About the UCD Veterinary Hospital
The UCD Veterinary Hospital (UCDVH) is a unique environment, providing a primary and referral service to the public and veterinary profession. The Hospital is equipped with cutting-edge, modern technology and services, allowing our team of internationally recognised specialists to provide the best care possible to our patients whilst training the next generation of vets and vet nurses.
The UCDVH is located within the Veterinary Sciences Centre in the School of Veterinary Medicine on UCD’s Belfield Campus. The Hospital operates on the basis of 'fee-for-service' and provides clinical case material for the teaching and research needs of the clinical units. However, it is not strictly a ‘for profit’ enterprise, as the training of veterinary students is expensive and requires heavy subsidy from other sources.
The UCDVH offers services for both small and large animals. Currently, the major animal species seen at the UCDVH are dogs, cats, horses, cattle and sheep, with smaller numbers of exotic and zoo animals.
What does it mean to be a Veterinary Specialist?
A Veterinary Specialist is a term used to describe a qualified veterinarian who, after graduation, has completed at least a one-year veterinary internship, a three-year discipline specific residency training programme and has passed their specialist qualifying examinations. Maintenance of specialist titles requires re-accreditation on a regular basis. The most common route to veterinary specialisation is through the 27 separate (opens in a new window)European Board of Veterinary Specialisation (EBVS) Colleges who are responsible for overseeing training and maintenance of the specialties and only a small percentage of veterinarians throughout Europe hold such titles. Specialists are also recognised by the Veterinary Council of Ireland and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons through other routes if there has been sufficient alternate advanced training and development of an international reputation in the field.
UCDVH Services
The UCD Veterinary Hospital provides a primary and referral consultation resource to the public and veterinary profession. We are open for consultations (by appointment) each weekday, and we provide 24-hour hospital care for all of our patients. Our services are broadly categorised into Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, Large Animal Surgery, a Farm Animal Clinic, Herd Health and Equine Medicine. Within each area, specific disciplines are represented (soft tissue surgery, dermatology, endocrinology etc).
There are approximately 25 senior veterinary academic staff working within the clinical services, most of whom are recognised specialists within their field. Outside the clinics, there are approximately 10 senior academic staff involved in providing consultative services for diagnostic tests of all varieties from blood to histopathological samples.
The annual caseload for the hospital is over 8,000 animals and more than 15,000 paraclinical samples, with most animals referred from private practitioners throughout the country.
Find out more about the UCD Veterinary Hospital by clicking on the links below: