South Lincs Vet Group's home page
Sutterton Veterinary Hospital 01205 345 345
Holbeach Veterinary Clinic 01205 345 345
Pinchbeck Veterinary Clinic 01205 345 345
Heckington Veterinary Clinic 01205 345 345
Freiston Veterinary Centre 01205 345345

Out of Hours & Emergencies

Learn about our emergency options in Lincolnshire

Out of Hours

The hospital is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for emergency cases and in-patient care.

When the surgery is closed, we always have a vet and a nurse on duty in case of emergencies and to deal with any animals hospitalised in the practice for treatment.

When the practice is not open ring the normal number and you will be given directions as to how registered clients can contact the emergency vet.

The out of hours will always be based at our own surgery with staff you know.

Not all Veterinary practices are Veterinary Hospitals. Our Veterinary Hospital is accredited by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) – and is the only one in this South Lincolnshire area. This means our staff, buildings, equipment, service and hygiene are of the highest standard. The hospital is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for emergency cases and in-patient care.

When the surgery is closed we always have a vet and a nurse on duty in case of emergencies and to deal with any animals hospitalised in the practice for treatment. The out of hours will always be based at our own surgery with staff you know and you will not need to trail hours across the country to a remote out of hours care centre. This means we always have your notes and previous history to hand and this usually saves time.

If you have an emergency when we are closed, please ring the practice on the normal number 01205345345 and you will be connected to the night team, who will be able to assist you. You can then discuss the case and decide what needs to be done with the veterinary surgeon directly. Please see pricing section for the out of hours surcharges that apply to this work.

Should your pet need to be kept in the surgery when we are closed and especially over night, RCVS hospital status dictates that the on-duty nurse must stay on the premises when the practice is closed. At Sutterton, we go one step further with the duty nurse being awake all through the night specifically to give hospitalised pets true 24 hour care.

Emergencies

In the case of perceived emergencies please ring through before setting off. This will help us prepare for your arrival and can save vital preparation time and in the worst case scenario you may find that you arrive and the vet is off on a call and not even on the premises.

Please note that all ‘out of hours’ consultations which require to be seen will attract a surcharge in addition to the standard fees which apply during normal opening hours. These are listed in the Sutterton Veterinary Hospital Fees section.

House Visits

Being a busy practice we do try to limit the number of weekday house visits we do as to maximise the time spent seeing other clients at the practice premises. Many people's initial response to seeing a seriously ill pet is to call the vet out to see the animal in the home. The trouble with this is that by the time the vet finds your home, valuable time is often lost and even then most seriously ill patients will simply be taken back to the practice as treatment and diagnostics in the home is impractical. To this end we would ask that unless an owner themselves is disabled or where a large animal is collapsed and it is not possible to get it to the surgery, that you make every effort to bring the animal in for treatment. (See Pet Taxi section below)

The only exception to this is where the owner wishes the animal to be put to sleep at home. In that case we are coming out for a pre-defined purpose & can carry this out appropriately in the home if requested to do so.

Weekends
We are often very busy at weekends and whilst we have 2 vets on both Saturdays and Sundays, the clients who are booked in to clinic are always going to be our priority and we have LIMITED SCOPE TO DO HOME VISITS. When visits are necessary they may need to be once the surgery is closed.

Distance
Whilst we are happy that clients wish to register with us who live some distance away, they need to be mindful that we will not be able to offer home visits to clients who live over 45 minutes away on weekdays and over 30 minutes travel time away when the surgery is closed or at weekends. If your pet is large or you have mobility/transport issues, then you need to think seriously about what you would do in the case of an emergency, and consider also registering with a more local surgery in these instances.

Pet Taxi Service
Having read the above about our ability to do home visits, one potential answer is a Pet Taxi. When it is not possible to drive yourself and your pet to the surgery a pet taxi service may be the best option. This company are licensed to carry you and your pet to the vets for treatment, then take you home again once this has taken place. They will usually work out cheaper than a similar house visit.

Pet Taxi Servies available are: Small Paws & Claws Pet Taxi 07738 475704, Pet To Vet Holbeach 07470 708760 or Pet To Vet Boston 07472 816444