Our blood machine is always at the ready to help us. If your pet is having an operation which requires an anaesthetic we often like to know that they are healthy on the inside, as well as on the outside. By analysing a small amount of your pet's blood, this machine can tell us whether their kidneys and liver are in order and whether there are any other metabolic problems we need to know about, like diabetes. This can change how we plan and prepare for their surgery so can be very important. Of course if your pet is unwell then often analysing their blood can give us the information we need to reach a diagnosis and treat accordingly. This information is available to us rapidly, within an hour of sampling the blood, so helps in speedy decision making.

We also use an external laboratory, Finn associates, to analyse blood samples where more comprehensive information is needed. There is still a rapid turnaround with results usually being available within 24hrs.