At Heathfield Vets we aim to have everything your pet needs under one roof.
Our dedicated team have the expertise and equipment available to provide complete care for your pet, so from routine preventative treatment to diagnosing and treating serious conditions or injuries – Heathfield Vets has you covered.
Acupuncture
Under the expert care of one of our vets, Ian, your pet will be made to feel comfortable while they undergo this therapy.
It can help with a number of ailments, including pain relief, arthritis, muscle and ligament damage and it also promotes faster healing.
Often used alongside conventional medicine, it allows for a multi-pronged approach to these issues.
15 Minute Appointments
It allows your pet to relax and familiarise themselves with their vet and the consult room environment and for a thorough examination to be conducted.
Dental Care
We have state of the art equipment which allows us to offer procedures from a simple scale and polish, to the treatment of more complex conditions involving extractions, dental reconstruction or root canals.
We have a dental x-ray machine on site which means we can image the teeth and establish what is happening under the gums, often allowing us to avoid more invasive dental procedures, particularly for the removal of teeth.
The dental care that we provide may not just be necessary as a result of the usual dental health issues that arise, but also as the result of an accident or trauma – whichever it is, we are here to provide your pet with the best advice and treatment in dental health.
Emergency Out of Hours
You have access to our vast range of services and the most modern medical techniques through the early morning and late into the evening, as well as the reassurance that our out of hours provision is the same high standard as our service during the day.
After 10 pm and before 6 am, we have arranged for our clients to have access to VetsNow’s specialist out of hours cover, at either Eastbourne or Tunbridge Wells. During these hours, in an emergency you should still call our usual phone no, which will be diverted to VetsNow.
This hybrid emergency service ensures that we can cover over 85% of all emergency call outs here in the practice, while our very experienced vets can get enough sleep to offer a great service 7 days a week.
Endoscopy
This means that we are able to check for foreign bodies (when they eat or inhale something they shouldn’t have, such as grass darts) without invasive surgery, and then remove them, resulting in quicker recovery times and shorter hospital stays.
We are also able to carry out tissue biopsies and samples of these areas, again without major, invasive surgery.
Using endoscopy minimises the bleeding and there is less trauma and bruising to these body parts, and is far more comfortable for your pet.
This can make a particularly big difference for pets that are already unwell or even in critical condition – they do not have to contend with major surgery on top of that.
We also have the equipment needed for both cats and dogs, so we can offer this procedure for a variety of species.
Laparoscopic (Keyhole) Surgery
Although it is not suitable for all types of abdominal surgery, when it can be used it brings fantastic benefits for your pet.
It reduces the trauma and bruising to the internal organs, and the incisions made are much smaller so your pet recovers from the surgery more quickly.
Not only does that mean a shorter hospital stay, but they get back to normal at home much sooner.
We can do a number of procedures laparoscopically, including spays for dogs and taking biopsies from internal organs, amongst others. In the case of biopsies, pets are often already unwell and may even be in critical condition. By using laparoscopic techniques, we do not subject them to a major, invasive surgery on top of already being poorly.
With two vets trained and experienced in carrying out laparoscopic surgery, we are able to use this procedure for routine and emergency care.
In-house and external laboratory testing
We offer a range of in-house and external laboratory testing, including blood, urine, tissue, faeces and cell sampling.
With our in-house laboratory, we can do several tests including, for example, our pre-anaesthetic blood test to check if your pet needs additional support while they are undergoing anaesthesia.
When we send samples to an external laboratory, we get vital input from expert veterinary pathologists. In some cases, these tests are used as part of the diagnostic process to establish what is wrong.
In other cases, these tests are used to monitor your pet’s progress and to make sure that the treatment plan that they are on is the best one for them, allowing us to deliver our gold-standard care to your pets.
Laser Therapy
Osteoarthritis
Back, neck and joint pain or stiffness
Hip and elbow dysplasia
Ear infections
Sinusitis
Eczema
Cystitis
It reduces inflammation and soothes the affected area, making your pet more comfortable and promoting healing.
It is often used alongside other treatments as a complementary therapy in order to give your pet a treatment plan that approaches the issue from several different directions.
Laser therapy also helps to stimulate the healing of burns, wounds, abscesses, fractures, tendon and ligament injuries, and surgical wounds. Laser treatments can be performed in a consultation with you present, initially with a vet but further treatments can be with a nurse.
We also offer it after neutering as it means that your pet is able to be up and about and active sooner(especially helpful for energetic pets!) and after dental procedures as it soothes the gums and allows them to get back to normal more quickly.
Microchipping
This gives us the best chance we have of reuniting them with you if they go missing – it can only take something small for them to accidentally get out or make a quick escape. Microchipping is a quick procedure that can be done in consultation, to give you peace of mind.
We will always check the microchip works as it should, and send off all the registration paperwork for you.
All you need to do is fill in the form with all the details you want on there!
Neutering
It offers a vast number of health benefits, and means you don’t have the risk of dealing with an unexpected pregnancy and the associated costs.
We offer conventional neutering (castrates and spays) for household pets as well as laparoscopic (keyhole) spays for dogs here at Heathfield Vets – if you’d like to know more, just give us a call and a member of our team will be happy to help!
Nurse Clinics
Our Nurses offer:
Weight clinics – if you are worried your pet may be under- or overweight then these clinics are for you. Our nurses can take you through how to tell when your pet is carrying too much or too little weight, as well as assess their dietary consumption, exercise and other lifestyle aspects to help them lead their healthiest possible life.
Dental clinics – if you need advice on how to get your pet used to having their teeth brushed regularly, and how to spot the signs that something may not be right with their teeth, this is the nurse clinic for you!
Nail clipping – some pets aren’t able to wear their nails down quickly enough, and if they grow too long they can curve around and puncture the underside of the pads of their feet. If you notice their nails are getting a bit long, you can book in for a nurse to clip them for you. Especially handy if you are not able to do them yourself at home, or if you need an extra pair of hands to help!
Neutering clinics – we always recommend neutering for its health benefits if you don’t plan to breed your pet, so these clinics are a great opportunity to talk to the nurse about the neutering options, the right time to do it and to answer any questions you may have before your pet undergoes the surgery. It is also a chance to introduce your pet to one of the friendly faces that will look after them while they are in the hospital with us.
Puppy and kitten clinics – have you just got a new pet, and you want the chance to have a chat about caring for them, their development or other aspects of having a new furry family member? Our puppy and kitten clinics (and baby bunny clinics too!) are the perfect chance to do this. Usually these take place about 6 months after their 2nd vaccination, as this is an ideal time to have a chat about what comes next.
Chronic condition clinics – these clinics are ideal if your pet has an ongoing condition, such as renal problems, diabetes etc. If you are having trouble administering medication, or you just want a relaxed atmosphere where you can discuss the difficulties of having a pet with a chronic condition, a clinic with one of our nurses is ideal. They can help you with any questions you may have, and provide additional support in between your vet visits.
Orthopaedic Surgery
As well as fracture repairs we are able to offer cruciate surgery including TPLO, patella luxations and jaw repairs.
This means that when your pet needs to have one of these operations, we are often able to accommodate them here at the practice.
Your pet then has the usual friendly faces looking after them, all the way through from when you drop them off, to when they go home, as well as advising on aftercare and physiotherapy.
Referrals
We do all we can to make this as straightforward for you as possible.
Sometimes we are able to invite the specialist to conduct their examination here at the practice, so that your pet can visit them in a familiar environment. Otherwise, we have links with exceptional specialists that uphold the same values that we do, including a belief in delivering the best standard of care possible.
In these cases, we ease the process by making the necessary contact and arrangements with the specialist. This is vet to vet, to make sure that all the pertinent information is passed on. Then we send over any documentation needed, and make arrangements for the specialist to contact you to arrange an appointment.
If it is an emergency referral, we will often arrange the appointment on your behalf so that you can concentrate on making the journey to the specialist centre, so that by the time you arrive, the specialist is ready for you.
Stem Cell Therapy
It offers us another avenue to treat cases of severe arthritis, and allows us to improve the quality of life for patients who suffer from it.
We will be looking to expand our use of stem cell therapy in the future as it has numerous applications that we feel will be beneficial to our patients.
Ultrasonography
They are a very useful, non-invasive diagnostic test that can be used to investigate problems with the heart, eyes and internal organs.
One of our vets, Gerald, is an experienced ultrasonographer so he is able to conduct the ultrasound and interpret the results right here, on site.
This means that we do not have to refer our patients elsewhere to have these important scans done, or wait for the interpretation of the results – they are with one of our vets, in a practice they know -and we can get the answers we need without delay.
Vaccinations
We offer them for cats, dogs, rabbits and ferrets, all the way through from primary vaccinations and annual boosters to a range of optional vaccines your pet may need, depending on their lifestyle and whether or not they travel.
If you are looking for advice on which vaccinations your pet needs, do not hesitate to call – we are happy to answer any questions you may have.
Digital Radiographs (X-rays)
By having a digital x-ray machine, rather than one that requires a dark room and wet processing, we can get instant results – useful every day but vital in an emergency situation.
Not only can they be used for diagnosis, but we can also offer BVA hip and elbow scoring and post-surgical x-rays when necessary.
We don’t just have a normal x-ray machine – take a look at our dental care services to read all about our dental radiograph machine!
