Covid Measures

We ask that you wear a mask or face covering when you attend the practice (our team will be wearing their own PPE to keep you safe) and please continue to maintain social distancing (2 metres). Please make use of the hand sanitisers available if and when you do visit the practice. This not only helps keep you safe but also helps keep our teams healthy and able to work, so that we can continue to provide ongoing care to all our patients.

Please do not attend the practice if you or somebody you’ve been in contact with has tested positive for Covid 19, or are self-isolating, or have any of the following symptoms;

• High temperature
• New, continuous cough
• A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, please stay at home to protect others and yourself.

TAKING PAYMENTS:

We are unable to take any cash or cheque payments for now, and will only be taking card payments or bank transfers. This is a measure to limit viral transmission.

What should I expect if I have to come into the surgery for an appointment?

As you are all aware we can get pretty busy at times. In order to reduce any overcrowding please only allow your pet to bring one owner along to their appointment!

To ensure we can continue to practice effective social distancing and reduce the risk of Covid transmission, we are still currently not allowing our clients in the practice building for the consultation. Please keep this in mind when you are planning to attend an appointment and stay in your car where possible or alternatively, bring wet weather gear/sun brollies as appropriate! We will do our best to provide what shelter we can. If at any point you are concerned about your pets comfort or well being while you are waiting then please let a member of our team know and we can make arrangements to bring your pet inside while you wait for them to be seen.

We ask that you phone the surgery when you have arrived in the car park so we can sign you in so please remember your mobile phone. If our normal phone lines are busy then please look out for the signs on the windows and doors of the practice buildings as these will have alternative numbers you can call specifically for signing in. Once available, the vet/nurse will meet you outside, discuss the reason for your appointment and bring your pet into the practice for assessment and treatment.

The same procedure will apply for any animals coming in for an operation. A vet or nurse will also run through the consent form and gain your verbal consent for the procedure. If you provide us with an email address, we would be happy to email the consent form over to you prior to the procedure.

We also have the facilities at our Bournemouth branch to enable us to have the front door open and a ‘one in one out’ procedure to facilitate clients signing in, paying and collecting medication.

This is a worrying and frustrating time for all of us and as healthcare professionals we appreciate your ongoing support and understanding during these difficult times.

We are here to support you and your pet and will do our utmost to resolve any queries or concerns you may have.The teams have been working exceptionally hard throughout to ensure we could still continue to deliver the ongoing care that your pet needs.

We will not tolerate any acts of physical or verbal aggression towards our staff. If this occurs, you will be asked to leave the premises and may result in you being removed from our client list.

Do take care of yourselves, best wishes from all of us here at Natterjacks

FAQs

Can I bring my pet in for their vaccination appointment?

We are booking in vaccination appointments, however we are limiting this slightly through the lockdown period in order to reduce the number of visits to the clinic. We also still have many appointments to catch up on and experiencing a high caseload alongside a reduction in the number of appointments slots we have in a day and we have to prioritise our more urgent patients. This means that there may still likely be a delay before we can fit you in and have adjusted our vaccination protocols slightly to fit in with this. We will always do what we can to try and accommodate so please contact the surgery with your specific requirements and we can see what we can do to assist.

We are currently offering vaccination clinics around our usual appointment times so please contact the practice for further information and availability.

Can I bring my pet in for a non-urgent appointment/procedure?

We will be delaying any non-urgent appointments during the lockdown periods where possible unless your pet is in pain or will possibly develop complications such as infection.

Please contact the surgery with your specific requirements and we can see what we can do to assist.

I have some worries about my pet, they’re not an emergency so what should I do?

Our phone lines are extremely busy at the moment and therefore if you have any queries that are non-urgent then feel free to contact the practice via email (hellobournemouth@natterjacksvet.com or hellopoole@natterjacksvet.com) and one of our team will get back to you. This then frees up our phone lines for emergencies and urgent queries.

How can I get my repeat food orders or medicines for my pet?

It is important that you continue to give your pet the appropriate food and medication and we will help make sure your pet gets what they need

Repeat medication and food can be requested over the phone, or preferably by email- hellobournemouth@natterjacksvet.com or 01202 427404 for our Boscombe surgery, hellopoole@natterjacksvet.com or 01202 051141 for our Poole surgery. If ordering by email please give your pet’s name, the surname they are registered under, your address, what medicines you would like and in what quantity.

Please allow 24-48 hours for the medication and food to be ordered and dispensed. We are still practicing social distancing and therefore ask that we take payment for any medication or food over the phone prior to collection where possible to minimise contact time.

If collecting from the surgery, we may ask that you phone us when you are in the car park and the items will be dropped out for you to pick up. Please confirm the up to date procedure for collecting medication with the relevant branch surgery when placing your order.

Can my pet still have emergency operations?

Absolutely! If your pet needs to see us in an emergency, then we will see them at the practice and if they need an operation, we can do this.

Am I still able to arrange a home visit for my pet?

We are only able to do home visits in extreme circumstances at this time and decisions on this will be made on a case by case status, we hope you understand.