Crawley surgery has appointments available most mornings (including Saturdays) 9am - 10.30am and most afternoons 4pm - 6pm  Our Sevenoaks clinic is usually open Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm  for enquiries and counter purchases, with consultations available by appointment through most mornings and afternoons.  Saturday consultations at this clinic vary with which Vet is on duty, alternating from 10am - 11.30am or 1pm - 2.30pm.  We also attend Mark Nelson's Veterinary Clinic at 81 Woodville Road, Thornton Heath, by appointment 11am - 12pm on a Tuesday morning, with currently Alan & Emma working alternate weeks.

The nature of avian and exotic veterinary medicine is such that more time is required for the consultation and examination than would be the case in dog and cat practice. This is especially true with a new client/patient, or with referred second-opinion cases. This time factor is inevitably reflected in the fee structure, as is the expertise provided by the staff in this practice that would not be available elsewhere. Time away from the practice may also be required by the veterinarians to attend essential house calls or official inspections of collections, or attend and/or contribute to conferences and seminars. Available appointment times are therefore flexible and variable, but it is generally possible to accommodate mutually convenient slots most of the time.

We appreciate that clients travelling long distances may not be able to arrive on the dot of their appointment time, but if you are going to be delayed or cannot keep the appointment at all, please call ahead to let us know so that we may use that time slot more productively.

It is often advantageous to admit a patient for hospitalisation and treatment. We can better monitor its progress, administer tube feeding or fluid therapy and necessary medications, and perform further diagnostic procedures that may be required. We will keep you informed at all times of the progress and costs of such hospitalisation.

Busy periods of work during the day, or visits away from the premises, may require that the answering machine is switched on for short intervals, in which case leave a brief (and polite!) message and we will call you back, or the message will indicate when we will next be contactable.

It is the nature of animal keeping that accident or illness may occur outside ‘conventional’ working hours. It is also a legal requirement for all veterinary practices to provide 24 hour emergency cover. Should you have an urgent problem when the surgery is closed, you should in the first instance telephone the land line numbers (01293 884629 or 01959 569909) where an answering machine message will give on-call emergency mobile numbers. These should provide you with direct contact with the veterinary surgeon on call, or occasionally the practice nurse/receptionist. In many cases, advice and reassurance are all that are required to deal with emergency cases, but should the animal require immediate attention we will attend the surgery to meet you at a mutually convenient time. We are also happy to liaise with veterinary surgeons closer to you if you cannot get to this Practice.

The provision of such a service has a cost to us in time, expertise, and overheads, so inevitably consultation fees for out of hours work will be higher than normal daily fees. Such figures may be discussed with surgery staff in advance, or with the duty veterinary surgeon at the time.

We strongly recommend pet insurance for your animal, administered by one of the companies specialising in these species. Should your pet require treatment under the terms of such insurance, all fees due for the work incurred are in the first instance payable directly to the Practice, and the client will be reimbursed by the insurance company following completion and submission of a claim form. The Practice will be required to provide details of history and treatment to the insurers, and a small charge may be made for this work.

Thank you for your interest in this Practice, and hopefully you and your animals will not have to use our services too often! However, if you do, we will try to ensure that the best possible care and attention are given to you and your pets.