Here is some information about Oakmount Veterinary Hospital in Burnley. Sheryl Calway is the clinical director.

About

We are an 8-vet practice. All my colleagues work with dogs and cats and see occasional routine small furry animal cases. We have 36 team members in total, including nursing students on placements with us (we are a designated nurse training site).

 run the exotics department – covering reptiles, avians and small furries as my main caseload. I also do a lot of work with wildlife for the RSPCA and bats with the Bat Conservation Trust.

My days are extremely varied and I never truly know what I might be presented with. I may also be brought fish, amphibians, invertebrates or the more unusually kept mammals or primate. So my most frequently uttered words are “what’s in the box?”…!!

Practice History

We are proud of our practice’s history. We were the original veterinary clinic in the town of Burnley and established over 30 years ago, very much in the mould of James Herriot, dealing with all creatures great and small. At the start, we mainly dealt with farm animals. In 1998 the large animal side of the business was passed over to a neighbouring practice. This allowed us to focus on providing veterinary care to companion animals.

Standards

In 2011, my husband, Paul, and myself became the owners of Oakmount and invested time and effort into upgrading the facilities offered to patients. We were rewarded in March 2017 when we attained Small Animal Veterinary Hospital Accreditation via the Royal College Of Veterinary Surgeons’ Practice Standards Inspectorate.

As an Accredited and Inspected RCVS Hospital, our standards of care must meet the requirements of our regulatory body at the highest level, both day and night. Our team of Veterinary Surgeons, Veterinary Nurses and trained staff care for our patients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year, with a team member on site at all times. We are one of only 2 Small Animal Veterinary Hospitals in East Lancashire, and one of only five in the whole of Lancashire!

Qualifications

My passion has always been in working with the exotic and more unusual animals. I qualified as a veterinary surgeon in 2001 and have worked in 100% small animal practice ever since. However, I always jumped at any opportunity I could to work with avian or reptile patients. I eventually decided several years ago to take the leap into this speciality on a permanent basis.

I completed my studies in exotic animal medicine and surgery via the European School of Veterinary Postgraduate Studies (ESVPS), Harper Adams University and Improve International, being awarded my GP Certificate in May 2018.

The years preceding my certification were spent building up the exotics side of the practice via word of mouth alone. I am continually amazed by the spectrum of species being kept in captivity in our surrounding area.

Practice Facilities

Our practice is currently in the process of being renovated, due to the dramatic expansion of the Exotic Department.

The builders have been on site for the past 10 months, allowing us to upgrade facilities throughout the practice. However, in the next few months, the exotics wing is due to be started.

Patients

At present, patients are hospitalised in a separate area of the practice, planned deliberately to keep these prey species away from the sight, sounds and smell of predators and minimise their stress. However, plans have been drawn up to enable designated avian, reptile and mammalian wards to be constructed, in addition to separate facilities for wildlife and isolation of infectious disease patients.

With particular relevance to the avian patients will be the separately heated and ventilated cage facilities, whereby each bird will be housed in a completely separate air space to any other. In combination with our already stringent biosecurity measures, this will put us at the forefront of avian infectious disease control and will hopefully pave the way to working more closely with avian breeders.

The plans also encompass a dedicated exotics waiting area, prep room facilities and operating theatre. The next 6 months or so should be very exciting with huge changes afoot!

Contact Details

If you would like to make an appointment with Oakmount Veterinary Hospital you can contact us in the following ways.

Oakmount Veterinary Hospital
Oakmount House
Trafalgar Street
Burnley
Lancashire
BB11 1 TP

Telephone 01282 423640

contact@oakmountvets.co.uk

http://www.oakmountvets.co.uk

Our opening hours are from 8am until 8.30pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 5pm on both Saturdays and Sundays.

Premises

In May 2001 we moved into larger premises in Trafalgar Street. This is at the crossroads of two of the main thoroughfares into Burnley. We are ideally situated to provide veterinary care to companion animals in the town and surrounding areas, due to the close proximity to major motorway networks. In addition to Burnley train station being directly behind the hospital and the bus station nearby.

We are a RCVS Accredited Small Animal Hospital.

We are also on Facebook and Twitter.