S.L. 437.106 Art. 9Veterinary clinic.

No licence for the running of a veterinary clinic shall be granted unless the requirements of regulation 7 and the following minimum requirements are satisfied:

(1) Minimum structural requirements:

(a) waiting room is large enough to accommodate clients according to workload;

(b) one or more examination rooms ensuring the clients’ privacy, and equipped with hand basin and disinfection facilities. The size of these rooms should be sufficient for veterinary surgeon, nursing staff, patient and client, as well as to allow for traffic to and from the rooms. They should also be equipped with an examination table capable of being easily disinfected. Every examination room shall have up-to-date diagnostic equipment for the clinical examination of the patient. At least one examination room can be capable of being darkened;

(c) an operating theatre wherein surgical procedures are carried out. This shall be a separate room from the examination room and waiting room. Such operating theatres shall not be used for the pre-operative preparation of patients, or for any purpose which could compromise their use for aseptic surgery. There should be a high standard of surgical asepsis. Floor to wall junctions should be adequately coved. Lighting suitable for the accurate illumination of surgical sites on the patient are to be provided in the theatre;

(d) a preparation room: the examination room may be used as a preparation room as long as the surgical activity is not carried out contemporarily with the clinical activity;

(e) recovery room or area where animals may recover from anaesthesia and be easily kept under observation while doing so. This room or area is to be clean, and shall not be used for any purpose that might adversely affect post-operative recovery. If the examination room is to be used as a recovery room, this shall not be done contemporarily with clinical activity, namely, there should be time separation and cleaning and disinfection of the room in between. It is not recommended to use the preparation room as recovery room because of the difficulty in achieving time separation;

(f) a pharmacy room or a lockable cupboard containing an adequate supply, readily available, of medicinal products and materials used in the treatment of animals. An efficient stock control system under the direct responsibility of any of the licensees shall be set up, which includes a register and a secure, locked receptacle for the storage of controlled drugs. Medicines shall be properly and safely stored in accordance with the manufacturers instructions;

(2) Minimum technological requirements:

(a) refrigerator;

(b) microscope;

(c) weighing scales;

(d) equipment for chemical or physical sterilisation or surgical material;

(e) operating table to be used exclusively for surgery;

(f) a good supply of surgical instruments, suture materials, surgeons’ gloves and gowns shall be provided;

(g) packs, including those for emergency surgery, must be provided in sufficient quantity to meet the work load;

(h) in the case where X-ray equipment is present, the room where it is found should be properly designed to reduce to minimum potentially hazardous radiation. The X-ray room, equipment and the handling of radiograph material should abide by the guidelines issued by the Radiation Protection Board;

(i) scrubbing-up facilities shall be provided outside the operating theatre, and separate from those provided for cleansing and disinfection but may be in the preparation room;

(j) adequate facilities for the induction of general anaesthesia, the anaesthetic agent to be used being at the discretion of the veterinary surgeon. There shall also be adequate means of monitoring anaesthetised patients and of supportive therapy (intravenous fluids, maintenance of body heat, etc.) under anaesthesia;

(k) generator or alternative energy supply;

(l) oxygen therapy equipment;

(3) Minimum administrative requirements:

(a) communication of the name of any veterinary surgeon working in the clinic to the general public;

(b) notification of opening hours;

(c) presence of at least one veterinary surgeon during the time the clinic is active;

(d) the clinic shall provide, or be part of, a twenty-four hour emergency service;

(e) patient records shall be kept in a secure place, while accessibility to these records shall be restricted to the veterinary staff;

(f) dispensed medicines shall be labelled with the following:

(i) the name of the product;

(ii) directions for use;

(iii) significant precautions relating to the use of the product;

(iv) the name of the animal;

(v) name of dispensing veterinary surgeon in terms of regulation 8(1)(d)(v).