Member Article

Veterinary referral centre operating 24/7 opens its doors in South Tyneside

A £2.7m state-of-the-art veterinary referral centre has officially opened in South Tyneside, offering a wide range of advanced veterinary services around the clock across the North East.

Since opening its doors at the end of October, Bridge Referrals has so far made over 250 medical and surgical appointments, treating small animals all over the North East, covering Teesside and North Yorkshire right up to Northumberland and the Scottish Borders in a catchment area of 162 veterinary practices.

The 12,500sq ft business premises situated at Boldon Business Park in Boldon Colliery has state of the art equipment available, from CT, X-ray and ultrasound to a visiting MRI scanner.

A total of 28 staff have been recruited and trained at the referral centre, with this number set to increase to 70 within the next 18 months. These include administration roles, veterinary nurses, veterinary care assistants and surgeons.

The highly trained team offers referrals to veterinary practices in orthopaedic surgery, soft tissue surgery, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, oncology, internal medicine and diagnostic imaging.

Jack Sillito, Director at Bridge Referrals said: “We’ve had an incredible response since opening our doors back in October. We’ve received a large volume of referrals in the short time we’ve been open and we’ve been overwhelmed by the support from local practices and our clients.”

“We chose to locate our practice in South Tyneside because of its excellent talent pool of skilled labour which we knew would be important when it came to the recruitment process. All our staff are highly trained and come from experienced backgrounds which has helped with our success.”

“This couldn’t have been possible without the support from South Tyneside Council and we couldn’t thank them enough for giving us this opportunity. The team has been really helpful and they couldn’t do enough for us.

“We’re looking forward to a successful year in 2023 as we plan on expanding the practice further by installing an MRI, extending our kennels and adding two additional theatres including one with fluoroscopy.”

Cllr Margaret Meling, lead member for Economic Growth, Skills and Climate change at South Tyneside Council, was given a guided tour of the new centre before officially opening the premises. She said: “From the branding and design to the top of the range equipment that has been installed in the referral, it is clear the amount of time and effort that has been put into every detail.

“Bridge Referrals will be an incredible asset to not just South Tyneside but the whole of the North East. A lot of money has been invested into the business and we are thrilled to have supported them through the whole process.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Gardiner Richardson .