Anaesthesia
All of our team are well trained, safe and proficient anaesthetists.
Alongside the vets, Veterinary Nurses are instrumental when it comes to your pet having an operation and are responsible for preparing for and monitoring your pet’s general anaesthetic or sedation, reporting to the vet any concerns or changes during the anaesthetic. They play a pivotal role in ensuring all procedures are undertaken in the safest way possible.
A Veterinary Nurse will be involved in discussions about your pet’s tailored anaesthetic plan. They will prepare and safety check all required equipment, and will be with your pet through their anaesthetic, monitoring and making subtle adjustments to your pet’s anaesthetic under veterinary direction, and subsequently into recovery where they will continue to monitor your pet to ensure they remain comfortable post-op.
Julia Read BSc(hons) RVN NCert(AnBeh) NCert(AnaesthNsg)
Julia holds a Nursing Certificate in Anaesthesia meaning that she has a broad, up-to-date knowledge of higher level anaesthesia for a range of species, and for a range of illnesses that may increase anaesthetic risk. These include for example, obesity, kidney disease or brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome.
The NCert qualification requires a large amount of commitment to study and in depth understanding of the subject area. Her additional understanding and experience allows her to help in the provision of safer and more effective anaesthesia and pain control for our patients.
She is able to pass the knowledge gained while undertaking her certificate on to fellow nurses and students, improving their own confidence in advanced anaesthesia techniques and practice. She is also involved in maintaining up-to-date protocols within the wider team.
Dave’s interests lie in anaesthesia, acute and chronic pain management, as well as emergency and critical care of companion animals. In 2010 he obtained the RCVS Certificate in Veterinary Anaesthesia, and in 2015, became an RCVS Advanced Practitioner in Veterinary Anaesthesia. He then attained his General Practitioner Certificate in Western Veterinary Acupuncture and Chronic Pain Management in 2018. He is passionate about pain relief in animals – both in the time around a trauma or surgical procedure, and also in those animals suffering from chronic pain states.
Through additional upskilling and training of our team, we are able to offer even higher standards of anaesthesia provision, monitoring, and safety for our patients.
These include:
• In-house pre-anaesthetic blood profiles to assess any underlying conditions that may become evident prior to anaesthesia
• Intravenous fluid administration in the peri-anaesthetic period
• Modern anaesthetic drugs and protocols
• Comprehensive anaesthetic monitoring to include heart rate, respiratory rate, pulse oximetry, ECG, carbon dioxide, temperature and blook pressure monitoring as routine
• Infusions/constant rate infusions of anaesthetics and analgesics, sedatives and medications/total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) protocols
• Post-operative monitoring/recovery