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VetFest 2022

Here at Westport Vets we are passionate about keeping our knowledge/expertise up to date, and a small team of vets and nurses are just back from VetFest ‘22, in sunny (mostly!) Loseley Park, Guildford. This fun educational weekend event is the brainchild of TV Supervet, Noel Fitzpatrick. It combines the perfect environment for learning and de-stressing, and lectures are of the highest standard from various specialist, referral practices across the UK.

Lectures are held in marquees, with one central, huge tee-pee style structure in the centre, with comfy seating/hay bales scattered around on which to relax and catch-up with coffee between lectures. Live guitar and gentle music is played throughout the day which adds to the relaxed vibe. Free yoga classes and massages were available too.

The vets’ learning stream included Dentistry tips for easier tooth extractions, Heart Murmurs and arrhythmias and early diagnosis of Hip Dysplasia in puppies, where it was stressed that any interventional surgery, if required, should be performed as soon as possible, ideally well below a year old. Vets also learned about Itchy cats and the clear link, in some cases, with Feline Asthma and Inflammatory Bowel Disease, being called Feline Atopic Skin Syndrome when occurring together.

The nurses’ stream included new information on Diabetes and the use of the 24/7 Glucose-monitoring device the Freestyle Libre, which we have been using in practice ourselves for over 4 years. This is attached to the skin and can help enormously with Diabetic Stabilisation, reducing the need for many blood samples. The nurses also were ‘blown away’ by the talk on use of Ketamine, a common veterinary anaesthetic/analgesic drug, during the 2019 Thai Cave Rescue of 12 boys and their football coach. The Ketamine effectively allowed them to ‘sleep’ through the phenomenally challenging rescue, reducing their Oxygen consumption from the dive-tanks and ensuring they did not panic in the very narrow underwater cave passages.

Lastly, there was a chance to really have fun at a Pub-Quiz event followed by a live band with dancing. Noel Fitzpatrick was in his element on stage for much of the evening, living up to his lesser-known reputation as a frustrated rock-star!

Stuart2023-01-23T11:31:37+00:00June 14th, 2022|

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Linlithgow

South Queensferry

Edinburgh

VetFest 2022

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