Meet Ozzy, a lovely 1-year-old Labrador Retriever who came to see us in April this year with a sore mouth.

Ozzy was out for a walk with his owners and yelped while carrying a stick in his mouth. Following this, Ozzy seemed a bit quiet in himself, was eating more tentatively than he normally would do and yelped again on a couple of occasions when picking up treats and toys.

Ozzy was brought in to see one of our vets and a physical examination was performed looking particularly for broken teeth and swellings on the face or neck which could explain Ozzy’s oral pain. None of these were found, however, Ozzy was repeatably very unhappy and yelping when his jaw was fully opened.

Ozzy was then admitted to our hospital to receive some strong pain relief, but even with this on board, Ozzy didn’t seem any more comfortable. It was decided that the best course of action was to sedate Ozzy to be able to more thoroughly examine his mouth as even at the best of times, this can be challenging to do consciously, let alone when the area is sore.

When seen for his recheck appointment a few days later, Ozzy was doing a lot better and has since gone on to make a full recovery!

Our nurses are an important part of our Hollybank team that all work together to provide the best possible care for your pets, here’s what some of out vets, receptionists and admin team had to say about why they value our nurses.

Helen: A good RVN is the spine, the heart and (very often!) the brain of the practice!  Their job is varied and they have to be adaptable, not just to different tasks, patients and clients, but to different vets too.  A good RVN is an anaesthetist, a ward matron, a knowledgeable ear, a shoulder to cry on, a pharmacist, a dietician, a phlebotomist and much much more besides.  A good RVN is worth everything – and at Hollybank our RVN’s are not just good, they are the best.

Louise: Our nursing team are invaluable, particularly when it comes to spending time with our inpatients. When they spend one on one time with the patients, they often pick up on subtle changes, good and bad which can significantly influence our decision making for their treatment.

Michelle: The nurses at Hollybank are a vital part of the team and play a huge role in the smooth running of the day. They are highly skilled, care for our patients with compassion and provide advice and support to our clients. We would be lost without them!

Elysia: The nurses at Hollybank are amazing and an integral part of the team! They always make the day run smoothly and put the animal’s welfare first.

Abby: All the nurses at Hollybank are understanding and caring. They all put clients pets first and are always available to answer any questions. Not only do they care for clients pets they support staff from helping the vets in anaesthetics to reception answering phone calls. The Hollybank nurses are a friendly team who help the working day at Hollybank run smoothly.

Amy: The nurses help us and the vets by triaging patients, especially if unsure on urgency or if can wait for vet. They are also great over the phone with puppies that have recently been born and food advise for older dogs.

Becca: Our nurses are so friendly, nothing is too much trouble and they are very knowledgeable. They are all passionate about animals and are all very caring with
patients.

Sue: I have worked as part of the admin team alongside our team of veterinary nurses for over eleven years. What a team they are! With a wealth of knowledge and experience, they are always ready to offer the very best of care to our patients and clients no matter what challenges the day may have in store!

Jill: As part of the admin team, I know our amazing nurses are always on hand to help without hesitation and always with a smile! Nothing is too much trouble and they are an absolute pleasure to work with.

Pam: Working on reception is very busy at Hollybank and to have the luxury of a dedicated nursing staff behind us is really important, if you have a query from a client you know you can ask the nursing team and 99% of the time they will have the answer to your question. If there is an emergency coming in you know that they will jump into action and get everything prepared in advance so they can triage the pet before the vet sees it. Their role is really varied from nursing to night shifts, operations and cleaning, diets and behaviours of the pets, they definitely have the most varied role in the practice.