DID you know that St Boniface Vets offer appointments that are 50 per cent longer than the standard veterinary practice?

Vets at St Boniface pride themselves on taking time to care; Ben Dart, Lead Small Animal Vet said 'we feel by adding extra time to a standard consult we can offer a more thorough history taking and a more in depth clinical exam, to take the time for you and your pet to be assessed in a non rushed, calm environment.'    

It is amazing what happens in just 15 minutes - here’s a snapshot…

All consultations begin with greeting the animal and owner in reception, when entering the consult room the vet asks for a progress update or concerns from the owner; all the while the vet processes the information and writes clinical notes on the computer records (filtering important clues as to what may be happening with the animal, and monitoring the animal hands off to see how they are behaving, or monitoring mentation or certain parameters like respiration rate).

At this stage, it may look like the vet is sat listening but their brain is doing multiple things!

The vet will also listen to how the owner has been managing with medicating a furious cat twice daily whose tongue is so flexible it can spit out tablets even after 10 minutes of wrestling, towel wrapping and using a pill giver - thankfully most owners come away with all fingers intact.

The vet will also hear how an owner has been trying to catch a urine sample for the last week but every time the dog goes to squat it gets highly suspicious of the container being slipped under its bottom and it will not perform for its audience!

Compliance can be a real problem and vets do genuinely sympathise and understand.

A full clinical examination is then performed; in the space of a few minutes the vet assesses heart rate and rhythm, any murmur, respiration rate and lung sounds, colour of mucous membranes (gums), condition of teeth and gums, symmetry of face, any discharge or smell from eyes/nose/ears, lymph nodes under the jaw, temperature (sorry to all patients - vets really wish there was a better way to take the temperature than per rectum!), abdominal palpation and body condition score.

Depending on the history, the vet may perform more in-depth examinations like an orthopaedic examination for an arthritic patient or a neurological examination for one with a head tilt.

Certain patients need an additional pair of hands to help keep them still for an examination so a nurse may be asked to assist.

Towards the end of the consult a diagnosis may be made and appropriate treatment prescribed, or a list of differential diagnoses can be generated with the need for further investigation to get to the bottom of the problem.

Options are discussed and depending on the owners wishes, finances, and the best option for the animal, a plan is implemented.

Once the vet is satisfied that the patient has received the best care, they say goodbye.

All of this happens in 15minutes imagine trying to cram that into 10!! 

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