The Dedicated Ophthalmology Referral Practice

Centaur Magazine February 2005

The following article about the hospital was published in Centaur Magazine in February 2005. Tha magazine is published by the Centaur Group - a major supplier to the veterinary profession. The article is published with kind permission of Centaur Group Ltd.

Click below to download the entire article as a pdf file

Referral centres have to be within large centres of population or so it is usually thought. It is surprising then to find a thriving ophthalmology referral clinic in the middle of beautiful countryside but that is not the only surprising thing about the Eye Veterinary Clinic in Leominster in Herefordshire. How many veterinary clinics for example have had features in both the “Veterinary Business Journal” and “Water Gardener”?

Theatre one waiting for a tiger to recover after cataract operation.

The name alone is not as straightforward as it may seem. Paul Evans, the founder and principal, developed an interest in ophthalmology in what he still refers to as his James Herriot days as a solo mixed practitioner. The practice was based at Paul's home in the appropriately named village of Moreton Eye and so the choice of name was not that difficult. The title went with the clinic when it took the short trip to the other side of Leominster two years ago. From the clinic's small beginnings the practice now occupies large purpose built premises employing five veterinary ophthalmologists (one Diplomat and four Certificate holders), three veterinary nurses, a nursing assistant, a receptionist and a practice manager.

Only those scared by veterinary new-build campaigns will truly appreciate all the hassles of site purchase, planning approval, finance, and building that come with it and Paul had all of those. The scars start to heal, however, when you walk into your new building and know that the effort was all worth it. The clinic area consists of a large waiting room and reception area and four consulting rooms. Three of these are fully equipped for three ophthalmologists to consult simultaneously and the fourth is for veterinary nurse consultations and photography. There are two state of the art operating theatres both with operating microscopes. Both theatres use a ceiling-delivery system for gases, scavenging and power and the main theatre has a ceiling-mounted operating microscope and video monitor, all of which helps to keep the floors clutter free.

There is a diagnostic room for ERG and ultrasound, cat and dog wards and an ophthalmic pathology laboratory. Outside there is a purpose built horse examination box which can be completely blacked out, a rare luxury for equine ophthalmology. The aim of the clinic is to offer a full range of ophthalmology services and to be “everything-eyes” for its referring practices and clients. This includes litter screening for puppies, adult eye testing, all modern diagnostic and surgical facilities and an ophthalmic pathology service for enucleated eyes - the ophthalmic equivalent of a cradle-tograve service so to speak. Paul has recently completed a study tour of North America learning advanced vitreo-retinal surgical techniques which will shortly add to the clinic's range of services.

The site itself is also unusual for a veterinary practice at one hectare2 acres and brings challenges of its own. It was originally simply a grass field with a Dutch barn on it. The clinic was built on the footprint of the barn which still left rather a lot of grass. Appropriately for one of England's foremost fruit growing areas Paul has planted an orchard of fifty fruit trees, all traditional varieties and no two the same, in addition to several hardwoods which will be specimen trees in the future.

GR puppies for Eye Tests in waiting room

Clients and canine patients appreciate the large area to explore. The plot also features an unusual reed bed system which unobtrusively and naturally handles the problem of waste treatment, hence the feature in “Water Gardener”. The function of the reed beds is far from obvious as the attractive beds terminate in a clear waterfall and wildlife pond which last year saw ducks breed successfully.

The rural location is in fact not a problem at all. The clinic is easy to find being next to the A49 at the Hereford end of the Leominster bypass. A reasonable journey time gives access for clients from much of the West Midlands, Wales, the Cotswolds and the Bristol area. In addition the centre has regular out-clinics at practices in Bristol, Stroud, Dursley and Wolverhampton. Although all the surgery facilities are at Leominster the out-clinic system saves clients time and travelling for their initial assessment and for follow-up examinations which they much appreciate.

The design of the building was deliberately conceived for the long term so that the premises could be easily converted to other purposes, veterinary or otherwise. With the continued growth of the Eye Veterinary Clinic in recent years, however, such a conversion seems very unlikely.