Tag Archives: practice

Vet’s Klinic – my veterinary revolution is open!

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After years of planning, months of building and weeks of last minute preparations, the doors to Vet’s Klinic in Swindon finally opened on 20th August and my veterinary revolution was underway.

I have been dreaming about creating this moment for so many years that to see it finally come to fruition was an amazing feeling and I am so proud of what the team here has built. From the state-of-the-art premises complete with curved glass walled prep room, to the bespoke online IT system that allows pet owners to book and view their pet’s medical records online Vet’s Klinic is truly a revolutionary practice and making it happen has been a monumental effort for everyone involved.

With the practice now up and running and a steady stream of patients coming through the doors, we are starting to see how well the innovations are working, particularly the whole online system. 99% of all of the appointments have been booked in advance using the website, with pet owners really liking having the freedom to choose appointment slots that suit their schedule – and prices that suit their wallets. And the ability for pet owners to view their pet’s medical records online has been a great success, particularly for pets staying with us for surgery as their owners can keep up to date with their progress in the day with our updates, photos and videos – as shown when ITV came to film us for the news soon after opening…

 

Although everything is working really well now, it’s fair to say that the first couple of weeks have not been entirely smooth running, particularly where the new IT system is concerned. I guess launching an entirely new bespoke system is always going to cause problems, and we’ve certainly had lots of bugs and glitches to overcome, but after some stressful days as the beginning, everything is starting to come together now and the system is really proving its worth both to pet owners and our staff.

The new team of vets and nurses at the practice have settled in fantastically well, particularly considering the stresses and strains they have been through in the first couple of weeks. Our vets, Jenny and Ed, along with nurses Becks, Clare, Katie and Stacey and auxillary nurse Sarah have all worked incredibly hard to make the opening a success and they have been a crucial part of delivering the Vet’s Klinic vet revolution – as has Jez Rose our resident behavioural expert who is helping ensure that Vet’s Klinic is the most behaviour friendly practice possible as well as offering his services to pets in need of therapy!

The final part of the Vet’s Klinic jigsaw has been the launch of Vet’s Klinic TV and our live broadcasts from the media centre in the prep room. ‘Vet’s Klinic Live with Joe & Jez’ is packed with interesting and informative content about pets from cases we’ve seen at the practice to news stories and interviews and so far it seems to have gone down really well with pet lovers tuning in at 1pm every Wednesday or catching up on later on via the website.

Vet’s Klinic – a few days to go…

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With just 6 days to go until our grand open day this Sunday, Vet’s Klinic is very nearly finished and ready – and we are all getting very, very excited!

It’s been a hectic last couple of weeks as the builders have been working around the clock to get everything finished, and our IT developers glued to their keyboards as they put the finishing touches to our amazing website system. Although everything is looking good now, it;s been a really stressful time as we’ve had all sorts of problems and challenges to face, ranging from the glass not fitting to ‘computer says no’ errors on the website! However, thanks to the hard work and dedication of the team we’ve sorted out all but a few last issues and everything is finally looking good for our official launch at the weekend.

As well as the builders and developers being hard at work, we’ve also welcomed our teamof wonderful vets and nurses to the premises this week. Ed, Jenny and Adrian the vets, Becks, Claire, Stacey and Katie the nurses and Sarah and Melinda the auxiliary nurses have been busy sorting out all the final details and getting everything ready for our first clients next week.

Away from all the work at the practice, we’ve also been launching the practice to Swindon’s pet owners with a series of radio and press adverts, and letting everyone know about the practice – and our fantastic launch offer where we are giving away 200 free pet vaccinations to the first clients to register and book through our website, www.vetsklinic.co.uk. If you’re in Swindon or nearby, don’t miss out on this amazing offer – just visit the website, sign up and book your pets in.

Plans for the open day on Sunday 19th are also coming on well, so we really look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on the day!

Vet’s Klinic – almost there!

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It’s been an exciting – but stressful – few days at the Vet’s Klinic building site as the construction program nears the end. It is looking amazing and we all can’t wait to get started and fill it with pets and people!

The biggest excitement of the week was yesterday when the glass wall was installed between the prep room and waiting room. This is one of the key parts of the whole design and will allow our waiting clients to see the staff in action and be reassured that we are taking the very best care of their pets. It is a major installation – 10 panes of glass 12mm thick and 3.5 metres high, with each one weighing 120kg – and it was all going well up to the last pane. Unfortunately at this point it became clear that the glass was very slightly too big for the opening, and despite lots of squeezing and fiddling by the installers, by the end of the day the last pane was still obstinately refusing to fit. As a result the manufacturers are going to have to make a replacement sheet and get it installed as soon as possible – time is now getting very tight ahead of our planned opening in a couple of weeks time!

It’s all pretty stressful at the moment but I’m sure it will all be worth it in the end when Vet’s Klinic is finally open and offering an amazing and unique service to Swindon’s pet owners!

Vet’s Klinic update

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It’s been a very busy few weeks at Vet’s Klinic, with the building work now past the half way stage and the ground-breaking website system starting to come together. It’s not been without issues though, including arguments with electricians, heated debates over the number of cupboards required and the position of the reception desk, and brain-aching sessions with the web developers as we try to make sure that the system does everything our clients will expect when we launch.

My life has been taken over with this project over the last few months but despite all the stress and hard work, I’m still incredibly excited by it and can’t wait to open the doors and set the website live and start making my vet revolution dream a reality.

In the building, most of the major works are now done and the first finishing touches are starting to be applied – rooms are being painted, floors installed and light fittings put in place. It is finally starting to look more like a veterinary practice than a building site – which is a good job as we’re hoping to be opening the doors in the next 6 weeks! The next big milestones are the installation of the great curved glass wall in the waiting room, and then the arrival of all of our clinical equipment at the end of the month.

Online, I have spent weeks working through the processes and potential problems with our long-suffering web developers, but I’m sure that it will be worth all the hard work in the long run as the features we are building are going to offer pet owners so much more than any other practice system. Not only will pet owners be able to book and pay for appointments online, they will be able to view their pet’s medical records online, which can include photos and even video clips – so vets will be able to record short video clips in consultations explaining complex diagnoses or care at home instructions and the owner will be able to login at home and watch these at refresh their mind on what the vet said.

The only disappointing thing that I’ve had to deal with since we announced our plans for Vet’s Klinic has been a hostile and negative response from some in the veterinary profession. Some vets are up in arms because I have suggested that not all vets operate in an open and transparent manner, particularly where pricing is concerned – and that I have dared to talk about value for money, which is not something many vets want to discuss. To me, this just reinforces my views about the need for change in the profession if we are to offer a truly positive and modern service to our customers and their pets. Although it isn’t very nice to be on the receiving end of some pretty unpleasant comments in veterinary forums, my focus has always been on doing this for pet owners rather than vets so I don’t mind provided the feedback from pet owners continues to be as overwhelming positive as it has been so far. Vet’s Klinic is all about pet owners and pets, not vets!