Continuity of Care
We are proud at Fitzroy Vet Hospital to have a full team of permanent vets and nurses; many of our team have been with us for many years. We have seen your pets grow from puppies and kittens to adults and had the privilege of helping to guide some of our senior pets through their older years.
Continuity of Care
All of our vets and nurses work to a consistent standard and each team member has their own interests and special skills which they add to the services that we can offer you and your pet.
Maintaining continuity of care is important to us, but what does it mean?
Continuity of care refers to co-ordinated and comprehensive management of a pet’s health throughout their lifetime. It can be considered it terms of:
Informational continuity: keeping accurate patient records of their visits to the clinic in terms of history, physical examination, assessment and treatment plans. This may include photos or charts (such as for dental disease, anaesthetic record). Informational continuity can help to reduce redundant diagnostic testing or repeating treatment trials that have already been done previously.
Management continuity: using standard operating procedures (for things like admit and discharge forms); establishing schedules for revisits and setting up reminders (for what may be required for your pet - such as vaccinations, blood tests or parasite control)
Relational continuity: establishing a primary practitioner / care team bond to the individual patient (and client) which helps to improve trust and has been shown in human settings to improve clinical outcomes.
We firmly believe that relational continuity is a cornerstone to good care. Having a veterinarian that truly knows your pet can aid in early detection of subtle changes in chronic health conditions and allows us to monitor treatment responses much more effectively.
Our reception team will always do their best to schedule your visit with your preferred vet. You can also select your veterinarian of choice when booking appointments online through our website. Rest assured that our veterinary team regularly discusses cases to share insight and knowledge. On the occasion that we are not able to see your pet due to limited availability, you can request that the attending clinic shares the record of your pet's visit with us so we can be fully informed of what has occurred.
Thank you for trusting us with your animal’s care. We look forward to seeing you and your pet at your next visit!