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About us
History
The origin of The Park Veterinary Centre goes back as far as the latter part
of the 19th century. Between the wars Messrs Trewin, Barr & Gale were the
partners. In the early 1960s Roger Johnson became a partner as others
retired. Together with Mike Daniels and a slowly growing band of
enthusiastic young vets and nurses, he continued to develop the Practice
especially the part concerned with domestic pets, although at this time the
majority of the work involved the care of farm animals and horses. Johnson &
Daniels was born, soon to become Johnson, Daniels & Partners.
The reputation of being a caring Practice, looking after the needs of the
local community has been maintained with pride throughout its development.
In 1977 the Practice moved from the shop-front premises in Clarendon Road to
larger premises (once the Royal Observer Corps building) on the Cassiobury
Estate, and the name soon changed to The Park Veterinary Centre. The
buildings and facilities were extended nine years later and a satellite
consulting and retail facility (The Park Veterinary Clinic) was opened in
Leavesden in June 1997. During the 1990s Mike Daniels and Dinah and Roger
Johnson all retired but the present partners – Bill Starr, Chris Sander,
Chris Blackmore and Mark Gardiner and their dedicated staff – are determined
to continue the tradition of high quality veterinary care for the local
community.
Ethos
The ethos at ‘The Park’ has always been to put the patient first. This may
sound a bit glib but there has been an honest attempt made to encourage all
who have worked under our banner to do what is best for patient and client
alike, and to create trust between the client and the vet. The wellbeing of
both is our primary aim as is the development of a long term relationship
that benefits all three parties. Although it is impossible nowadays not to
have fairly regular changes among the younger veterinary staff, we do try to
encourage them to build up a solid client base. This is achieved by the
development of a good trusting working relationship which relies, not only
on the diagnostic and therapeutic competence of the vet, but also on their
ability and willingness to communicate. We encourage members of our team to
stay with us for as long as possible, and many of the nurses who have
trained with us stay on once qualified and even return to us after a break
for child-rearing.
In addition we encourage and provide support for staff to continue their
professional development and to carry out more advanced study which, in
turn, enables many of them to provide new and worthwhile expertise for our
patients. Needless to say we would not be able to achieve this if the
working environment and terms of employment were not considered favourable.
We feel that our staff are satisfied in the knowledge that they are part of
a veterinary service that is excellent and affordable.
Facilities
Within our main premises we have three vet consulting rooms and one used by
Carol McGuigan, our qualified behaviourist and Pet Health Counsellor.
Dark-room eye examinations and ultrasonography are carried out in another
room which is also equipped for standard consultations. Adjacent to the
consulting suite is in the in-house laboratory where a wide range of blood
and other tests are carried out when results are needed urgently.
Our operating suite consists of two fully equipped operating theatres and a
large prep room which is also used for minor ops and dental procedures.
Adjoining the op suite is the dedicated x-ray facility. All of these
facilities enable our team to assess, diagnose and treat your pets as
efficiently and sympathetically as possible. We are very fortunate in having
an excellent relationship with one of the best Referral Centres in the
country where specialist investigations and treatment for difficult cases
can be obtained. Several of our vets have a special interest in exotic pets
and one in ophthalmology. Our kennel wards will keep your pets safe and
comfortable while awaiting any treatment or recovering from surgery, with
dedicated trained nursing staff to comfort and care for them while they are
away from home. We also have a dedicated team of night staff to monitor and
nurse in-patients during the night, and provide support for cases that need
to be seen out of hours by the duty vet.
Information Bureau/Nurse Clinics/Puppy
Playgroups
Our nurses not only assist the vets in the clinical work they do but also
serve the clients in many other ways. They will offer help and advice on
your pets’ general healthcare and well-being and on more complicated matters
such as obtaining a Pets Passport. They run regular Nurse Clinics for
nail-clipping, microchipping, renewing dressings, cleaning and dressing
ears, administering medicines, and taking blood samples. These latter
functions are carried out in conjunction with, and as follow-up to, full
veterinary consultations. They run a weight-watchers clinic and very
successful puppy playgroups where, as well as the important socialisation
activity taking place, much advice is given regarding caring for your puppy.
The Puppy Playgroups are held at our Branch surgery at Katherine Place,
Leavesden while the other clinics take place at the main surgery at
Cassiobury Drive. If you would like further information on our Nurse Clinics
or any of the above please contact the surgery on 01923 223321 or come in
and see us at 256 Cassiobury Drive, Watford, Herts, WD17 3PA.
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