Referring cases to the hospital

1. Consultations of referred patients are only made by appointment. Date, hour and name of the veterinary surgeon who will be examining your animal will be noted.

2. It is useful to know in advance if the visit to the hospital is for consultation only or if hospitalisation might be necessary.

3. It is important that the referring veterinary surgeon or the owner gives full details about the necessary procedures when making the appointment. If further investigation is needed prior to eg. a surgery this will first be discussed with the owner and performed prior to treatment. 

4. The owner or person responsible for the horse is requested to stay with the horse until the end of the consultation, unless other arrangements are made beforehand. This enables better communication between the veterinary surgeon and the owner about the examinations and suggested treatments.

5. It is recommended that the referring veterinary surgeon explains to the owners what to expect at the hospital.
Our veterinary surgeons can always be consulted about hospitalised patients. Due to planning of surgeries and treatments of hospitalised patients in the morning it is best to call in the afternoon. 

6. When referring a patient it is important that the referring veterinary surgeon gives a full medical history. Radiographs, laboratory results and other information can complete this report. All documents will be returned to the referring veterinary surgeon afterwards.

7. The patients must be treated properly according to their condition and first aid must be administered prior to loading. This increases the chances for a successful outcome.
Correct wound care, bandaging, immobilisation of fractures, stabilisation of the general condition, pain medication, keeping foals warm and placement of a nasogastric tube in colic patients with reflux are essential to increase the chances of succesful treatment in the hospital.

8. The referring veterinary surgeon is contacted after each consultation, admittance, important examinations or surgery and kept up to date about the state of his patient. 
The discharge of a patient is communicated to the referring veterinary surgeon by telephone. A written report is sent and the owner receives a copy. When the final laboratory results are not yet available to complete the report, the preliminary conclusions are communicated by telephone and the final report is sent as soon as all the results are known.