Dr Dez Hughes
BVSc (Hons), Dip. ACVECC
Section Head in Emergency and Critical Care
Werribee: Call (03) 9731 2000
Animal Emergency: (walk-in) Open 8.00am–8.00pm Monday to Saturday
Our emergency service is open 12 hours a day, six days a week for small animals that need urgent veterinary care. Our state-of-the-art facility is fully equipped and staffed to provide the highest levels of emergency care.
After Hours
For animals requiring out-of-hours care after 8pm, before 8am and on Sundays, U-Vet recommends our preferred partner Greencross Vets at Animal Referral Hospital Essendon Fields.
What makes us unique
Our emergency service is unique because:
- We are a leading emergency and critical care training centre for the specialists and students of the future
- Our dedicated emergency and intensive care team of 15 vets is headed by 5 senior clinicians who are all experts in emergency and intensive care. All our vets are highly trained in emergency and intensive care medicine and most have advanced qualifications.
- Our large, highly trained, emergency and intensive care nursing team includes 7 nurses with advanced qualifications in emergency and intensive care.
- We know how upsetting and worrying it is when your pet is suddenly hurt or becomes ill. We are all pet owners ourselves and will try our best to support you while we care for your pet.
- Our new unit has a purpose-built emergency room and a separate intensive care unit
- We can perform a wide range of tests
- We offer comprehensive care for emergency patients and have access to all of our other specialist services within our hospital should we need to call on their expertise.
Services we offer
We offer a full range of emergency services, including:
- Emergency care and stabilisation for all emergency conditions from the minor to the life-threatening
- We specialise in treating the most serious emergencies: shock (life-threatening low blood pressure), serious infections, difficulty breathing, neurological conditions, snakebite, poisoning and anaemia.
- Blood transfusion for dogs and cats
- Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
- We will sensitively help you determine what’s best for you and your pet that fits within your budget.
Our dedicated emergency team are able to coordinate with our other specialist services all of whom can assist in providing the best comprehensive care to make the best decisions for you and your pet. And, if necessary, your pet can be referred to whatever specialist service in our hospital is most appropriate. We always work closely with your own veterinarian to coordinate your pet’s care.
Facilities
- True critical care level emergency veterinary and nursing care and patient monitoring
- Advanced respiratory care including an advanced, non-invasive, oxygen supplementation system and artificial ventilation (life support) with two state-of-the-art ventilators
- Emergency blood and urine tests including haematology, biochemistry, blood gas and coagulation analysis
- Full onsite diagnostic imaging services (digital radiography, ultrasound, CT and MRI) and specialist radiologists.
Meet our team
To provide the best continuity of care, our vets work in both the Emergency Service and the Intensive Care Unit.
Other information
ECC Board Certified Clinicians Trained
Trudi McAlees BSc, BVSc (Massey), MANZCVS (anaesthesia and critical care), FANZCVS (emergency and critical care)
Merrin Hicks BVSc (Hons) BMedSc MVSc FANZCVS
Kylie Kelers BSc BVMS MVS FANZCVS
Patricia Rosenstein DVM, Dip. ACVECC
Erica Tinson BSc, BVSc (Hons), Dip. ACVECC
Adelina Chan BVSc, Grad. Dip. Vet. Stud, Dip. ACVECC
Monique Stanley BVSc (Hons), Dip. ACVECC
Sarah Gaudette BSc (Hons), BVSc (Hons), Dip. ACVECC
Liam Donaldson B Appli Sci, BVSc (Hons)