VetPartners has announced a £5.5million investment boost for its veterinary practices in 2021.
Flagship veterinary hospitals in Northamptonshire and Surrey head the major projects being funded by the veterinary group, which has more than 420 sites across the UK, in the first six months of 2021.
Work is expected to start March, 2021 on a new state-of-the-art hospital for Northlands Veterinary Hospital in Kettering, while work is already in progress on the new Farnham Veterinary Hospital in Surrey.
The Laurels in Runcorn, Cheshire, and Charter Vets in Biddulph, Staffordshire, both part of Willows Veterinary Group, are set for major refurbishment work.
Severn Vets is undergoing an expansion at its practice in Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, while Park Veterinary Clinic in Sunderland – part of Gilmoor Vets – is doubling its size after outgrowing its current premises.
Phase one of a major project at Westway Veterinary Group’s main hospital in Newcastle to improve facilities for dogs requiring 24-hour care, with an isolation unit, additional x-ray facilities, laboratory and a larger dental suite, has been completed. A refurbishment of their existing kennels and preparation area is expected to be finished in February.
Clyde Vets in Wishaw, Adelaide Vets in Southampton, Poultry Health Services, near Edinburgh, and Park Vets in Pontypridd are all undergoing internal refurbishments.
Maple Vets in Warrington now has an additional consult room, along with a new drug store and improved reception area, following the recent completion of work.
VetPartners CEO Jo Malone said: “Continually investing in new equipment and facilities supports our practice teams to deliver an outstanding service for their clients and excellent care of their patients.
“Our ethos at VetPartners is that care needs to be centred around achieving the best possible outcomes for each client and patient because that will make us a success and investing in practices enables us to achieve that.
“We are also committed to creating great places to come and work, whether you’re a vet, veterinary nurse or receptionist, and that means enhancing practices and providing good facilities for colleagues to work and relax in, which is important to their wellbeing and ability to deliver the best service and care.”
Work was delayed on a new site for Northland Veterinary Hospital in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions, but work will soon start to transform a former office block in Kettering into a state-of-the-art hospital.
Once finished the new three-storey hospital will provide expansive and modern care space for clients and an improved working environment for team members, with facilities including four theatres, separate wards for cats, dogs and exotics, a diagnostic lab, a large waiting room with dedicated areas for cats and dogs, four consulting rooms and laser therapy treatment room. There will be separate rooms for the practice’s ultrasound machine, digital x-ray and CT scanner.
Work started in November to convert a former furniture store into a new hospital for Rivendell Veterinary Group, with the creation of 20 jobs.
Farnham Veterinary Hospital in East Street, Farnham, will provide 24-hour emergency and out-of-hours care, and will boast the latest, hi-tech equipment, including a CT scanner, hydrotherapy, dental x-rays and ultrasonography to produce images of the heart and other internal organs.
The three-storey building covers 10,000sq ft and will house three large operating theatres so the practice can offer orthopaedic and soft tissue surgery, as well as consulting rooms, laboratory for in-house testing, and physiotherapy room.