Work to start on £1.8m hospital

A veterinary group is to spend £1.8 million on transforming a former furniture store into Surrey’s largest first opinion veterinary hospital, creating 20 jobs.

Rivendell Veterinary Group has practices in Farncombe and Vale in Surrey, but is expanding to create the modern Farnham Veterinary Hospital in East Street, Farnham.

Plans

Covering 10,000 sq ft, plans for the new hospital – inside a former Oak Furnitureland store – will include three large operating theatres so orthopaedic and soft tissue surgery can be offered, consulting rooms, a lab for in-house testing and a physiotherapy room.

It will also have separate cat and dog waiting rooms and kennels, and cat-friendly clinic status will be sought from the International Society of Feline Medicine.

Equipment

The hospital will offer 24-hour emergency and out-of-hours cover, and equipment and services will include a CT scanner, hydrotherapy, dental x-rays and ultrasonography.

Funded by VetPartners, which includes Rivendell Vets, the hospital will be the largest first opinion hospital in Surrey – serving clients from Farnham, Aldershot, Hook, Basingstoke and surrounding areas – and will employ five vets, eight VNs plus admin staff and kennel assistants. Existing premises will remain and become branches.

‘Fantastic facility’

Rivendell Vets clinical director Kevin Clayton said: “It is extremely exciting because this is going to be a fantastic facility that will benefit our clients and our veterinary team. We will be able to handle more complex cases and look after patients requiring a longer stay in hospital.

“Although we will be a first opinion practice, we will take cases referred to us by other practices. I saw there was a real need for a first-opinion practice that was able to do a little more. We often had to refer cases elsewhere, making it more expensive for clients.

“It is great that we have this investment from VetPartners and it is great it is backing us to create this fantastic new hospital.”