COVID-19 and Avian Influenza Protocol Update - November 2020

As we enter a second national lockdown, and with the current Avian Influenza (AI) status of the UK and Ireland, we wanted to take this opportunity to provide you with an update regarding our services during this period.   
 
We are committed to providing the highest level of service, whilst balancing the needs of our clients and ensuring the health and welfare of our employees. At this time we are continuing to conduct a business as usual policy as we recognise that our veterinary services are needed and relied upon as much as ever.
 
During the pandemic however, to protect the health and welfare of our employees, customers, and suppliers, we introduced some changes to the way that we operate, which remains a top priority. We have updated these following the recent lockdown information and AI outbreak. These changes are covered in points 4 and 5. 

1. At present, non-emergency and routine appointments will continue. If this situation changes we will inform you immediately.
2. All vets or field staff visiting your farm will continue to adhere to our bio security and COVID-19 policies. 
3. We are committed to safeguarding the health and well-being of our vets and field staff visiting your farm. With this in mind, we ask that if you are experiencing any symptoms yourself, self-isolating or have recently returned from a trip oversees to let us know prior to us visiting your site.
4. In addition to this, our Office team will be contacting you prior to your visit and will ask a number of COVID related questions regarding individuals working on your farm.  
5. Due to the current  Avian Influenza situation, your vet will contact you prior to the visit to understand the health status of your flock. 
6. Our office and dispensary teams are all working on a home and office rotation to protect their health and welfare and to ensure our continued support of your business.
7. There are currently no restrictions in place for the movement of goods, and therefore all deliveries will continue for the foreseeable future. We continue to be in regular contact with our couriers and suppliers and we will update you should this change. We have ensured that our dispensary and individual branch stores are also fully stocked.
8. If you require post-mortems at a practice, please contact us prior to your arrival. During this call you will be advised where to leave the birds, and we would request that you return to your vehicle whilst the post-mortems are being carried out. When the vet has performed the post-mortem, they will call you or see you at your vehicle to discuss the diagnosis and further treatment or advice. 
9. In this ever-changing environment, if you need to visit any of our branches please ensure that you call prior to your arrival and do not turn up without notification.  When visiting one of our practice bases, if you need to enter a building, we ask that clients wear face coverings and adhere to social distancing measures. 
10. If you are dropping off any samples to the practice please contact us before arrival and you will be advised where to leave them.
11. If you are collecting any medication from the practice please always phone through to dispensary. Once an order is received, we will prepare the order and advise you where to collect it depending on your nearest branch.  If we need to use any of our out of hours collection points please be assured that these will be routinely and thoroughly disinfected between customer collections. 

We will continue to review and monitor our policies in line with the government guidelines, and we will update you accordingly. As we are sure you are all facing similar challenges, we wish you, your employees and families well in the coming weeks and months.
 
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have and questions.