23/03/2020
Covid-19 Client update:
With covid-19 continuing to spread, we all need to play our part to protect each other and therefore reduce the potential strain on the NHS while, at the same time, continue to perform our work, providing care for your animals, milking cows, turning out ewes and lambs, calving cows. Please help us all to stay safe and reduce the risk of transmission. As the disease has spread, we have changed some of our work practices. Please bear with us. Here are some of the details and advice for you:
• Please help keep our vets, staff and yourselves safe by observing social distancing guidance at all times (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults)
• Our vets will take drug order deliveries to arranged visits to reduce the need for you to come to the practice. Please give us as much notice as possible, ideally a minimum of 3 days, for orders so that vets can sufficiently stock up, as they are also working remotely where they can. We can also arrange drop off’s at other locations en-route to visits to best help you.
• If you do require an order to be collected at the practice, ensure you order everything you need for the next week or so to reduce visits in, and again give us 3 days notice where possible. We are no longer allowing clients into the building. On arrival at the practice, please call or make yourself known to the reception staff so that your order can be brought out to you.
• When booking a visit, please let our staff know if:
• You, any of your family or anyone else on the farm is displaying signs of covid-19.
• You, any of your family or anyone else on the farm is self isolating
• You, any of your family or anyone else on the farm is in one of the at risk groups
If you answer yes to any of these questions and the call is not urgent, please rearrange the visit for a later date. If the visit is urgent, it may be necessary to arrange for someone else to assist while dealing with your animals. If this is not possible, we may be able to provide an assistant.
• If your circumstances have changed, particularly in relation to the details above, in any way since your visit was arranged, please contact the practice to discuss what implications this may have.
• Please ensure soap and warm water is available for washing up on arrival and prior to leaving the farm. If possible, please also supply disposable paper towel.
• Where possible, please ensure that animals are examined in the open air or well ventilated sheds.
• For all tasks on farm (fertility visits, examination of individual animals and TB testing), please minimise the number of people working around the crush area.
• Ideally, all non-essential visits should be rearranged for a later date, e.g disbuds, castrates, mobility scoring etc.
• Currently, the advice from APHA is that TB testing should continue. Please ensure that you book in your test as early in your testing window as possible in case it needs to be rearranged.
• Red Tractor Assurance visits have been cancelled from this morning, 23rd March 2020. Health plans and reviews can continue remotely. Please contact us via email if you would like a call back to discuss your Herd of Flock Health plan.
• We have split our office staff in order to reduce the risk to these important members of our team. It may take longer for your call to be answered, but please bear with us. You can contact us via the same numbers (Large animal number 01249658379, Chippenham Surgery 01249653561 or, if you are still struggling, contact Steve directly).
• It is likely that, as this disease progresses, we shall be directly affected by it, leading to the need to cancel/rearrange calls, possibly at short notice. Please bear with us as we work together to ensure the best for you and your animals
Thank you all! We will keep you updates of any news, and hope you all stay fit and well.
We use cookies to collect information about how you use GOV.UK. We use this information to make the website work as well as possible and improve government services.
