Referral Information for Clients

New client registration form - download   

Valley Farm Animal Hospital is able to offer you and your pet advanced diagnostic and treatment modalities for both medical and surgical conditions, as we have both a small animal specialist physician and a small animal specialist surgeon among our veterinarians.

Your veterinarian needs to write a referral letter regarding your pet’s treatment to date. Either you or your veterinarian will need to schedule an appointment with the relevant specialist / veterinarian. Your veterinarian may also phone one of our specialists to discuss the case.

You remain a client of your own doctor and we are here to treat only the condition for which  your pet has been referred. Our practice cannot become involved in any other unrelated condition during your pet’s treatment here. You will be transferred back to your own vet for continued care, once the treatment is complete and your pet has been discharged from our practice.

Although we prefer and recommend that you obtain a referral from your general veterinarian, we do accept cases for a second opinion.

What to expect

When registering with the practice for the first time we will need you to complete a new client registration form (see above to download and complete at home) and we will need to take a copy of your ID.
The initial consultation will consist of a medical history review, a detailed examination of your pet, and a review of test results and radiographs that have been provided by your own veterinarian. In the majority of cases, further diagnostic investigations will need to be performed. This may involve taking further radiographs, blood or tissue samples or recommending further, more advanced investigations such as MRI scan, ultrasound examination or surgery, etc. Your pet will usually be admitted to the hospital on the day of your appointment so that investigations and/or surgery can be performed.

As many pets will need an anaesthetic or sedation, please make sure that your pet does not eat after 10pm the night before the appointment. Your pet can have water to drink.

You can visit your pet during its hospitalisation, unless the attending doctor feels visits are contra-indicated. Our visiting times are:

Monday to Friday 09h00 – 18h30
Saturday 10h00-17h00
Sunday and Public holidays 10h00 – 11h30 and 16h00 -17h00

We are very strict about visiting times. Our hospital is very busy, patients need rest and the staff need time to work with your pets. The attending veterinarian will endeavour to contact you daily before midday, with a full update on your pet’s condition and account to date. 

Follow up treatment

Post-operative examinations will be performed by either Valley Farm Animal Hospital or your own veterinarian. You will be provided with a detailed discharge form and a report will be faxed to your own practice on discharge of your pet, to ensure that your veterinarian is kept fully informed regarding the management of your pet.

Fees

Your own veterinarian can request an estimate of costs before referring you. Please ask if you would like to know the expected costs for your pet’s treatment.
On admission to the hospital you will receive an estimate of costs for your pet before investigations or treatments begin. You will be asked to sign a form, consenting to the procedure or treatment as well as the cost involved. We ask for a 50% deposit for treatment at the time of admission. The balance is payable on discharge. We accept cash, credit /debit cards (not Diners) and can provide secure access for EFT payments. We do not accept cheques.

Precise estimates are difficult to give due to the variable nature of the cases presented to us. However, we will endeavour to keep you fully informed of costs as the case progresses. If you wish to know the current and potential on-going costs, please do ask the attending veterinarian.

Fees are charged for work as it is done. The initial estimate will not include follow-up appointments, further radiographs, additional surgery or additional medication.

If your pet is insured please let us know the insurer so that we can arrange for a claim to be submitted as soon as possible.