Over many years we have acquired a wealth of little tips and ideas that make a big difference to the veterinary surgery.
This can range from protecting your building for little cost to low cost alternative materials. Even things like cleaning your stainless-steel products and why some appear to rust in hard water areas.
Very often the simplest of ideas can lead to your working life being so much easier.
Here are some important ones:
design tip 1 - sealed kennels
A very effective walk in kennel can be created by continuing the vinyl flooring material up the side and back walls of the kennel to the ceiling or top of the kennel door.
This creates a sealed chamber and allows you to wash out the kennel completely without fear of damage to your building.
design tip 2 - protecting walls
External corners inside a building are prone to damage and nothing looks worse than a new building with great gouges out of the visible corners.
Stainless steel angle (brushed finish 1mm) is now readily available from the internet, auction sites & DIY stores. This can be ordered pre-cut and glued in place for surprisingly little cost (less than £10 a corner fitted) thereby protecting your investment for years to come.
design tip 3 - kennel cleaning
Rabbit urine and bird mess can be a nightmare to clean from kennels. Scrubbing doesn’t do much and all hope appears lost. A proprietary lime scale remover purchased from a super market usually returns the kennel to looking like new in a very short time.
design tip 4 - let there be light
When replacing lamps in your practice, pay careful attention to the colour rendering aspect of the new lamp. This is very important and you require something as close to normal daylight as possible. This can often be referred to as daylight colour rendering. Soft tissue can only be represented correctly under such lighting.
design tip 5 - stainless steel can't rust
It can if exposed to chlorine bleach. It is therefore very important to thoroughly rinse of any stainless steel that you have just disinfected. Left unchecked this will cause pitting to the surface.
Design Tip 6 - Animal Ambulances
If you need one but your budget cannot stretch to a new one, consider the purchase of an ex-Police Dog van. These come fully equipped with crash tested cages, air conditioning for the occupants and a host of other animal friendly equipment. They are well maintained and can be purchased from £1,500 upwards offering a kitted-out vehicle at a fraction of the price. Usually available at specialist retailers or auction.
Design Tip 7 - Domestic grade kitchen units
These are usually a false economy. It is far better to budget for something that doesn’t absorb moisture such as plastic or stainless-steel cupboards throughout your build. It will cost you a little more to start, but you won’t be replacing them in seven years’ time.
Design Tip 8 - Modern Lighting
Making do with old fashioned fluorescent tubes is a false economy. LED technology has advanced so much that it has virtually surpassed all other lighting systems. L(ight) E(mitting) D(iode), to give it it’s proper name, produces very low heat, is extremely efficient compared to other technology, reliable, long lasting and produces light output very similar to daylight (when specified).
This last feature in particular makes it very suitable to veterinary use where true colour representation only occurs with daylight colour rendering lamps. Not only do they save money, are environmentally friendly, but also make your diagnostic work far easier and safer. Why settle for anything less?
“Freely sharing information for the benefit of animals can only be a good thing.”
