Animal A+E is always open. We are like an emergency department at a hospital; we are fully equipped to treat everything from simple problems through to major trauma and cardiac resuscitation (CPR).
Our services complement each other to provide you with the highest standards of veterinary care for your pet.
Surgical Suite: Our surgery is equipped for all types of surgery. Specialised monitoring equipment gives current and continuously updated information on changes of your pet’s vital statistics to help us support your pet through even the most critical anaesthetic. The surgical room uses warming blankets and heating pads to keep your pet as warm as possible. All of our surgical equipment is sterilised on site and strict aseptic procedures are followed throughout.
Radiology: Our radiology equipment allows us to take radiographs and process the films on site. We add your pet’s radiographs to their computerised file. We are always updating our equipment and are excited about upgrading to state of the art digital radiography in the near future.
Ultrasound: We have an in-house ultrasound machine that is used specifically in cases of trauma, critical illness and pregnancy. The ultrasound is used to detect foetal heart beats, as well as abnormal fluid in the chest or abdomen. This can help identify infection or bleeding in different parts of the body. For more detailed ultrasounds, we use a consultant medicine specialist to perform diagnostics ultrasounds.
Laboratory: Animal A&E is supported by three external laboratories. In most cases, blood results from these labs can be returned to us within 6 hours during weekdays. We also know that in an emergency, we don’t always have that long to wait. Animal A&E has an extensive range of equipment to allow us to perform a multitude of blood tests in house. Few vet centres in Australia can compare their pathology service to our combination of laboratory equipment. When your pet is admitted it is likely that some blood tests will be performed. Our baseline blood testing assesses electrolyte (body salt) levels, glucose (blood sugar levels), bleeding times or blood clotting ability, anaemia and dehydration. Within 5 minutes of blood collection we can have results that help identify and allow us to accurately treat life threatening conditions.
Pharmacy: With emergency medicine, we come across a wide range of unusual diseases that require treatment. We must have a wide range of medications, some of which are not common to most vet clinics. These include antivenom for snake bites and paralysis tick antiserum.
Resuscitation Room: We keep a room specifically for resuscitation. Special equipment that may be required includes: pressure infusers for intravenous fluids; oxygen; heart and blood pressure monitoring; suction and heart defibrillator. We have 2 ‘crash carts’ in the building which are fully stocked with all medications and equipment needed when a cardiac arrest occurs.
Blood Bank: Like the Red Cross Blood Bank, the supply of dog and cat blood can be limited. We stock large amounts of blood products for all types of emergencies. Our dog blood is only purchased from registered suppliers so we are assured of its quality. Blood cross matching is performed on-site. We also have the ability to blood type cats. Cat blood is especially precious. We are always looking for cats that may be able to donate blood in emergencies and lend a hand to other feline friends.