joanne newnham/rance's Groups Activities

RVNs Ellie Baggs and Sarah Reilly launch London-based cat-only home visit service

Arlo Guthrie — Tue, 14 May 2024 15:33:00 GMT

Two enterprising veterinary nurses have set up a cat-only home visiting service in London, called Whiskers 'n' Beans.

Ellie Baggs, who qualified in 2008, and Sarah Reilly, who qualified in 2016, decided to launch the service after seeing the problems that cat owners were having in transporting their animals to the not-for-profit clinic where they worked.

They considered setting up a nurse-owned veterinary practice, but decided the costs were too great, and the overheads presented too much of a risk if they didn't get enough clients through the door.

Being a mobile nurse clinic also means they can offer their service in a more comfortable, stress-free environment for their patients.

That's not to say that starting a home service is all plain sailing. Sarah said: "Lots of things we're taken for granted, such as deliveries, rules, regulations etc were not straightforward to set up"

Ellie said: "There is a lot of competition out there so the worry is what is making us stand out - why choose us?

"We are hoping being cat-only and uniquely nurse-owned and holding ISFM nurse certificates will show everyone we are dedicated to cats and their wellbeing."

Whiskers 'n' Beans will launch at the end of June 2024.

Good luck, ladies!

What does tips/ideas do people have for being sustainable in practice?

joanne newnham/rance — Wed, 01 May 2024 13:10:55 GMT

For example, do you currently recycle needle caps? Can this be done?

Schedule 3 for RVN's

joanne newnham/rance — Thu, 22 Dec 2016 15:41:36 GMT

RCVS Schedule 3 Guidelines allow RVNs to carry out minor surgical procedures such as suturing of wounds and minor lump removals, whilst under the supervision of a Veterinary Surgeon. This workshop is aimed at veterinary nurses who wish to undertake more surgical procedures within their practice. During the session participants will be taught correct instrument handling, knot tying, and how to suture using basic suture patterns. By the end of the session, participants should be capable of applying the taught techniques to suture a simple skin incision. Future practicals will develop these skills with more advanced suturing techniques, and surgical lump removal.

How many nurses out there get the opportunity to do this or have it encouraged by the practice they work in. I would love to be given this opportunity but am always instructed- "well what would the vet be left to do"?

Compulsory Microchipping.

joanne newnham/rance — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 11:31:05 GMT

I recently encountered a client in practice that had not yet had their dog microchipped. ( 8 months old) When asked, she stated that she could not afford to pay the fee for it. ( surely owning a dog is a greater expense altogether... and not an essential one, exceptions go for working dogs). i recommended contacting a charity to see if a free microchip could be offered with a small donation. The client didn't seem interested in pursuing this route either. How do other practices go about enforcing this as a legal requirement? We can not force a client to pay... and we would like to avoid a heated debate about having to report them.. ( again who to?)

i do often feel that clients ignore this legality to often and then slip through the cracks. ( the same applies with keeping the chip updated) Dogs trust do include some information on their website about fines and penalties, again how many people are actually given these?

i do find this a frustrating matter..

The power of the microchip is amazing... recently reunited a dog back with its owner after being stolen 7 years ago...

any information, experience.. greatly appreciated

Vet Nurse

Fri, 17 Apr 2015 09:27:09 GMT