Veterinary Referral Information
For Emergency and Critical Care Referral
Our Emergency and Critical Care Team is happy to receive any referral cases at all times during our operating hours for after-hours or critical care.
Referral Procedure & Information
1. Please call us PRIOR TO SENDING THE CRITICAL PATIENT OVER to discuss the case you'd like to refer with our Emergency Vet on duty.
2. The vet on duty will provide an estimate for the first 12 hours of hospitalization here at Westside. Please pass this estimate on to your client prior to the referral.
3. Let us know if you'd like the patient to be transferred back to you the next day, or if they'd likely continue hospitalization at Westside Emergency until they are fit for discharge.
4. Forward the relevant patient history, radiographs/ultrasound images, and blood tests results to info@westsideemergency.com.sg
5. We will send the patient's clinical summary from us to your clinic email upon the patient's discharge or prior to transfer back to you. For patients hospitalized for more than a day, we will send interim history for your perusal.
For Specialist Surgery Referral
Referral Procedure & Information
1. Fill in the surgical referral form HERE.
2. Once your clinical summary and surgical referral form have been received, our surgical team will call the client to arrange for a suitable appointment date for consultation.
3. Clinical summary post procedure/surgery will be sent back to referring primary care vets.
4. Referring veterinarians who have queries prior to making the referral,
feel free to reach out to Dr Derniese at derniese@westsideemergency.com.sg
For Outpatient Medical Imaging Referral
Referring veterinarians can view the ultrasound scans in real time with the Apligate software technology that allows us to share clinical images/videos over platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams. For our veterinary colleagues who are keen to watch the scans of your patients in the comfort of your work desk or your home, feel free to speak to us to understand more!
Referral Procedure & Information
For Outpatient Ultrasound and CT Scans
1. Call us at our hotline @ 6931 0095 to check on appointment dates available.
2. Forward relevant patient history and related information to info@westsideemergency.com.sg so our sonographer can better understand areas you'd like extra focus on. It is beneficial to provide a clear, concise medical history and reason for the scans to the reading radiologist.
3. For ultrasounds, the sonographer will reach out to the referring vet should the scan shows any information that requires immediate attention for the patient. Otherwise, the formal interpretation report by a board certified radiologist/cardiologist will be forwarded to the referring vet once it returns in 1 to 3 working days similarly for outpatient CT scans.
Pre-Sonogram Preparations (Ultrasound)
- Patients should ideally be fasted 12 hours before appointment (from midnight onwards) unless patient's' condition (eg. diabetic) does not allow them to.
- Water insoluble medications (eg. Sucralfate, Crospovidone) should ideally be held off during fasting as they may interfere with imaging, causing some organs to be obscured during the scan.
- Free access to water is encouraged.
- Scan areas (sides of thorax, abdomen) will be shaved for the scan.