Our team are celebrating after being recognised as one of the world’s first ‘zero pain clinics’ for pets.
We’re delighted to have received confirmation it has become one of only five official zero pain clinics globally.
The accreditation comes from the Zero Pain Philosophy, which helps Veterinary Professionals achieve excellence in pain management within their practices.
Katie Stott, a Registered Veterinary Nurse with an advanced certificate in anaesthesia here at Kentdale, said the prestigious accreditation was a terrific achievement which will benefit the hospital’s patients.
Katie said: “Achieving this recognition as a zero pain clinic is fantastic news as it underlines the fact we are providing the highest quality care and service to our patients. Our success demonstrates to owners we take pain management seriously and are using the very latest evidence-based medications and techniques to best treat their pets.
“Securing our accreditation has been a real team effort. Everyone at Kentdale has been important in helping us gain this prestigious accreditation by ensuring pain is effectively managed here at the hospital.
“That is always at the forefront of our consideration with any patient, as effective pain management is so important in improving patient comfort, stress levels and recovery times.”
Katie and fellow Registered Vet Nurse Lauren Bowe, who has also achieved an advanced certificate in anaesthesia, have been the driving force behind our recognition and successful accreditation.
The dedicated duo completed their advanced nursing certificates in anaesthesia and analgesia last year which they said helped to enhance their understanding of the importance of effective pain management.
They were quick to share their new knowledge, encouraging evidence-based discussions within the team with the aim of building on and improving our protocols.
Kentdale Hospital Director Sharon Murtagh said discovering the Zero Pain Philosophy, along with Katie and Lauren’s impetus, helped to further make our care the best it could be.
Sharon said: “We saw the Zero Pain Philosophy practice accreditation as an excellent opportunity to both recognise the work we are doing and to continue to build on the knowledge and skill base within the team to further improve patient care. To achieve accreditation, we had to provide evidence of a wide variety of pain management such as team education, the use of appropriate and evidence-based effective analgesics, validated pain scoring techniques and auditing of pain management.
“Most criteria that had to be uploaded we were already compliant in, including our pain scoring protocols and analgesic drugs used. One area we further improved on was auditing of pain management. So, as part of the application, Katie completed an audit on current pain scoring protocols which was very useful and allowed us to assess where improvements could be made and create plans to achieve this.
“It’s very much an ongoing process. There are always more techniques to learn and new evidence to consider. We are keen to remain up to date and push to improve ourselves and our patient care whenever and wherever possible. We consider every patient who comes through our doors as an individual and plan bespoke pain management protocols accordingly.”
The Zero Pain Philosophy is the brainchild of top UK Vets Matt Gurney and Carl Bradbrook, who are both Specialists in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia also working within Linnaeus at Eastcott Referrals and Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists respectively.
Matt said: “At Zero Pain Philosophy, we help Vet Professionals achieve excellence in pain management in their clinics.
“It is a worldwide accreditation scheme open to all veterinary practices that are committed to working to the highest standards of pain management. The scheme enables clinics to showcase their efforts towards excellence in pain management and sets them apart as an elite practice working to the highest standards.”
For more information on the Zero Pain Philosophy, visit https://www.zeropainphilosophy.com.
We are one of the UK’s leading Specialist Orthopaedic, Spinal and Soft Tissue small animal referral centres.