A new £1.3m state-of-the art veterinary hospital welcomed its first pets through the doors last month.
Northlands Veterinary Hospital in Kettering, Northamptonshire, has been designed to deliver the highest levels of care to cats, dogs and small animals, 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week.
Set over three floors, the hospital has three operating theatres, including one for specialist orthopedic surgery and a dental suite, medicine dispensary, in-house laboratory and rooms housing digital X-ray and ultrasound machines.
To help lower the stress of a trip to the vets, there are separate wards and kennels for cats, dogs and other small pets and dedicated areas for cats and dogs in the hospital waiting room. Of the four consulting rooms, one is for cats only.
The project has delivered a new home for the former Northlands Veterinary Hospital in Northampton Road and The Avenue Vet Clinic in St Peter’s Avenue, which have merged, and 30 team members are transferring to the new site.
It has been funded by VetPartners, the larger veterinary group Northlands is part of, and includes a major investment in new technology to help treat pets and diagnose health issues. Among the upgrade in facilities is a £150,000 CT scanner, which provides a higher detail of image than X-ray.
ECSTATIC
Karl Walker, Northlands’ practice manager, said the Station Road hospital provides additional space and enhanced facilities for pets, plus it is wheelchair accessible and has parking on site.
Karl said: “I am ecstatic that we are able to welcome the first patients through the doors of our new veterinary hospital. At Northlands we are committed to delivering high standards of veterinary care and the new building will help us improve on this even further.
“Moving around the corner to Station Road has many benefits for pets, their owners and our own veterinary team. It is in a quieter location, away from the busy road and we have 11 parking spaces. It has also allowed us to bring all of our services under one roof and to create a space that works more efficiently for everyone.”
Karl added that it has been extremely rewarding to breathe new life into the former nursery that had been empty for 12 years.
CHARACTER
He said: “When we began the project, the building was just a shell and it was damp, dark and dilapidated inside. We have given it a new purpose and modernised the interior and exterior, although we have kept and restored many original features to retain the character of the building.”
One of the major changes to the building was adding a top floor extension, where the hospital’s office space is located, along with a meeting room, team relaxation area and three en-suite rooms for the night-time veterinary team. Consulting rooms are situated on the ground floor, with operating theatres and kennels in the lower ground floor.
The new hospital also has a compassion suite where owners can say their final goodbyes to a much-loved pet in a peaceful, non-clinical area and will be furnished with a comfortable sofa and rugs.
Northlands Veterinary Group has four other veterinary surgeries across Northamptonshire, including a cat and rabbit clinic.
