Largest veterinary hospital in the South West and South Wales
Employing some of the most qualified and experienced veterinary professionals in Europe
Providing the most advanced cancer treatment for cats and dogs in Europe
CVS is today opening a £13.5m state-of-the-art Veterinary Referral Hospital, the largest ever investment the group has made in a site.
Based in Bristol, the huge 30,000 sq. ft. multidisciplinary hospital will be the biggest in the South West and South Wales and will act as a centre of excellence for small animal care in the region.
Planned over five years, Bristol Vet Specialists (BVS) site has been designed to facilitate the development of new and emerging treatments. It will employ some of the most qualified and experienced veterinary professionals in Europe and has been custom-built with cutting-edge facilities and equipment.
Now fully constructed, the new hospital will employ over 100 highly skilled veterinary professionals, led by a large team of internationally-renowned Specialist veterinary surgeons, supported by residents, interns and registered veterinary nurses.
The site will offer the latest technology and treatments in all small animal disciplines including; general surgery, orthopaedics, neurology and neurosurgery, internal medicine, ophthalmology, cardiology, dermatology, oncology and dentistry, as well as dedicated anaesthesia, analgesia, diagnostic imaging and intensive care departments[i]. There will be a multi-disciplinary approach, with an entire team around every patient, to ensure the best outcome for the animal.
BVS’ oncology department will offer most advanced cancer treatment for cats and dogs in Europe. Its cutting-edge stereotactic linear accelerator for radiotherapy is one of the only ones of its kind for pets in England[ii]. The equipment’s high dose rates of focused beams delivered with high precision over shortened treatment course mean fewer courses of radiotherapy, shorter sessions, less side effects, and the best possible chance of improved outcome for the animal.
The site will also house additional state-of-the-art facilities, equipment and diagnostic tools. This will include a separate feline unit, plus the latest CT and MRI scanners. Clients will also be taken to a special customer experience zone by a dedicated client liaison officer on arrival to ensure their pet is comfortable and they are fully informed about their procedure.
Delphine Holopherne-Doran, Clinical Director at Bristol Vet Specialists, said: “We’re proud to open our new veterinary hospital in Bristol. We have spent years planning the site and its construction has taken many months. Our advanced facilities and eminent colleagues will mean we can provide the best animal care to pet owners across the South West, and we have invested in cutting-edge technology to bring cancer treatment in pets to the next level. So we know that this site will become as a centre of excellence in the veterinary world.”
CVS South West exotic species veterinary services will remain at its existing Highcroft Veterinary Hospital in Wells Road, Whitchurch, Bristol BS14 9BE, tel 01275 832410.
[i] Exotics services will remain at Highcroft Veterinary Referrals
[ii] The fully digital ‘Infinity’ linear accelerator from Elekta is one of the only ones of its kind for pets in England.
It incorporates; an Agility multi-leaf collimator for highly accurate shaping of the radiation beam for all body treatment sites; a HexaPOD six-degrees-of-freedom couch top[ii] which allows the animal to be optimally positioned so radiation doses to critical organs can be significantly reduced and even eliminated; and a Monaco treatment planning system to enable vets to deliver advanced stereotactic ablative radiotherapy.
The linear accelerator will allow CVS specialist vets to offer advanced, image-guided radiation treatments – for example intensity-modulated or stereotactic radiation therapy. The advantage to these treatments is that they will allow a more “hard-hitting” treatment of a tumour, with greater safety for the patient’s healthy tissue. This will draws many more tumours into the realm of treatability.
