Our Community

Well it is almost the end of the month and so time for a check-in on the hospital build. It’s a bumper edition this month, and we have lots to share with you as much has happened over the past few weeks! Our hospital site has been a hive of activity with our building team working hard in the run up to opening in early 2019. So, let’s get a run-down of what has been going on:

Home from home; cat pens and dog kennels

The past month saw us take delivery of both our cat pens and dog kennels.

We have chosen to install TECHNIK Veterinary cat pens in our Cat Ward and Cat Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as they provide our patients with a safe, comfortable and calm environment. Our cat pens are made using medical grade closed cell waterproof construction board (WCB) which meet the gold standard from International Cat Care (ICC). It also means they are easy to clean too!

Unlike some traditional units the WCB cat pen material is warmer for cats’ paws, which can help to keep them calm and comfortable, and help them to recover. The pens also have glass doors, which mean we can keep a close eye on our patients and monitor their progress.

As well as installing our cat pens, we also took delivery of our dog kennels. We are installing a mix of walk-in kennels with glass doors for larger dogs, and stainless-steel kennels with mesh doors for our smaller canine companions. These kennels will be installed in various rooms – including our first Dog Ward and the Dog ICU – and will give our patients the space and time they require to rest and recuperate.

 

Staying hygienic – Trovex and BioClad

As you can imagine, controlling the spread of germs or bugs is really important when we’re caring for sick or injured pets. We are therefore using hygienic materials in our clinical areas. In particular, many of the doors are covered in Trovex hygienic PVC and the walls are fully or partially covered in BioClad antimicrobial PVC wall cladding. Both of these products are also resilient to wear and tear.

 

A place for everything, and everything in its place

We know that we will need a lot of storage to put things like equipment, consumables, medicines and so on. And of course, you can never have enough storage…

 

This is our recent and rather impressive delivery of storage units. Some of them have already been installed in some of the clinical and treatment areas with the remainder due to be installed over the coming weeks.

Our MRI and CT rooms are taking shape

In the past, veterinary diagnostic imaging was limited to basic X-ray and to ultrasound. These remain essential. But in recent years advanced imaging in the form of CT and MRI scanning is available. We will be able to offer both of these at The Ralph in early 2019.

MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields to generate images of the body. Shielding is needed to prevent the magnetic waves from affecting people and medical devices outside of the MRI room. It also stops electromagnetic waves outside of the room from interfering with the MRI scanner.

There are other solutions but a Faraday cage is the most common form of shielding. This encircles the entire room – walls, floor, and ceiling. Virtually any metal can be used. But copper is the most common and is what is contained in the Faraday cage that has recently been installed at The Ralph. We are also excited to be taking delivery of our MRI and CT scanners in mid-January.

 We’ve got the power!

This month also saw the delivery of our transformer unit for our high voltage supply.

 

A hospital requires a constant and reliable energy supply, particularly when we use our MRI and CT scanners which require a large amount of electricity. So, our high voltage supply will ensure the MRI and CT scanners can be powered efficiently, whilst not affecting other elements within the hospital.

For dogs who prefer their own space

We know that some dogs prefer their own space. And for those visiting us who might prefer to wait on their own (with their humans, of course!), we will have some separate waiting cubicles. These will be lovely and comfortable for both the dogs and their humans and will hopefully make their experience at The Ralph more relaxed.

The partition walls and structure are already in place and we just need to do some ‘finishing off’ with colour and decoration. So, stay posted for future updates where we will share more.

 

As you can see, the last few weeks have been exceptionally busy ones with lots of progress made around the hospital. Our building team will be having some time off but also working at times during the festive period to carry on the fantastic progress. Make sure you check back in soon for more updates – they are definitely coming thick and fast at the moment!

Take care

The Ralph Team