At Cotts, we are proud to be an independent equine practice providing complete, 24/7 ambulatory first-opinion and referral services 365 days per year. All emergency work is carried out in-house, meaning that your horses have continuity of care and a familiar face on hand at, what can be a very stressful time.
Recent changes in the veterinary industry have changed how some practices provide out-of-hours care, which can be slightly confusing for clients.
So, what does this mean for you? A quick clarification guide!
All vets, including those offering limited services, are required by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons to make provision for emergency care either within their own practice, with an out-of-hours provider, or by arrangement with another practice.
The full change can be found here under ‘Limited Service Providers’:
Registered Clients
We continue to provide our own emergency veterinary cover for our registered clients. Having access to each patient’s medical histories makes treatment more targeted and personalised.
We are committed to providing a comprehensive and dedicated level of care to our existing clients and patients as a practice.
Non-registered Clients
For horse owners registered with other vets in the area who carry out your routine work, we advise you to contact them if your horse requires treatment outside of normal working hours.
We accept referrals for hospitalisation or specialist treatment from other veterinary professionals and provide 24/7 hospital service for those cases. Unfortunately, we cannot accept referrals directly from owners as our hospital team requires the horse's medical history. In emergencies, this is often done via a direct conversation with the referring vet.
In special circumstances, our ambulatory teams will treat non-registered clients as we understand that your usual vet may not be available. For example; if a horse is not at his usual address for a competition etc.
For non-registered clients, we ask for a deposit to be paid before we attend. This is also our policy during normal working hours.
Please contact us if you have any questions. Thank you.
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