Our Community

UPDATE – As of Monday 30th March patients with urgent or emergency appointments only will be seen at the hospital. For check-up and non-urgent appointments, these will be conducted by telephone. If you have an appointment booked with us, our Customer Care Team will be in touch to provide you guidance. 

Our dedicated COVID-19 Taskforce have reviewed and adjusted the special measures we are taking in order to maintain the safety of our team and pet carers. These updated measures will enable us to safely and effectively care for your pets during this time. We kindly ask for all our pet carers and community members to read and take note of the updated guidance available below.

For our referring veterinary practices: We continue to be on hand for advice calls and email enquiries. Please call 01628 308330 or email [email protected]

Keep well, keep safe and let’s work together.

Take care,

Team Ralph

 

I am currently self-isolating, will my appointment still go ahead? 

Yes, if your primary vet considers the treatment to be “essential”.

If you are currently self-isolating we will ask if there is someone who can attend the appointment in your place. We will call you on the phone at the time of the consultation to take the history, discuss a management plan and get verbal consent. We ask that only one person attends the appointment if at all possible. Please pay close attention to the information included in your appointment confirmation email.

If it is not possible to arrange someone to attend in your place, we kindly ask you to wait in your car during the appointment and to have a mobile phone with you so that our clinical team can consult with you remotely. When you arrive please leave your pet in the car. Please DO NOT enter the building. Our front doors are likely to be locked and we ask you to use the phone system which is outside the Dog Entrance to let us know that you have arrived. We will ask for your car details and you should then wait in your car. A member of the clinical team will come and get your pet (but not you) from the car park and bring them into the hospital for assessment. They will call you on the phone at the time of the consultation to take the history, discuss a management plan and get your consent. Consent forms can also be emailed for electronic signing and payments can be taken over the phone.

Regardless of the scenario, we encourage you to limit the number of people who come with your pet to one. Again, we can call any other family members at the time of the consultation if necessary. Further guidance based on your requirements and situation will be provided to you by our Customer Care Team when you confirm the appointment.

 

I am not self-isolating, what do I do when attending my appointment?

If you are not self-isolating we would recommend you wait in your car during the appointment, and avoid entering the hospital. When you arrive please use the phone system which is outside the Dog Entrance to let us know you have arrived. We will ask for your car details and for you to wait in the car. A member of the clinical team will come and meet you, and to collect your pet. Please ensure you have a mobile phone with you so that our clinical team can consult with you remotely. Please pay close attention to the information included in your appointment confirmation email.

 

What is The Ralph doing to safeguard our patients, pet carers and team during this time?

Our entrance doors will remain locked for the foreseeable future. This is to protect everyone who enters the hospital. When you arrive at the hospital you can talk to our Customer Care Team using the buzzer and telephone system.

We have further increased the cleaning efforts across the hospital, paying particular attention to touchpoints and areas of frequent traffic.

Our team members will not shake your hand instead, they will greet you with a big smile! They may be wearing a face mask and protective clothing when they collect your pet from the car park. This is a precautionary measure and is not intended to alarm you.

Repeat prescriptions for our patients will be posted to pet carers, and should not be collected in person.

If you have any questions regarding your appointment or prescriptions please call us on 01628 308330.

 

What can I do to help?

Please only visit the hospital with your pet if your primary vet considers the treatment as “essential”. If your appointment is “not essential” and you would like to reschedule your appointment for a future date please call us on 01628 308330.

We ask you to pay close attention to the Coronavirus Information Sheet sent to you when your appointment was confirmed by email.

If you need to enter the hospital please use the hand sanitisers available in our Receptions and Waiting Rooms. Please disinfect your hands when you arrive and leave the hospital.

We kindly ask you to distance yourself from Team Ralph members and other pet carers during your visit. It is recommended to maintain a distance of 2 metres between you and others.

 

Do I still need to bring my insurance forms to the appointment?

For the foreseeable future, we would request that if possible you send us your signed insurance claim form by email rather than bringing a physical form to the hospital. This is to reduce the risk of accidentally bringing coronavirus into The Ralph. Thank you for your understanding. We will continue to process insurance claims as efficiently as possible.

 

Veterinary Professionals

At this time we are continuing with both routine and emergency appointments. All of our services are available and running as usual. To make a referral please call 01628 308330, email [email protected] or log-in to the referral portal (https://theralph.vet/refer).

 

When is your next CPD event? 

Our monthly CPD events will be paused until further notice. You can watch video recordings and listen to audio from previous sessions via our website: https://theralph.vet/library-learning/