The recovery area of a well equipped animal hospital has undergone a sea change from the old idea of a few cages out the back, where seriously ill animals could be located next to a noisy pet recovering from a simple anaesthetic. Progressive veterinary clinics recognise that, just like us, pets need specific after-care plans appropriate to their condition.

At Alpine Animal Doctors we have three dedicated recovery areas. Following routine procedures pets recover very quickly and most of our patients will be in and out of the hospital in a single day. As soon as the anaesthetic wears off they’re up in their cages and demanding to go home. These animals are housed in the general recovery ward, where they’ll be regularly monitored for a few hours before being picked up by their owners.

More seriously ill patients, those needing longer recovery periods or round-the-clock monitoring, go into our Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This area is equipped with more sophisticated levels of monitoring equipment which allows us to keep a 24-hour watch on patients and to monitor any IV drips etc.

The ICU is also home to our humidicrib. Most people will be familiar with this technology, used in hospitals for premature babies. Only rarely found in veterinary clinics our humidicrib is used in exactly the same way for pets as it is for babies — providing a warm, sterile and controlled environment where we can supply oxygen, monitor vital signs, deliver fluids and generally monitor a patient’s health during critical periods. Although mostly used for new-born animals our humidicrib also often plays an important role in the treatment of specific conditions in older pets.

In addition to these recovery wards the hospital also has an Isolation Unit where patients known or suspected to be carrying an infectious disease are housed. Although rarely used — and we hope we never have to use it for a notifiable disease — it’s an important part of our facilities.

There are a number of zoonotic and other infectious diseases that can be transmitted to other animals or to humans. The Isolation Unit helps prevent the spread of these diseases to other patients in the hospital and, importantly, into the community. Stringent biosecurity protocols are in place to ensure the integrity of the unit and the safety of Alpine Animal Doctors staff, clients and patients.