Emergency and critical care is a relatively young specialism, but one that will only continue to grow – and that has benefited from its own dedicated congress for two decades.

Racheal Marshall, head of clinical nursing at Vets Now, ECC specialist Simon Hagley and Arlene Connor, national referral nursing lead for IVC Evidensia’s UK referrals division, discuss their ECC experiences and what’s in store for the congress’ 20th anniversary.

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𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝖱𝖵𝖭 𝖢𝖾𝗋𝗍𝖵𝖭𝖤𝖢𝖢

Head of Clinical Nursing, Vets Now

Racheal qualified as a vet nurse in 2003 and subsequently worked in a busy mixed practice. After a short period as a lecturer in veterinary nursing she joined Vets Now in 2008 as a clinic nurse, before becoming principle nurse manager and then district manager.

Racheal achieved the Veterinary Nursing Certificate in Emergency and Critical Care in 2011 and took up her current position as head of clinical nursing at Vets Now in 2014. She is a member of the veterinary and nursing standards team, responsible for clinical and professional standards within the clinics.

Racheal was an elected member of RCVS VN Council (2016-2020), was VN Council chair and sat on RCVS Council (2017-2020) and was chair of the VN Futures Board (2019).

𝗦𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗛𝗔𝗚𝗟𝗘𝗬 𝖡𝖵𝖲𝖼 𝖣𝗂𝗉𝖠𝖢𝖵𝖤𝖢𝖢 𝖣𝗂𝗉𝖤𝖢𝖵𝖤𝖢𝖢

Specialist in Emergency & Critical Care, Referral Clinician in ECC, Vets Now Manchester

Simon obtained his veterinary degree from the University of Bristol in 2011, after which he moved to Australia to complete a rotating internship. He returned to the UK for two years, where he worked in a busy emergency hospital before completing an internship and residency in Emergency and Critical Care at UC Davis in 2019. After settling back in the UK, Simon joined Vets Now Referrals in Manchester and is currently clinical lead for the hospital.

Simon has written several book chapters for core veterinary critical care textbooks and is a lecturer and examiner for post-graduate ECC certificate qualifications in the UK.

His interests include all areas of acute medicine with a specific focus on fluid therapy, electrolyte and glucose derangements and shock.

𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗥 𝖱𝖵𝖭 𝖢𝖾𝗋𝗍𝖵𝖭 𝖤𝖢𝖢

National Referral Nursing Lead (UK Referrals Division), IVC Evidensia

Arlene qualified as a VN in 2003 and subsequently worked in a small animal practice in central Scotland. She joined Vets Now 24/7 Emergency and Specialty Hospital in Glasgow in 2013 as a surgery nurse, before becoming Clinical Nursing Manager in 2014.

In 2017, Arlene became head of clinical operations for Vets Now’s referral hospital sites across the UK, which saw her represent referrals within Vets Now as a member of the Veterinary and Nursing Standards group and at the company’s clinical strategy board.

In 2021 Arlene moved to a similar role at IVC Evidensia, within its newly created referral division, taking the lead on the referral nurse strategy for the UK. Within her team, Arlene is responsible for the clinical and professional standards within the hospitals and is part of the team responsible for opening new IVC Evidensia referral hospitals in the UK.

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𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗗

Vets Now is the leading provider of emergency veterinary care for small animals in the UK. With 60 out-of-hours clinics nationwide, Vets Now is committed to delivering a responsive emergency and critical care service for cats, dogs, and other small animals.

It also partners with more than 1,400 veterinary practices across the UK to provide its clients with a seamless out-of-hours emergency care service.

On 9-10 November in Leeds, Vets Now delivers the UK’s leading date in the ECC CPD calendar, its emergency and critical care congress, which will deliver up to 75 hours of CPD to veterinary professionals looking to enhance their knowledge in this field.

For tickets and full information about the congress, visit https://www.vets-now.com/congress/