Services

From emergencies to routine pet care, we are here to help.

Our veterinary surgeons are extremely dedicated to your pets and strive to provide the best care possible at all times. Our 15 minute, one to one consultations are designed to allow us time to assess your pet and to talk through any concerns you might have. 

Our own veterinary surgeons work our own out of hours so it is likely you will see a familiar face when you need it most, providing you with consistency and continuity.

In the event of an emergency, our out of hours number can found here.

We understand an emergency situation can be stressful but we urge people to stay calm for their pet. We endeavour to return your call as soon as possible.

Appointments for specific veterinary surgeons will be arranged wherever possible.

We routinely advise that your pet receives a health check at least once a year. Pets on long term medication or with re-occurring illnesses are advised to be seen more regularly. We ask for your patience should an emergency arrive at the practice during times of consultation.

Diagnostic imaging allows us to take a look inside your pet’s body to give us a better understanding about an illness or disease.

Digital Radiographs

Our digital x-ray machines provide us with images of your pet’s internal structures. Our modern x-ray unit gives us a high quality image in minutes, reducing the time of anaesthetic or sedation for your pet.

Our spacious x-ray suites are equipped with anaesthetic circuits, emergency oxygen supplies, crash carts and lead lined walls for patient and staff safety.

Ultrasonography

Our ultrasonography machine enables us to view soft tissues in both the abdominal and thoracic cavities. Our veterinary surgeons perform cardiac and abdominal ultrasound examinations. We can also out source cardiac and abdominal specialists for more detailed examinations.
Our ultrasound machine aids our veterinary surgeons in diagnosing an illness.
As well as diagnosing, our ultrasonography unit enables us to scan for pregnancies.  

Endoscopy

Our endoscopy machine allows us to insert a camera into your pet with out the need for invasive surgery.

Our endoscopy equipment allows us to perform:

• Colonoscopy
• Gastroscopy
• Eosophagoscopy
• Cystoscopy
• Bronchoscopy

All of these procedures can be done by inserting the camera into a natural opening with out the need for a surgical incision.

With this technique we can aid diagnosis; endoscopy does require the animal to be sedated or anaesthetised.

Here at Rufford Veterinary Group, pre-arranged home visits are a service we offer under certain circumstances.

We offer visits for breeders, kennels, charities, euthanasia and disabled clients. We ask for home visits to be pre-arranged where possible.

Visits for euthanasia can be difficult to predict and extremely hard to come to terms with. We will endeavour to arrange a home visit for you in this situation. If unnecessary suffering is caused due to waiting for an available veterinary surgeon, your pet must be brought to the surgery.

It should be understood that due to the unpredictable nature of a veterinary practice, a visit may not be possible.

Procedures and tests that the veterinary surgeon can perform are very limited in the home. In the event of an emergency, home visits are not suitable. Emergency equipment is only available at our surgeries.

Our vets have scheduled day to day responsibilities, meaning a veterinary surgeon may not be available when requested.
If our veterinary surgeons are dealing with emergencies at the time of the request, pets will be asked to be seen at the surgery.

Please Note: Fees for home visits are payable on day of receipt.
Please consider checking with your insurance company if home visits are covered under your policy.

As stated by the RCVS it is the owner’s responsibility to arrange possible means of transport before an emergency arises.

We understand it can be a stressful time when your pets fall ill, that is why we try to do everything in our power to make you and your pet feel reassured.

Here at Rufford Veterinary Group we have a team of devoted nurses caring for our in-patients. With many years of experience across a broad range of species, our nurses have taken care of patients with a number of unique conditions, from spinal, neurological and trauma cases to hand rearing neonates.

All of our qualified nurses are trained to a high standard and are registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. We have dedicated inpatient nurses that will be with your pet throughout their stay. With huge amounts of compassion and consideration our veterinary nurses strive to provide the best care possible.

Whether your pet is a day patient or an in-patient, we try our best to stay in touch and communicate with owners when possible. We ask that you try to bear with us at busy periods, our patients are our priority and we will endeavor to speak to owners as soon as we can.

Here at Rufford Veterinary Group, we have a dedicated team of vets and nurses assigned to caring for your pets. 

At Rufford Veterinary Group, we do not offer a 24-hour care service for hospitalised patients. We have dedicated inpatient nurses on site caring for inpatients from early morning until late at night, however there is not someone on the premises 24 hours a day. If a patient is admitted to the practice it will be left unsupervised for periods overnight, but outside inpatient nurse hours, it will be checked at intervals deemed necessary by the on-call veterinary surgeon.

With any significant change to your pets condition a member of our out of hours team will contact you on the number you provided on admittance.

For general inpatient care updates, if a member of our inpatient team has not contacted you already please phone after 10:00am.

If you have an emergency and your pet needs seeing by a vet, our 24hour emergency team can be contacted through our emergency telephone service, dial 01704 821 204 or 01704 214460 and listen to the recorded message. They do not reside at the practice.

Here at Rufford Veterinary Group we put your animal’s needs first. Whether it is routine neutering or a compulsory exploratory operation, we are here to do what is best for your pet.

We understand an operation can be scary for your pet and for you as an owner. Our objective is to treat every pet how we would want our own pets treating. Our caring nurses and our experienced vets will be there upon admit to talk through any questions you might have.

Patients for elective surgeries are admitted in the morning between 8-9 am, patients will normally be allowed home that same day depending on recovery time, this varies from animal to animal.

Surgeries may vary but the principle of preparing for surgery is very much the same, whether it is a sedation or an anaesthetic we need to minimise risks and for this reason we have some basic advise for pet owners.

Preparation for surgery

• We ask that dogs and cats are starved 10 hours before surgery, this is to avoid the risk of vomiting or regurgitation under anaesthetic. Ideally their last meal of the day should be before 10pm.
• It is advised that dogs have a small walk in the morning to give them a chance to urinate or defecate before surgery.
• Ideally cats should be kept indoors overnight to ensure they are ready for transport to the surgery in the morning.
• Pets are preferred to be as clean and as dry as possible for surgery.
• It is advised that pets are collected by car or some other means of transport as pets can be drowsy after anaesthetic.

Read more advice about Pre-Operative Pet Care.

Upon admit we will require an owners/agents signature on a consent form before any procedures begin. By law the owner/agent must be over the age of 18 years of age. We also ask for a valid contact number to arrange a discharge appointment or to discuss treatment.

Please note that payment is required when your pet is collected. If you are unable to attend it is essential that you contact the surgery as soon as possible.