NEWCASTLE’S biggest veterinary hospital is preparing for a major expansion to boost the care of poorly pets.
Westway Veterinary Group, which has its main hospital in West Road, Newcastle, is expanding its inpatient facilities for dogs after taking over the lease of a neighbouring building.
Work is underway to convert a former insurance company office into a new dog ward for patients requiring 24-hour care, with an isolation unit, extra X-ray facilities, laboratory and a larger dental suite among the other state-of-the-art facilities.
The project, which will increase the size of the site by 1,800sqft, is expected to be completed in January and marks further improvement of the veterinary hospital in recent years.
The expansion follows £230,000 of investment by veterinary group, VetPartners, which has 140 of the UK’s most respected and trusted veterinary practices, including Westway Vets.
Westway Vets opened a cat-only wing in 2016 to provide the best possible care for feline inpatients and now they want to improve facilities for dogs.
Practice Manager Mark Turnbull said: “We provide 24-hour care, seven days a week, and the investment will enable us to provide better facilities and improved inpatient care.
“We are incredibly proud of our cat unit and how much it improved cat welfare and we want to achieve the same standard of facilities for dogs. The extra space will improve their care and comfort because it will be quieter and less stressful for them when they’re away from home.
“We provide a high level of emergency and inpatient care and handle all kinds of cases, from road traffic casualties to poisonings, household injuries and emergency surgery.”
Westway Vets recently became an accredited emergency clinic by the profession’s governing body, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), which increased the number of other local veterinary practices sending patients to West Road for emergency and critical care.
Westway Vets has undergone a huge expansion in recent years to improve both the quality of care of its 
patients and client experience.
As well as opening the new cat unit, the practice took over the lease of a neighbouring convenience store to build a spacious cat-only waiting room and accommodate a CT scanner for more advanced diagnostic services in orthopaedics, soft tissue cases and tumour analysis.
The coronavirus crisis has led to a surge in puppy ownership across the UK because people were seeking companionship and spending more time at home. It has resulted in a huge increase in cats and dogs being registered each month across Westway Vets’ 18 branches, increasing demand for services.
Becky Richardson, who is one of four clinical directors at Westway Vets, added: “The latest expansion will expand the size of the hospital by a quarter and enable us to relocate and expand our dental suite, as well as housing extra x-ray facilities and another in-house laboratory.
“The additional x-ray will reduce waiting times in the hospital for patients and the dental suite will provide additional space to carry out procedures much more quickly.
“Our practice team takes enormous pride in what we do. This expansion is another important step in enabling us to improve individual patient care and developing the practice so we provide an excellent service for our clients and their pets.”
For media enquiries, please contact Amanda Little, VetPartners Senior PR and Communications Manager, on 07970 198 492 or email amanda.little@vetpartners.co.uk