Cat advocates (left to right) multi-disciplinary registered veterinary nurse Paula Hirst, student veterinary nurse Megan Hill, ICU registered veterinary nurse Chelsea O’Donnell.
Award-winning Yorkshire Animal Hospital Celebrates Four Major Reaccreditations
4 months ago 
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A leading Wakefield veterinary referral hospital is celebrating four significant reaccreditations as it marks its sixth anniversary.
Linnaeus-owned Paragon Veterinary Referrals has received two separate reaccreditations from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) as part of its Practice Standards Scheme (PSS). It is one of a handful of veterinary referral hospitals in Yorkshire with the coveted status.
The accreditations from the RCVS, the veterinary industry’s regulatory body, are for Small Animal Veterinary Hospital and Small Animal Emergency Service Clinic.
The PSS is a voluntary initiative to accredit veterinary practices in the UK and aims to promote and maintain the highest standards of veterinary care.
For practices to be accredited under the PSS, they must meet a broad range of stringent standards, all observed during a rigorous independent assessment completed every four years, and subject to intermittent spot checks.
Meanwhile, the award-winning animal hospital has also been reaccredited as a gold level cat-friendly clinic (CFC) by the International Society of Feline Medicine and a Silver level practice by Investors in the Environment (iiE).
Chelsea O’Donnell, registered veterinary nurse and cat advocate at Paragon, said: “Maintaining our gold status is a huge achievement. Veterinary visits can be a stressful experience for cats, so we aim to ensure that the experience is as comfortable and stress free as possible for our feline patients.”
To achieve ISFM gold again, three years after it first achieved it, Paragon has several specific cat friendly measures in place, including a dedicated waiting room with shelves and privacy blankets, a dedicated cat consultation room and a cat procedure room.
The cat ward is well equipped and spacious, and located away from our other wards. The cat ward is a quiet, calm area where classical music is played to create a relaxing atmosphere for patients.
The iiE reaccreditation has been achieved by implementing sustainability actions across a number of areas, including waste management, travel and procurement, including using re-usable gowns, scrubs and incontinence pads.
Nicola Swales, dermatology nurse and iiE lead at Paragon, said: “Keeping silver level status has given the team a real boost and we will now focus our efforts on achieving the iiE Green Award, the highest level award it offers.”
Paragon provides expert care in anaesthesia and analgesia, cardiology, dermatology, diagnostic imaging, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics and soft tissue surgery.
For more information on Paragon Veterinary Referrals, visit www.paragonreferrals.co.uk or search for Paragon Veterinary Referrals on social media.
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