Pets are referred from their own veterinary surgeon usually by teleplone call betweenyour local surgery and the staff here at NOAH. Pets that need specialist attention are referred to us much the same as your GP would refer you to see a consultant for very specific treatments. In the overall view of cases seen in the country the number that need referral is probably quite small and the local veterinary surgeon can deal with many cases themselves. They would recognise the pet that would need more specialised treatment and for the animals sake would refer then to have further work carried out. Needless to say the pets that are referred usually have complex problems.
The local veterinary surgeon that refers your pet will need to be kept fully informed of all the treatments and operations as they will be involved in the postoperative care. As each pet can have a different level of priority of operation we will admit cases on a short or emergency basis. For this reason, for urgent cases such as fractures or spinal cases there will be no waiting time for appointments. Cases will be admitted and operated on as soon as possible working from a priority care list for each day. This streamlining of cases ensures that your pet is treated in the fastest way possible.