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  • Cinque Ports Vets Standards

Cinque Ports Vets is proud to be a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Practice Standards Scheme.

logo rcvs accredited practiceAs an accredited practice, all our branches have passed an assessment carried out by an experienced RCVS Assessor who is also a qualified Veterinary Surgeon.

The assessment focuses on a range of standards such as hygiene, legal standards and health and safety. The practices also have to have access to a range of diagnostic facilities, and at Cinque Ports Vets, we have specialist equipment such as ECG, ultrasound and digital X-ray facilities over and above those required for the Practice Standards Scheme. We are also able to provide on site nursing and veterinary care for our hospitalised patients.

Categories of Accreditation

There are many different types of veterinary practice. Some, such as veterinary hospitals, offer a broad range of services. Others concentrate on a particular species or discipline. Some are general practices, others may just offer vaccinations and worming, or minor surgery.

Under the Scheme, a practice can be accredited as follows:

RCVS Core Standards:

These standards apply to all types of accredited practice and signify compliance with legal and health and safety requirements.

RCVS General Practice - Species/discipline specific

Practices may be accredited as a general practice for small animals, or as an Emergency Service Clinic, or a combination of these. They must meet Core Standards as well as keeping premises clean and well maintained, show ongoing commitment to team training and education and have access to laboratory facilities for diagnostic testing.

RCVS Veterinary Hospital

Small animal practices must meet Core and relevant General Practice Standards. They must also ensure a veterinary nurse is present on the premises around the clock, and a veterinary surgeon is available 24 hours a day to attend to emergencies and in-patients, if required. They must also submit to rigorous examination of its premises and facilities, with emphasis on cleanliness and sterility. Our Kingsnorth branch in Ashford has achieved this status.

In addition to these accreditations there are also optional awards in which practices are designated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ within each award.

For small animal practices these are:

  • Team and professional responsibility
  • Client service
  • Patient consultation service
  • In-patient service
  • Diagnostic service
  • Emergency and critical care service

Cinque Ports Vets are able to maintain and improve clinical standards through an ongoing process of monitoring and review and have met rigorous standards of hygiene throughout all of our branches.

Our branches will be re-inspected every four years and we will be subject to spot checks in the meantime, so we have to keep everything up to standard.

The Practice Standards Scheme is a voluntary initiative – not all practices are part of it yet. RCVS accreditation means that as a client you can rest assured that our practice offers high quality care and reassurance that our practice premises meet their stringent standards.

Look for the RCVS accredited practice logo in your branch to see which type of accreditation and awards we have received.

If you would like to see behind the scenes, please ask for a guided tour. For more information about the RCVS Practice Standard Scheme, please visit www.rcvs.org.uk/practice-standards-scheme/