FAQs
Prior to your consultation, your vet will have been asked to provide us with all relevant clinical information including any radiographs that have been taken.
Please ensure that you pet doesn’t eat for at least four hours before your appointment in case there is a need for them to have a sedative or anaesthetic.
In case your pet needs to stay with us please bring any medication that they are receiving. If they are on a specific diet, then please bring some of this with you. Please note that we are unable to accept raw diets.
Some animals are particularly adept at hiding their lameness when in unfamiliar circumstances and it can be helpful if we can see a video of them when lame in their home environment. Please take a video of your pet with your phone, ideally taken from their level and when they are walking towards you, away from you and from the side. Footage taken whilst walking and trotting is ideal.
If your pet is insured please also bring a claim form and original insurance documents and read our View our Guide on Insurance for Pet Owners
Here’s a checklist of items above:
- Don’t feed 4 hours before the appointment
- Bring any existing medication
- Bring a sample of the food you give them if they have a specific diet
- Bring a video of your pet’s lameness
- Bring your insurance documents/claim form
Coast Veterinary Referrals Limited
6 St Anne’s Road
Eastbourne
East Sussex
BN21 2DJ
What3Words location code:
dull.body.scarcely
T : +44 (0) 1323 431312
F : +44 (0) 1323 726117
E : contact@coastvets.com
Most veterinary clinics are part of large corporate groups, but we remain proudly independent.
If you feel that your pet would benefit from the skills and expertise provided by Coast, then please ask your vet who will be able to arrange a referral appointment. This simply involves them filling in an on-line form, sending us an email, or picking up the phone. As the owner, it is entirely your decision where your pet is treated.
- A highly skilled orthopaedic surgeon with over 20 years of specialist orthopaedic experience
- A dedicated team of knowledgeable Veterinary Nurses passionate about providing the best care for your pet
- Modern facilities designed specifically for orthopaedic surgery
- A dedicated veterinary team providing in-house overnight support
- 24/7 post-surgery support from the Coast team
If your pet is insured please also bring a claim form and original insurance documents and read our View our Guide on Insurance for Pet Owners
We will be able to give you a guide to the costs of any investigations and treatments that your pet may need. If you have pet insurance this may help to cover these costs.
If your pet is insured please also bring a claim form and original insurance documents and read our View our Guide on Insurance for Pet Owners
We will provide your own vet and where relevant your physiotherapist with full details of your pet’s investigations, treatment, and post-operative plan. We will continue to liaise with them in the follow-up period to ensure that all parties are aware of any developments.
Your discharge instructions will detail when you need to take your pet to your own vet and when to bring them back to us.
If you have any concerns after your pet has been discharged, then please contact Coast on 01323 431312. It may be that we can re-assure you over the phone or we may ask you to take your pet to your local vet, out-of-hours service provider or return them to us for a visit.
The surgeon will contact you following your pet’s treatment, and this information will be provided to you as written discharge instructions when you collect your pet along with any relevant medication. A member of the Coast team will go through this information with you and be available to answer any questions that you may have.
We work closely with several Veterinary Physiotherapists and will give you their details so that physiotherapy appointments can be arranged if necessary.
It is important that your pet travels home safely and is suitably restrained for the journey.
We will keep your local vet up to date with your pet’s treatment and will ask you to see them for a check-up and to remove any skin stitches that are present 10 to 14 days later. We will ask you to come back to us after six weeks to check your pet’s progress and where necessary to perform follow-up radiographs.
We ask you to settle your invoice in full at the time of collection unless other arrangements are in place.
Please ring the bell on the Coast front door which faces St Annes Road. If you or your pet need assistance, then please telephone us and we will come and meet you.
On-site overnight care is provided by a dedicated and experienced veterinary team. They will monitor your pet’s comfort throughout the night and provide any medications that are required. A member of the Coast team will contact you in the morning following an overnight stay to discuss your pet’s progress and to arrange a suitable collection time.
This will be discussed with you during the consultation. Your pet may be admitted for surgery to take place promptly or it may be appropriate for surgery to be planned for a future date.
We will have reviewed your pet’s history as well as any radiographs that have been taken prior to your visit. The consultation is an opportunity for you to discuss your concerns about your pet’s mobility and for us to ask you questions. We will assess your pet walking and perform a full clinical examination. We provide a friendly and comfortable environment for this assessment helping your pet to relax as much as is possible.
Following the assessment, we will discuss with you any further investigations that are required or any treatments that we recommend; an estimate of costs will be provided.
Your vet may decide that your pet would benefit from the skills and expertise provided by Coast. A referral appointment allows you to obtain expert advice from a Veterinary Surgeon who is a Diplomate in orthopaedics.
