October Update

The 1st of October is British Veterinary Receptionist Association (BVRA) Veterinary Receptionist Appreciation Day (say that 3 times fast!). Westport Vets are very lucky to have such an amazing reception and customer care team at each of the practices. They are the front line to the customer when coming in with their pets and are such a vital part of the running of the every day practice.

On Thursday 5th October, RVNs Fiona and Gillian took part in Bo’ness Academy’s Careers Fayre. Gillian is very keen in the promoting of careers in the science and veterinary fields and loves talking to people about all the wonderful things we do. She is also a STEM Ambassador and Veterinary Nursing Futures Ambassador. There was lots to talk about and the pupils from all year groups were full of questions and enthusiasm. Fiona and Gillian enjoyed chatting to the pupils, helping them understand the differences between what vets and nurses do, the qualifications required to study the courses, and the different route you can take once qualified.

We also launched PetsApp with our clients which is a wonderful app where clients can reach out and chat to us any time of the day. It’s been great for keeping up to date with patients after they’ve been in for an operation and sending in post-op photos, ordering food and medication, and just if people have any general enquiries that they want to ask. We’ve also been using it to send photos of patients when they're with us to their families, to let them know how well they’re doing while staying in practice with us. The feedback so far on it has been wonderful and it’s been a brilliant bonding tool to keep in touch with clients to ensure they’re getting the best possible treatment.

The 13th of October was Vet Nurse Day, which was introduced to celebrate all the hard work and care provided by veterinary nurses, technicians and care assistants across the world. At Westport Vets, we are very lucky to have such a fantastic and hardworking team who are dedicated to giving the best care - we have 20 RVNs, 2 Patient Care Assistants and 3 Student Veterinary Care Assistants.

On Friday 20th October, Westport Vets practices took part in Wear It Pink to show our support and raise money for Breast Cancer Now charity. Breast Cancer Now’s wear it pink day is one of the biggest fundraising events in the UK. Taking place during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, thousands of amazing people were it pink in their communities, schools, or workplaces for the UK’s largest breast cancer charity.

Team Westport had great fun donning pink for the day to show our support - we had vets Sam, Graham and Andrew, and VN Connor all in pink tutus for the day! In Linlithgow, we also had one of our consult rooms set out all in pink where clients and their pets could go in and take photos and be apart of the day too. We raised a wonderful £240 for the charity. 

Our South Queensferry RVN, Connor, also passed his driving test! Well done, Connor!