Sunderland animal eye hospital ‘feline’ good with cat care accolade

Linnaeus-owned Veterinary Vision, which has centres in Sunderland, Lancashire, Cumbria and Glasgow, has received the accolades from the International Society of Feline Medicine after demonstrating exceptional levels of expertise and compassion for its feline patients.

The practices in Sunderland and Newton Mearns in Glasgow have achieved silver level CFC status, while gold level CFC status has been achieved by the clinics at Bamber Bridge in Lancashire and Penrith in Cumbria.

The practice’s cat advocates, who have played a key role in achieving the accreditation, are nurses Michelle Stevens at Sunderland, Louise Redmond at Bamber Bridge, Bex Martin at Penrith, and Melanie Gray at Glasgow, while Lottie Helm has also played a key role assisting Bamber Bridge and Sunderland’s accreditations.

Specific measures taken to achieve gold status include having cat hospitalisation facilities, while all four sites have separate cat waiting rooms and consultation rooms, while cat cages are covered to help calm the patient.

Vets and nurses also complete specific ophthalmology CPD and team members are trained in the gentle handling of feline patients.

The ISFM launched the cat-friendly clinic initiative to encourage veterinary clinics to make changes to improve the welfare of cats in their care.

Chris Dixon, clinical director at Veterinary Vision, said: "I am incredibly proud of all four sites and the veterinary nursing teams for their dedication to our feline patients.

“These ISFM accreditations reflect our ongoing commitment to providing the utmost care for cats, together with implementing best practices in ophthalmology.

“Cat friendly clinic status is a true demonstration of the hard work and passion of all our staff at our sites in northern England and Scotland.”

Veterinary Vision has a team of 15 ophthalmologists offering a dedicated referral service for cases from across the UK.

It has state-of-the-art clinics in Sunderland, Lancashire, Penrith, and Glasgow.