Castle Vets has invested over £1.3 million to relocate, upgrade and grow its practice on the edge of Bishop Auckland.
The surgery has moved 1.5 miles north-east from 34 Maude Terrace, St Helen Auckland to a brand new 4,756 square foot purpose-built building on Henson Close, South Church Enterprise Park located just on the southern edge of Bishop Auckland.
The new property will enable the practice to increase the number of clients it serves and significantly expand the range of clinical services it offers to pets in the locality.
The new modern building is all on one level and houses the latest veterinary facilities and equipment. Five consulting rooms have been installed to offer a greater number of appointments, along with a spacious operating theatre with the latest veterinary equipment. The site also houses a dental suite, digital x-ray facilities, dental x-ray, in-house laboratory and isolation ward for very sick animals.
To keep stress to a minimum for patients, the practice now has a spacious reception area with separate waiting areas for cats and dogs, in addition to separate dog and cat hospital wards. New walk-in kennels have also been built for larger dog breeds. There is also a small secure dog exercise area if clients’ dogs are with the practice for the day.
The new practice is prominently located on Henson Close which is just off the bypass on the South Church Enterprise Park and is on multiple public transport routes. It has its own separate entrance to provide easy access and ample parking for clients and animal patients. Full disabled access has also been built.
To staff the practice, a team of vets, nurses, PCAs and receptionists from Castle Vets’ current site have moved to the new site. They will collectively offer an increased range of veterinary services, to look after the practice’s increased number of clients and their pets.
Helen Rickard, Practice Manager at Castle Vets, said: “We had outgrown our existing practice on Maude Terrace. It was becoming difficult for us to offer the highest level of service and quality of animal care that we are accustomed to. So this is an exciting move for us. Henson Close is a fantastic new site with a superb range of facilities. It’ll mean that we’ll be able to look after many patients right here and it’ll enable us to grow the number of patients we see.”
In the weeks after opening the new Castle Vets Practice will host an Open Day for local pet owners to view the new facilities. Here they will be able to take a tour of the new practice, see behind the scenes and meet the veterinary team.
The previous Castle Vets Practice was based on Maude Terrace, St Helen Auckland. The new site will work closely and complement the range of services already offered by Castle Vets in Barnard Castle.