The Ralph

26/04/2025

Archie couldn't resist a good old roll in the leaves while exploring our garden during his hospital stay with us - pure joy in every tumble! 🍃✨

26/04/2025

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25/04/2025

Check out the top tips from our Head of Patient Safety, Human Factors, and Quality, Jessica, for managing communication with our pet carers 💭

Read the rest of Jessica's article in the newest edition of our newsletter here: https://theralph.vet/the-ralpher-spring-2025-newsetter/

24/04/2025

Big congratulations to Altin who found out last week that he has passed his exams to become a European Veterinary Specialist in Small Animal Cardiology⭐

Altin has worked at The Ralph since 2020, first completing an internship with our Cardiology team, before moving on to a residency. He is a wonderful member of the Cardiology team and we are very lucky to have him!

23/04/2025

Need a quick refresher on tracheostomy care? Our Spring Edition of The Ralpher features a tracheostomy maintenance guide to help you in practice! 📖✨

Check it out and let us know in the comments if there are any other resources that would be helpful!

22/04/2025

21/04/2025

✨ONE WEEK TO GO✨

WEBINAR 🐾 Beyond Goodbye: Understanding Pet Bereavement Through the Human-Animal Bond

🗓️ Monday 28th April | 18:30 - 20:00
💻 Online via Zoom
👤 Katie Gray MNCPS (Acc) RVN, Hospital Counsellor at The Ralph
🎟️ Book via Eventbrite HERE: https://Pet_Bereavement.eventbrite.co.uk

✨ MORE INFO...

Losing a beloved pet is a deeply personal and often misunderstood experience.

This webinar delves into pet bereavement through a bond-centred lens, offering a deeper understanding of the many forms of pet loss and grief. We will explore key grief models, the emotional impact of losing a beloved companion, and meaningful ways to honour and memorialise pets. Additionally, we will discuss the profound human-animal bond and share strategies for compassionate communication with grieving pet carers. Whether you are a veterinary professional or a devoted pet carer, this session will provide you with valuable insights and practical tools to navigate loss with empathy and support others on their grief journey.

This webinar will be presented by our Hospital Counsellor, Katie Gray MNCPS (Acc) RVN.

Register via Eventbrite here: https://Pet_Bereavement.eventbrite.co.uk

Can’t make it but don't want to miss it? Don't worry, the session will be recorded and available on our website (theralph.vet) within a few weeks of the event.

❓Who are we?
The Ralph is the UK's largest independent (non-corporate, non-university) multidisciplinary referral centre for dogs and cats. Our hospital is in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, west of London. Find out more at theralph.vet.

20/04/2025

🩺 Maru first came to our ECC and Internal Medicine teams at The Ralph for treatment for a pleural effusion, a condition where fluid accumulates in the chest. After undergoing a CT scan, she had chest drains placed to help remove the fluid. Samples from the drains were sent to the laboratory for analysis, and the results revealed that Maru’s pleural effusion was actually a chylothorax - a condition in which lymphatic fluid, or chyle, accumulates within the chest. As chylothorax is typically a surgical condition, Maru underwent a thoracotomy (a surgical incision between the ribs) to ligate the thoracic duct which was responsible for the accumulation of lymphatic fluid. Simultaneously, a pericardiectomy (removal of the sac surrounding the heart) was performed as part of the treatment protocol.

Maru initially recovered well in our ICU, with her chest drains being removed just two days later. However, a few days after that, our ECC team noticed that Maru was experiencing severe bradycardia, a dangerously slow heart rate. Our Cardiology team performed an ECG and started Maru on medications to stabilise her heart rate.

By the next day, Maru appeared much brighter, and her heart rate had improved. Our Cardiology team then placed a Holter monitor - a device that provides a 24-hour ECG trace to track her heart's rhythm. The results showed that Maru had an abnormal heart rhythm, with pauses of 10-12 seconds between beats, indicating that she might need a pacemaker.

🐾 Read Maru's full story here in our latest blog post: https://theralph.vet/maru-from-pleural-effusion-to-pacemaker/

19/04/2025

As promised, here are Joint Wards Supervisor Ria's tips for nursing a "less is more" patient🐾

To read more about how we as veterinary professionals can improve patient care by changing the language we use, check out Ria's full article here: https://theralph.vet/the-impact-of-language-on-patient-care/ 💙

18/04/2025

🐾☁️

Stay tuned tomorrow for Ria's best tips on nursing a "less is more" patient💙

17/04/2025

16/04/2025

During a routine check-up, Minori’s primary care vets had trouble hearing her heartbeat on the right side of her chest. They scheduled an ultrasound, which revealed soft tissue structures blocking the view of her heart. To investigate further, an X-ray was taken. The X-ray revealed Minori’s small intestines and colon had moved into her chest cavity due to a diaphragmatic hernia - a defect in her diaphragm.

The most likely cause was a peritoneopericardial diaphragmatic hernia (PPDH) - a congenital condition where there is a gap at the bottom of the diaphragm, allowing abdominal organs to shift into the sac surrounding the heart.

Minori was referred to The Ralph for investigation and management of her PPDH. A CT scan confirmed that not just her intestines but also her liver and gallbladder had slipped into her chest. Thankfully, Eirini, one of our surgeons, was able to successfully operate on Minori, carefully moving the herniated organs back through the hole in the diaphragm and into the abdomen and repairing the hole to prevent it from happening again.

After a smooth recovery, Minori was back home within a few days - on the road to a full recovery! 💛

Her carer recently got in touch with us to say, “We have our baby girl back, which is more than we could ever ask for, thank you! Even if we hadn't got our wish, we know that by taking her to The Ralph, it was giving her the very best chance.” 🐶✨

16/04/2025

🔨🔧 DEPUTY MAINTENANCE & FACILITIES MANAGER OPPORTUNITY

Join us at The Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

❓ Do you have experience in building and site maintenance and caretaking?

❓ Do you fancy using your skills and experience in a veterinary hospital setting? 🐶🐾

We are looking to appoint a full-time Deputy Maintenance & Facilities Manager at our specialist UK veterinary referral centre.

The Ralph is an independent multidisciplinary specialist referral centre for dogs and cats in beautiful Marlow, Bucks, west of London. Easily accessible from the M4 and M40 via the A404, our thriving team of 250 Ralphers is excited to welcome you!

Our hospital is six years old. Our premises comprise both clinical and non-clinical areas. The hospital is spread over approximately 30,000 square feet, with additional outdoor space for parking and dog walking.

📅 The application closing date is Friday, 9th May 2025. We encourage early submissions as we may close the advertisement sooner upon finding the ideal candidate.

The start date is flexible for the right candidate. As soon as possible would be ideal.

Click here to find out more:

The Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre PLC

15/04/2025

🌷 Our SPRING NEWSLETTER is out! Read it here: https://theralph.vet/the-ralpher-spring-2025-newsetter/ 🌷

In this edition, you will find a bunch of content from Team Ralph to you, for you to read and refer to in practice...

✨ An ECC article on managing emergency cases of upper airway respiratory obstruction on page 4, accompanied by a tracheostomy maintenance guide for you to use in practice.

✨ A collaborative effort case study, based on gorgeous boy Pushkin, who this article is written in memory of.

✨ An article on communicating with pet carers about patient safety incidents.

✨ PLUS two articles that highlight the key role of veterinary receptionists, and why the language we use about our patients matters.

AND SO MUCH MORE!

14/04/2025

WEBINAR 🐾 Beyond Goodbye: Understanding Pet Bereavement Through the Human-Animal Bond

🗓️ Monday 28th April | 18:30 - 20:00
💻 Online via Zoom
👤 Katie Gray MNCPS (Acc) RVN, Hospital Counsellor at The Ralph
🎟️ Book via Eventbrite HERE: https://Pet_Bereavement.eventbrite.co.uk

✨ MORE INFO...

Losing a beloved pet is a deeply personal and often misunderstood experience.

This webinar delves into pet bereavement through a bond-centred lens, offering a deeper understanding of the many forms of pet loss and grief. We will explore key grief models, the emotional impact of losing a beloved companion, and meaningful ways to honour and memorialise pets. Additionally, we will discuss the profound human-animal bond and share strategies for compassionate communication with grieving pet carers. Whether you are a veterinary professional or a devoted pet carer, this session will provide you with valuable insights and practical tools to navigate loss with empathy and support others on their grief journey.

This webinar will be presented by our Hospital Counsellor, Katie Gray MNCPS (Acc) RVN.

Register via Eventbrite here: https://Pet_Bereavement.eventbrite.co.uk

Can’t make it but don't want to miss it? Don't worry, the session will be recorded and available on our website (theralph.vet) within a few weeks of the event.

❓Who are we?
The Ralph is the UK's largest independent (non-corporate, non-university) multidisciplinary referral centre for dogs and cats. Our hospital is in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, west of London. Find out more at theralph.vet.

13/04/2025

Check out our team's attempt at trying not to pop the glove!🧤

Watch this space for part 2 and 3👀

12/04/2025

🩺 Types of Shock! 🩺

In case you missed our CPD event on The General Approach to Shock, this post goes through the main types of shock that animals can present to veterinary practices with🏥

Check out the full recording of this CPD event on our Library+Learning page, where ECC Diplomate Marisa dives into the pathophysiology of shock - covering assessment, recognition, and treatment of this critical condition.

For more FREE CPD sessions (vets, nurses & non-clinical folks welcome!), visit our website & YouTube channel. 🎥

11/04/2025

What makes crib cards so amazing, you ask...? 👀