What can you expect when you come to Blue House Vets?
It soon becomes apparent that Blue House Vets is easy to find. With easy access from the Biddulph Bypass, bringing your pet to the surgery is made easier by the ample, safe, off-road parking on site. We can of course help you from the car with your pet – just ask.
A warm welcome awaits you when entering the practice. Our waiting room has that ‘living room’ feel. With large, attractive canvas pictures of some of our own animal friends and soft comfy seats, you will soon see that we want you and your pets to feel relaxed. Please do not be surprised when you are offered tea and cake, and your dog manages to sniff out the treat drawer!
- Short video from when we won Petplan Practice of the Year 2019 for the whole of the UK! (at our previous premises)
We have a separate cat only waiting room to ensure your feline friends (and you) are more relaxed, complete with fireplace! We also have a Cat-Only Clinic from 2-3pm every afternoon - the perfect time for your cat to feel more relaxed without any canine interruption! One of our consult rooms is designated as cat only - one of the many reasons we are certified as cat friendly.
Our other four large and airy consultation rooms are inviting to anxious patients as they do not feel so crowded. Each has an outside window providing natural light, and windowsills wide enough for cats to perch on.
Completing our consulting area is the very special Woodland Room. This is a relaxing space with a forest theme which is primarily used for acupuncture, but is also a nice calm room for over anxious patients or for those pets or people who prefer to be away from the main reception.
Another unique feature of our practice is the ‘Blue Room’. It is a much less clinical room away from the main consulting and waiting area, which offers you space for those sadder occasions when you have to say goodbye to your pet. As it is not one of our main consulting rooms, you can take your time and stay as long as you like. A fireplace and comfy seating make it feel much more like home.
Surgical wing
Our dedicated surgical wing is kitted out with a variety of common and not-so-common equipment (see our facilities page). We have a spacious "prep" area where we can perform procedures such as blood sampling and get patients ready for theatre.We might pop some patients over to the prep room to have blood taken or intravenous catheters placed, as we have more staff and equipment to hand and access to better lighting. We don’t believe, however, in taking your pet ‘out the back’ for any worrying purpose; we are very open, and you are more than welcome to come and have a look around our prep room – just ask!
Our nurse station houses our lab area including in-house biochemistry (blood) machine, microscope, centrifuge (for spinning blood samples), and many other pieces of equipment used by our nurses on a day-to-day basis. We look at some blood, skin and urine samples in house, and have a courier service to take any further samples to our external lab for prompt results – usually the same day.
We then have an ante room for surgeons to prepare for surgery leading to two large theatres. The operating theatres are equipped with monitoring instruments, infusion pumps, and all the things we need to keep your pet safe under anaesthetic. Our anaesthetic machines are a state-of-the-art system known as the Humphrey-ADE, which has additional safety features compared to standard anaesthetic machines. We take the risk of hypothermia under general anaesthesia very seriously, which is why we operate on a heated table, use paw covers and blankets to keep our patients warm, and monitor body temperature closely. We have found that our patients have faster, smoother recoveries when they are kept warm while they are asleep.
Our dental theatre is complete with dental X-ray, an ultrasonic scaler, dental drills and instruments. Having a separate dental room stops the bacteria from dentistry contaminating our “clean” surgical areas, and allows us to keep all our dentistry equipment close at hand during procedures.The dental table is a "tub table", meaning it can also be used to wash patients if needed.
We have a dedicated imaging room comprising our digital x-ray, ultrasound and arthroscopic equipment.
Hospital wards
The dog ward has kennels of varying sizes, from the large walk-in kennels to the temperature-controlled incubators which can also be used to deliver supplemental oxygen for patients with breathing difficulties. Adaptil (previously known as DAP) pheromone diffusers help to keep patients calm whilst hospitalised with us. We supply a variety of tasty foods, or we are happy to give your dog their own diet if you bring some with you.
Our cat-only ward is specifically designed with cats in mind, with a Feliway pheromone diffuser, radio and snuggly hide-away beds for any cats that come to visit us for procedures. The spacious kennels are all along one wall so cats are not staring at each other (something they hate). The cat ward is directly off the prep area so we can keep an eye on our patients without disturbing them.
Our rabbit / chicken / small furry ward has an extra large walk-in kennel perfect for hospitalising rabbits or chickens, especially if they bring company! Hospitalised rabbits often benefit from having their bonded companion with them, and chickens like to have a friend too. We have a variety of toys, hidey holes, perches and food depending on the species we need to care for. This ward also used as an isolation room in case of infectious diseases.
If you would like a real tour of Blue House then just pop in; we are proud of our practice, and we will be happy to show you around!