Referring Vets

Urgent Referrals

If you feel a case needs to be referred urgently, please telephone the surgery on 015395 67241 and tell us that you consider the case to be urgent. Wherever possible we will try to make sure that you can speak to a Veterinary Surgeon directly if immediate advice is needed. After hours please follow the instructions on the answering service.

Routine Referrals

Please contact us by telephone if you wish to discuss the case before arranging a referral. If you feel the case is routine, please fill out a referral submission form and upload it using our referral system.

We do not need a specific referral letter unless you wish to produce one.

Any radiographs/scan images may be sent with the owner, by post or by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before the consultation. We are happy to either contact the owner directly once we have received your instructions or for the client to contact us to arrange an appointment. More and more practices are submitting digital images by email. Often jpeg images are easier to send, however the compression of the image can reduce the diagnostic value and are more difficult to manipulate. For this reason, we prefer DICOM format images wherever possible. Large files may be saved in a zip file and uploaded to our Hightail account.

Advice

We are happy to give advice on clinical case management, surgical or radiographic techniques and really anything else connected with orthopaedics. If we don’t know then we will try to find out.

Radiographic Reports

In many cases it is helpful for us to assess radiographs. These may be submitted in person, by post or by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to  We make no charge for verbal radiographic reports, however if a written report is needed then a charge will be made to the referring practice. We greatly appreciate any submitted radiographs being labelled with the owner’s surname and animals name. It also helps if a clinical history including the age, breed and duration of clinical signs can be included. Normally a print-out of the clinical history with the name of the vet in charge of the case is fine and or completed the x-ray submission form. Whilst we are happy to assess any image, please bear in mind that in some cases photographing film x rays can reduce the diagnostic value of the images.

More and more practices are submitting digital images by email. Often jpeg images are easier to send, however the compression of the image can reduce the diagnostic value and are more difficult to manipulate. For this reason, we prefer DICOM format images wherever possible. Large files may be saved in a zip file and uploaded to our Hightail account.

Direct Insurance Claims

Our general policy is that all accounts are settled at the time when the animals go home. However, we are happy to process direct insurance claims in certain circumstances where clients have valid insurance policies (with reputable insurance companies), subject to pre-authorisation of the claim being obtained. If a client requires a direct claim it is imperative that this is discussed as soon as possible and certainly before treatment has been performed. Where we provisionally agree to claim direct, the client needs to bring their current insurance documents, payment to the amount of their excess and a completed claim form with them. An administration charge may be made for direct claims that is not normally claimable. It is often helpful for the policyholder to have contacted their insurance company to give permission for us to discuss the terms of their policy.

If you have any queries regarding insurance matters, please contact the surgery.