Emergencies

We provide emergency cover for our clients’ pets through our hybrid emergency service provision. This system means that the emergency service is shared between our own team of dedicated vets and veterinary nurses, and the team at VetsNow in Eastbourne or Tunbridge Wells

Our vets and nurses provide our emergency service for all emergency calls between 8.30am and 7pm on weekdays and between 8.30am and 6pm at weekends – which covers the significant majority of our emergency call outs.

We know how important it is to have the friendly face of one of our vets there to help you at a time that is often very stressful.

Outside these times, we use the specialised services of VetsNow in Eastbourne and Tunbridge Wells to provide our out of hours emergency service.

If you need us outside our normal working hours, please call our usual number 01435 864422. 

Between 8.30am and 7pm weekdays / 6pm weekends, our phone answering service will take the message and pass it to the Heathfield duty vet who will then call you back.

After this time, up to 8.30am next morning, your call will be put straight through to the team at VetsNow who will then provide your pet’s care.

We recommend saving our number in your phone, so you have it there when you need us.

As well as our emergency arrangements, we also provide overnight care for those pets needing it after major treatment – in this case your pet will be cared for by our team and will not need to be transferred elsewhere.

We would appreciate your understanding that we are a pay at the time practice, and this includes emergencies. Any treatment sought at VetsNow needs to be settled as per their terms and conditions. Your vet will discuss the recommended treatment or procedure with you, together with giving an estimate of costs.

We always recommend using the out of hours emergency service of your usual vets, as they will often have arrangements regarding data and clinical history transfer, so that your pet can get the continuity of care they need.