We are currently seeking a new veterinary surgeon to join our team. Please see the recruitment tab on the main screen for details.

Dermot has decided to leave and so as of December 2021 he will no longer be available.  He is continuing to help cover some weekend shifts for the next few months (1 per month) but will fully leave after this time.

We wish Dermot well.

Kate has been working with us as a Veterinary Surgeon for a year now and has recently decided to move on to pastures new as of December 21. We wish her all the luck in her now position.

We are having a new vet join us as of the 22nd November.

Catherine Jones is a very experienced vet who has been working for the past 20 years at the PDSA and other local practices.  She is very keen on soft tissue and bone surgery especially complicated fracture management and so this will improve our local services to our clients.  Chris and Catherine have operated together on many complicated cases over the years (spinal fractures, shunt surgery, complicated fractures etc) and we are excited to have her here to improve our surgical ability.

Catherine was brought up in the area and like Chris has stayed put, they like nothing more than being on the moor in their spare time with their children and dogs.  Catherine is also a keen member of Dartmoor search and rescue as well as the search and rescue dogs association (SARDA) in which she has trained 3 search dogs.

Even with the current proposed relaxation to the general rules on face coverings and social distancing (July 2021) we are taking a view that we need to wait and see before deciding on allowing clients in to the building.  We are a small practice and whilst there is a risk of closure if a positive case occurs or a trace then we must remain as we are.  Once we are seeing improvements in the general viral load and all our staff are ‘protected’ with double vaccinations then we will decide on opening up as normal.

Please bear with us at this time, we are attempting to maintain a service in a difficult time, if we are caught out then we may get closed for a period.  This would mean that you potentially have no veterinary surgeon as all other practices are stretched and can’t take extra clients.  We have plans in place to maintain service but would prefer to avoid having to do this. Other larger practices in the area will simply send all their clients to one of their other practices further afield, we don’t have that luxury as we are not a corporate.  Some practices are starting to open up but as said with the track and trace system we can’t take that risk.

Please bear with us and hopefully we will be back to normal face to face consultations soon.

We hope to see you all back in the practice soon but its just a little longer.

best wishes

Drake vets

On Wednesday the 10th of February, we are having our phone system upgraded.  This may mean a short period of phone disruption to incoming calls and so if you need to contact us then please email us on info@drakevets.co.uk and we will get back to you.  In the case of an emergency and if you cannot contact us then it is best to come to the Yelverton surgery.

After our phone system upgrade, the normal practice phone number 01822 854255 will resume.

We have resumed normal routine consultations and this includes all non urgent cases – Vaccinations, lumps, anal glands etc.  If you need to be seen then please call us on our normal number 01822 854255.  We have fewer staff than normal so our opening hours are still slightly restricted and our Tavistock Branch consulting times have changed (see opening hours).

Clients are currently not allowed inside the practice as we are trying to make things as safe as possible.  We know people are now allowed in more shops etc but we feel this is the best and safest option for us at this time.  The infection rate is low and hopefully gets lower but we have consultation rooms which would make it hard to social distance effectively.  Therefore we are still seeing clients outside or on the phone and taking poets inside to examine etc.  We do not want to be caught out by the track and trace system as this would mean we would be shut down for 2 weeks or more.

If you want a routine or urgent appointment please call us as normal on 01822 854255

please see the main menu tab heading for more detailed advice.

As of the 16th April 2020 we will resume some vaccinations.  This is not a return to normality, we will only vaccinate puppies and kittens and first year boosters as these are most at risk especially to Parvovirus.  We will also vaccinate rabbits as this is the time of year for myxomatosis and VHD.

Older dogs who are due the Parvo component of the vaccine will also be seen.

Cats will be vaccinated on a clinical justification basis.

If you have any queries or feel that you need to book in then call the practice or better still email us on vaccines-drakevets@outlook.com and we will look into you particular situation before making a decision.

During this challenging period, we will be temporarily changing our opening times.

We request all clients to call first to book an appointment as we are no longer running the open surgery slot for the time being.  We need to tightly control the numbers of people in the waiting area at any one time.

Our opening hours will be from 0830 until 1730 Monday to Friday and 0830 to 1330 Saturday with on call out of hours as we currently do.

Please be aware that we are not booking routine consultations and surgeries so that we can  minimise contact, call to discuss this with the reception if concerned about missing your pets booster vaccination.  This is so we are better placed to maintain sufficient staff in order to still be able to function for emergencies.  Currently the situation is relatively stable but as the infection rate increases we need to be able to maintain an emergency service.

We are planning to start more telephone consultations which may lead to a visit to the surgery but some may be able to be safely done over the phone or by video call.  The cost of the consultation can be easily paid via BACS or by card over the phone and medications sent to you or collected from the surgery.  These are unprecedented times and we need to do things in a slightly different way to keep everyone safe, clients and staff.

We will from next week be running with far fewer staff on site each day in different teams to minimise cross infection and hopefully be able to maintain or cover.

Please bear with us during these times.  If you need to see or speak to a vet then call our normal number first for a triage call, do not just come to the surgery without calling unless an emergency.  Any appointments already booked will continue as normal unless you have been contacted to rearrange.

Coronavirus Update

We are keeping a close eye on the updates regarding coronavirus and would like to explain what we are doing to help reduce the spread.  We can all do our small part to reduce the risk of spread and to also reduce the transmission to the at-risk groups of people.

In order to help us look after our staff and continue to provide a service and be available when your pets need us, we must ask all clients to please exercise caution when visiting our Practice.

If you have recently travelled from any of the high risk areas or are experiencing any symptoms we would politely ask that you do not attend the practice and instead call and speak to one of our staff who will triage the call and speak to one of our veterinary surgeons, who will advise further.

For clients in the practice we have hand washing facilities and hand sanitizers available. We would ask all visitors to either wash their hands or use the alcohol hand sanitizer available at reception on entry to the practice.  We have rearranged the waiting area to improve social distancing and removed all magazines etc.

We will be cancelling the open surgery slot between 2pm and 3.30pm and ask that everyone books their appointments. We are extending our appointment times to give us time to clean between clients.  It sounds odd but if you do not really need to come in to see us then please don’t.

We will see emergency cases and urgent cases but would advise routine procedures may be delayed in order to minimise the number of people visiting the surgery.

We would request a minimal number of people per patient when bringing your pet in for a consultation, one person per pet unless it is a euthanasia.  The practice is increasing the frequency of cleaning of all touch surfaces through the day as well as tables and floor cleaning, please be aware of wet floors as this can be a slipping hazard.  We have hand cleaning facilities and hand sanitizers for the staff in each consult room and behind the scenes.

If you require any medication to be posted to you, this can be arranged by the reception team.  We are also offering home delivery of medications free of charge to older clients or people in at risk groups or self-isolating. Please talk to reception about this which we can arrange.

We will continue to provide care to our clients and patients and we have NO plans to close but if there are any disruptions due to staff illness, we will make everyone aware via email, Facebook and our website of our plans to continue this cover.  You will not be left without Veterinary cover. Out of hours or in the event of a shutdown, if needed please call our normal number.

There have currently been no confirmed cases of human to animal transmission however we will monitor this closely and provide information as and when it transpires.  The WHO have recently announced that Coronavirus does not transmit to domestic pets. In spite of this we still would advise good hygiene around pets and advise hand washing after petting, feeding or cleaning up after them and avoid allowing them to lick your face.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.  If you need any further advice, please call us to speak to one of our team.  Stay safe.

Best Wishes

The Drake Vets Team