15 Nov 2023
Birmingham vet centre – one of the largest in UK – has capacity to treat up to 10,000 pets a year.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
A £10 million animal super-hospital has been officially opened in Birmingham, creating 100 new jobs.
Blaise Veterinary Referral Hospital is IVC Evidensia’s first purpose-built, multidisciplinary hospital in the UK and the group is expecting it to become a blueprint for future hospitals.
With a capacity to treat 10,000 patients a year and driven by a three-year pet ownership boom, Blaise – on a site at Longbridge – will offer orthopaedic and soft tissue, neurology, cardiology, internal medicine and other referral disciplines, and cater for emergencies around the clock through out-of-hours support from Vets Now.
The 36,000 sq ft hospital has been built through clinician-led building design and a nurse-led clinical floor, and equipment includes a 1.5T Siemens MRI, 64-slice Siemens CT scanner, multiple ultrasound machines, and fixed and digital radiography machines.
Duncan Phillips, IVC Evidensia’s UK and Ireland chief executive, welcomed the new team, officially opened the building and met some of the first patients.
He said: “Blaise marks a huge milestone for IVC Evidensia and we are so excited to officially open the doors.
“As well as being home to phenomenal, modern facilities that will provide a wide range of options for pet care and treatment, we have built an amazing and collaborative team here who I strongly believe will see Blaise become one of the most prestigious and well-respected referrals centres in the UK.”
Clinical director Andrew Kent and hospital director Julie Davis are leading an amassed team of veterinary specialists, including Jacques Ferreira as head of anaesthesia, Jennifer Raj as head of internal medicine and Carlo Anselmi as head of diagnostic imaging. New announcements include Kate Flint as clinical nursing manager and Emily Jukes as relationship manager.
Dr Kent said: “We’ve worked incredibly hard to get to this point and I know I speak on behalf of the whole team here at Blaise when I say we are thrilled to officially be able to welcome pets and owners from all around Birmingham and the midlands.
“Recent years have seen an ever-increasing need for specialist referral services in the veterinary industry and we are here to answer that demand by providing excellent high-quality and professional care for pets who need it.”
Details of Blaise are available on its website.
