HEALTH & WELLBEING PET HEALTH
IT’S ALL ABOUT TEAMWORK
By Peter Luscombe BVSc, PgC SAD, MRCVS
142 Preston Road, Yeovil Somerset BA20 2EE Lower Acreman Street Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3EX www.newtonclarkevet.com
I’ve had the privilege of working with some great vets and nurses over my career. But what makes a great vet in practice? I believe any vet is only as good as the team they work with. I have the good fortune of becoming the focal point of all their good work, much of it behind the scenes.
presence at the front of house. They do not have the level of medical training of other members of our team but have a good knowledge and understanding of our clients, are caring pet owners themselves and can direct you to the most appropriate service.
Our team of vets, with a range of knowledge and experience, all work together to benefit our patients. We discuss difficult cases and share ideas. With a range of special interests and attendance at courses we continue to support and motivate each other to help us all keep up to date.
Your journey through the practice starts with our receptionists and support team. Whether in person, by phone, email or through our messaging app, they efficiently and compassionately handle your enquiries and requests. They are key in prioritising your requirements, whether they are medicines requests, seeking an appointment or identifying emergencies. Additionally, they undertake a lot of the day-to-day administration of the practice and maintain a professional and welcoming
Our qualified and trainee nurses are key to maintaining the practice in readiness for any situation and providing the care and support your pet needs when in the practice. Their role is often under-recognised as much of their work happens out of sight. As well as managing the hospital care of your pets and supporting them when they need investigations or surgery, they are also available to provide professional advice on animal care in sickness and in health.
Beyond this we coordinate with external specialists, whether they are visiting clinicians to our practice or referral to specialist centres for advanced investigations and treatments. We also have a working relationship with external laboratories, who provide us with testing beyond the in-house laboratory work performed by our nurses. These relationships allow us to seek further specialist advice when needed.
But what about your pet? Well, the other important member of their team is you the owner, acting as their voice to tell us about their problems and signs. You must do the talking and make decisions on their behalf. We depend on you to help us create a practical care plan for your pet. It is important that you communicate what is possible. Will your cat take tablets easily? Can you bath your 70kg St Bernard? Are there limits to the budget? What is your priority for your pet – a cure or managing pain and maintaining quality of life? Beyond this we rely on you to administer treatments, monitor progress and feedback to us. So, with all the resources we can provide, we value you as part of your pet’s team: working together to provide the best personalised care possible.
NATURE SPOT Cranes are among the most amazing birds that we have on this planet. With their large stature and loud resounding calls, cranes have appealed to mankind whenever we have met. In more recent times, the ancient Egyptians decorated their tombs with images of cranes, the ancient Greeks domesticated cranes and there
is a Greek myth that the Greek god Mercury invented the Greek alphabet after seeing a crane fly. A dance called ‘A Dance of the White Cranes’ is known to have been performed in China 500 bc. Between 2010 and 2014, 93 common cranes were handreared to release onto the
Somerset Levels and Moors – doubling the UK population and helping to secure the future of the crane in the UK (The Great Crane Project Somerset). Coming right up to date, it is good to report the crane population is extremely well stablished once again on the Somerset Levels and also now much further afield. Standing at 1.2m tall and with a wingspan
of 2.3m, it’s well worth a visit to the Levels to see these amazing birds. Colin Lawrence, our local wildlife photographer, captured these images during this last year and confirms that 2021 was another very successful year for our local crane population.
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