Accreditations
You can trust us
ChesterGates Veterinary Specialists is extremely proud to be accredited with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Practice Standards Scheme. We strive to deliver excellent care to the canine and feline members of your family and you should feel assured your pet receives the highest standard of veterinary treatment.
What is RCVS Accreditation?
The RCVS Practice Standards Scheme is your assurance about the quality of your veterinary practice.
To become accredited, practices must demonstrate they adhere to stringent standards in the following areas:
- Customer service.
- Cleanliness and hygiene.
- Staff training and development.
- Facilities and equipment.
Why is RCVS Accreditation important?
RCVS accreditation is important to you and your pet for a number of reasons:
- This accreditation is completely voluntary and being part of this initiative indicates that we are committed to delivering the best level of care across the board.
- Our team and services are held to the highest industry standard and are inspected regularly (including spot checks).
What does it mean to be an RCVS Veterinary Hospital?
To be accredited as a hospital we must meet the highest of standards in veterinary care.
- We ensure nursing staff are present on the premises round the clock, and a veterinary surgeon available 24-hours a day to attend to in-patients, if required.
- We maintain and improve clinical standards by monitoring performance and the outcome of treatments.
- We provide a range of specialist equipment, such as specific diagnostic equipment (ECG and ultrasound).
- We submit to rigorous examination of its premises and facilities, with emphasis on cleanliness and sterility.
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Specialist
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Specialist status is not easily achieved.
In order to become specialist, an individual vet must have achieved a postgraduate qualification of a least Diploma level (RCVS/ECVS/ACVS). This involves many years of further training (usually involving an internship and residency) under the supervision of other Specialists, and publication of papers in peer–reviewed journals. Specialists must also make an active contribution to their specialty and be available to accept referral from other veterinary colleagues. Specialists must re-apply for recognition every five years to ensure they are still active and keeping up-to-date.
Advanced Veterinary Practitioner
An ‘Advanced Veterinary Practitioner’ is a vet with knowledge or skills in a particular field.
It is awarded to vets with a postgraduate certificate, who have demonstrated knowledge and experience in a particular field. It recognises progression beyond the initial primary veterinary degree, and acknowledges a vet continues to be up-to-date in their field with ongoing continuing professional development (CPD).
Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (FRCVS) is the highest award bestowed by the RCVS. It recognises meritorious contributions to knowledge/clinical practice or the profession.
General Practitioner Vets
General practitioner vets are like a GP doctor. It is a challenging job because a GP vet can see a very broad range of presenting problems.
GP vets can deal with many conditions and ailments but sometimes they need help from referral centres like ChesterGates. We are proud of our working relationship with our GP vet colleagues and we aim to communicate well with them during the referral process.
Registered Veterinary Nurses
All our nurses are registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
A veterinary nurses training is two years with a theoretical and practical element. Some of our nurses have degrees or advanced diplomas in veterinary nursing alongside other qualification, for example certificate in emergency and critical care.
