Northwest Veterinary Specialists

Northwest Surgeons is a specialist veterinary practice. Just like in the world of human medicine there are GP's and consultants. When your pet is not well you take them to your vet, just like you would visit the doctor if you were ill. If you need further treatment or your problem is complicated, your doctor may refer you to see a consultant. Exactly the same care pathway is available in the veterinary world and that is where Northwest Surgeons comes in. We are the consultants of the veterinary world. In the veterinary world there are two types of referrals. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) who is our regulator has established a two tier system. These are 'advanced practitioner' and 'specialist'. Advanced practitioners are vets who have been in practice a number of years and have achieved further qualifications, typically an RCVS Certificate. This entitles them to use the qualifications Cert after their name. For example a vet with a surgery qualification would use CertSAS - which stands for certificate in small animal surgery. In order to reach specialist status a vet must undergo a further period of training beyond that required for a veterinary degree. This is known as a residency. The minimum training period for a residency is three years during which the resident will focus solely on one area of veterinary medicine, such as surgery or anaesthesia. All of the clinicians employed at Northwest Surgeons have completed a residency which means that they are trained to the highest possible level in that area. Once the residency is completed, the resident must then pass their diploma exams in order to gain a qualification, which is either the RCVS diploma or a European Specialist diploma. The highest level of recognition for vets is the RCVS Specialist Status and this is the level to which we encourage all of our clinicians to aspire. Each discipline at Northwest Surgeons is lead by an RCVS Specialist in that area. Simply achieving specialist status is not enough. Every five years the specialist must prove that they are eligible to remain a specialist through a process known as revalidation. You can meet our team of specialists and residency-trained clinicians here. Why do we employ specialists? We firmly believe that veterinary specialists are the very best vets to be caring for your pet. Our vision at Northwest Surgeons is to be the leading referral practice in the north of England and Wales and we can only do this by offering a first class standard of care. Take a look around the practice and see our specialists at work here. So you can rest assured that our veterinary specialists are trained to the highest standards and really are able to offer you and your pet the very best available in the north of England and Wales.