a
There will also be no change to the way in which we see your pets at the surgery at this time. We have managed to keep our team and our clients safe over the course of the past year by working behind closed doors. Please be assured that we will allow clients back in as soon as we feel we can do so safely but we would hate to fall at the final hurdle!
Our client waiting shelter is there to use when the weather is poor.
We will, however, be allowing up to two clients in with their dogs when time allows if a decision has been made to say goodbye to a beloved pet, as we really appreciate that this is a very sad situation. Please speak to the team about cats as this is a slightly different scenario.
We will not be able to do home visits unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Guinea Pig Awareness Week
Cumnock Chronicle Campaign
We are happy to be supporting Marny Murphy’s campaign as featured in the Cumnock Chronicle this spring time. Text from the article below:
” With Easter now just a month away one Dalmellington resident is calling on people to not purchase a rabbit for the holiday. Marny Murphy, an ex nurse, says that if people must buy a rabbit, buy a toy one instead.
Pet ownership has gone up during lockdown with many people taking advantage of the extra time at home to care for them. But Marny was keen to warn of the extra responsibilities having a rabbit brings.
She said: “Sadly during the last lockdown not just rabbits were purchased, but when restrictions were lifted, a lot of these animals were sent to rescues as people just didn’t have the same time for them any more.”
She said: “A lot of people have this idea that you put rabbits in a cage and you leave it to it. But there’s so much more to it than that. I’d ask people to not buy a rabbit for Easter, but if any parents are considering buying a rabbit for their kids, they need to know that they are responsible for it, the child is not responsible for the rabbits welfare, it’s up to the parents to clean after it and make sure it’s healthy.”
Crossriggs vet Iain Senior said: “Rabbits make great pets. They are very social animals and enjoy being kept with other rabbits. Rabbits can live for ten years. They need plenty of space to hop around, a good diet, which should be mostly hay, and toys and games to keep them entertained. Pet rabbits should be vaccinated annually, ideally in the spring, against diseases such as myxomatosis. Please don’t buy a pet rabbit for Easter without first considering whether you can provide all of the above.”
Petplan Veterinary Awards 2021
We are delighted to have received these nominations – thank you to our hard-working team and our lovely clients!
Out of hours care at Vets Now
As you know, our out of hours cover is now provided by Vets Now. They work throughout the nights, weekends and bank holidays when we are closed and specialise in emergency care. This allows us to get some sleep and be in better shape to care for your pets during working hours. Here’s a bit more info about what to do in case of an out of hours emergency: If you have an emergency outside our normal surgery hours, please call the usual surgery number on 01290 420255 and press 1 for an emergency (as before). You can also ring Vets Now directly on 01563 258 028 if you prefer. You’ll be transferred to the Vets Now team and they will discuss with you what happens next. If you need an appointment at Vets Now this will be at their premises in Kilmarnock – they will give you directions. You’ll need to be able to transport your pet to Kilmarnock unless there are exceptional circumstances – the team at Vets Now will discuss this with you. If your pet is seen at Vets Now their current clinical history will be sent to us promptly so that we can then liaise with you as necessary the following day. This means we know what treatment your pet has received and what the next steps should be so we are always kept in the loop. We will ensure that your pet has appropriate follow-up treatment if this is necessary. If your pet has been seen at Vets Now out of hours and is too poorly to move, they will be looked after in Kilmarnock until they are stable. If your pet is an in-patient at Crossriggs and is fit to move at the end of the working day, you may be asked to take them to Kilmarnock for overnight care. If your pet is hospitalised at Crossriggs and is not well enough to be moved they will be cared for at the practice here by one of our vets.
Coronavirus update 8th January 2021
We will be doing puppy vaccines, kitten vaccines and first year boosters in order to protect your pets against disease. It is safe to delay adult boosters by up to three months so we will be delaying some adult boosters that would be due around now. We will consider requests for neutering on a case by case basis. We will be continuing to carry out dental work where this is necessary. If your pet is already booked in for a booster or for surgery over the next few weeks please attend your appointment unless we call you to rearrange. We will not be seeing pets for non-urgent appointments such as microchipping, weight checks, pregnancy scans or nail trimming, unless there’s a real welfare need for this to happen during lockdown. We will again be offering phone consultations where appropriate as this may be the safest way to support your pet while protecting human health. Please note that these are charged at our normal rates.
Important notice for clients
As most of you know, we have provided our own out of hours emergency service for many years. It’s a service that we have always valued and we know it’s a service that you love and cherish too. It does, however, take a heavy toll on our team and in recent years we have struggled to recruit and retain vets who are prepared to do out of hours work on top of the day job – understandably.
We must value human health as well as animal health and that means looking after our team. Iain simply cannot continue to be on call every night and every weekend as well as at work every day, it’s unsustainable. We will therefore be asking Vets Now to cover our out of hours emergency work from the start of 2021. This will include weeknights as well as weekends. They are a dedicated out of hours provider and have a team that are fresh for the night shift and not also working during the day.
We would like to thank you all for your continued understanding and hope that you will continue to support us in years to come. We remain one of very few independent family practices and feel we know you all so well. Please be assured that we are committed to providing the best service possible to you and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.
Iain & Jo
Client update
🐾 Update 23rd September 🐾
We really miss having a blether with our lovely clients at the reception desk and long for the day when we can see everyone without the current worry and stress 😀
However, given the recent rise in covid infections and the latest government announcements about further restrictions we do not feel that this is this time to re-open our doors. We’ll be continuing as we are for the foreseeable future and this is likely to be for several months yet.
Please be assured that we are doing our utmost to maintain the best possible service that we can to our clients and their pets at the moment. You can help us out by making sure that you keep a 2m distance from our team outside the practice, letting us know if you can’t make your appointment time and giving us plenty of notice for repeat prescriptions (at least 2 working days). Our phones have been very busy and our vets have been working extremely hard; please be patient with our team who have been under a lot of pressure recently. Everything takes twice as long at the moment and we are very stretched.
Please also plan ahead. As we get into the colder months make sure that you are as comfortable as possible if waiting outside the practice while we see your pet. We know it’s not ideal when it’s rainy and cold but we need to try and keep everyone safe. We are lucky to have plentiful free car parking on our doorstep so please use this if you can.
Thank you so much to all of you for your understanding and to each and every person who has thanked us, left us a kind review or sent in a lovely card. We really appreciate it ☺️
Thanks for your ongoing patience as we try to catch up with boosters and other non-urgent appointments. Please be aware that there may be a wait for routine appointments at the moment and we are still triaging all other appointments so that we can prioritise pets who need to see us most urgently. Further info from the BVA below:
https://www.bva.co.uk/coronavirus/coronavirus-advice-for-animal-owners/
Update 3rd August 2020
. We still feel that the safest way of working is to continue to see pets in the practice and asking owners to wait outside. We know it’s a bit of a nuisance but we would hate to have to close unexpectedly. We’ll let you know as soon as we make any major changes but in the mean time thank you all so much for your patience and understanding during what continues to be a very uncertain time.Update 4th June 2020
Here at Crossriggs we’re in the process of moving from providing essential veterinary care only towards providing a more normal range of veterinary services. Reducing the transmission of coronavirus is still the overriding priority and for this reason we will continue to minimise client contact by working from behind closed doors and maintaining a safe distance outside the practice building. We continue to follow the latest guidance from the RCVS and BVA and really appreciate your support and understanding during these unusual times! Please don’t hesitate to contact the practice if you are concerned about your pet’s health and we will do our best to help.
🐾 Cases will still be prioritised in order of clinical need
🐾 Phone triage and phone consultations will continue
🐾 Reduced office hours continue (8:30am – 5:30pm Monday – Friday, closed at weekends)
🐾 Out of hours service remains the same: our vets will answer the phone 24/7
🐾 We’ll be catching up with overdue boosters in order of priority and will contact you when we are able to offer your pet’s booster
🐾 Some neutering will go ahead based on clinical need
🐾 Repeat prescriptions can be collected safely from the practice as well as posted out
Finally, please let us know if anyone in your household is self-isolating due to Covid-19 and your animal needs veterinary care. You may need to arrange for someone else to transport your pet to the practice in order to protect our team.
Guidance from the RCVS
Our governing body has issued advice for clients to help you understand what we can and can’t do for your pets through this difficult time.
https://animalowners.rcvs.org.uk/help-and-advice/
Phone consultations
☎️ Phone consultations ☎️
Please be aware that there will be a charge for phone/video consultations with our vets. Our dedicated team are still here, still working hard and also still need to be paid! Thank you very much for your patience and understanding.
Work Experience
We’re proud to offer work experience placements to young people in our area and have enjoyed working with them all!
Dog Blood Donors
Could you help with this? We’ve already had a great response to our appeal. Please let us know if you feel you could help with this life-saving work.
Virtual Practice Tours
In addition to ‘Meet the team Mondays’, Beth has been working hard on putting together a series of virtual tours on our Facebook page, called ‘Practice Tour Tuesdays’. You can also find these here.