What to Expect When You Arrive – Veterinary Specialists Aotearoa | Veterinary Specialist and Animal Referral Services in NZ with 3 specialist animal hospitals in Auckland and Christchurch

What to expect when you arrive at a VSA hospital

Before you arrive

We look forward to having you and your pet arrive at our hospital.  We have included some important information below on what to expect when you arrive. Please read through this carefully and ensure you ask us any questions you may have.

  • Depending on the type of service we provide your pet we may ask that you bring your animal fasted.  This means nothing to eat after 8:00PM the night before your appointment. Water is okay but remove first thing in the morning
  • If your pet is diabetic or under 6 months of age, please contact us as we may need to give you different fasting instructions.

When you arrive

We aim to provide you and your pet the very best experience when you arrive at any of our hospitals.  The following steps will give you an idea of what to expect when you arrive.

  • We will check your details to ensure the information we have is accurate.
  • Please then have a seat in the waiting room and feel free to access our guest wifi.
  • The Specialist will come to the waiting room and may ask to see your pet walk outside first (dogs only).
  • They will then take you through to the consultation room and have a chat with you.
  • If your pet requires any further diagnostic procedures that we are able to perform on the same day as the consultation, your pet may stay with us for the day. Alternatively, we may book them to come back another day if you prefer.
  • You will then be guided back to reception.

How payment works

We offer a range of secure and convenient payment options for our clients.

Online Payments
We no longer process credit card payments over the phone. Instead, we can send you a secure payment link via email or text message. This allows you to safely enter your card details (credit or debit) or pay using your digital wallet—similar to shopping online, and more secure than providing details verbally.

In-Clinic Payments
Our EFTPOS terminals accept:

  • Credit and debit cards
  • American Express
  • Q Card Mastercard
  • Afterpay

Please note that all credit card and contactless (payWave) transactions incur a 1.5% surcharge. This is a flat rate, including American Express.

Finance Options
We currently offer:

  • Q Card
  • Afterpay

Insurance Claims
We can assist with direct claims through selected pet insurance providers. Please speak with our reception team for more information about eligibility and how this works.

What to expect in your consultation

The objective of our consultations is for one of our specialists to meet you and to do a thorough examination of your pet. During consults our specialists are often accompanied by one of our VSA/ Zoetis Interns or a visiting vet student.

Before you and your pet arrive for your consult the specialist will have reviewed the case notes sent through from your referring veterinarian. This will include any relevant case notes, blood test results and x-rays.

Once the specialist has completed their examination, they will generally discuss an appropriate diagnostic or treatment plan with you. We always try to give an accurate indication of costs and expectations around these plans. You will then have the opportunity to decide how you wish to proceed.

We have access to the best clinical facilities available in veterinary care:

  • Collaboration between all of our specialists to enable your pet to receive the exceptional care that they deserve. We currently have specialists in surgery, internal medicine, cardiology, oncology and diagnostic imaging (radiology).
  • Purpose-built veterinary specialist hospitals with first class facilities.
  • State-of-the-art operating theatres with specialist surgical and anaesthesia equipment.
  • Advanced imaging suites- this includes digital radiography, ultrasounds and computed tomography (CT). We have specialist veterinary radiologists that work together to make sure results are available as soon as possible.
  • The support of the 24 hour and 7 day a week care provided by Animal Emergency at VSA 

From time to time your pet may need services that we are not able to offer at either of our hospitals. We are fortunate enough to have access to some incredible facilities including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), radiation therapy and interventional radiology.

The specialist team will produce a detailed report to be sent to your regular veterinary clinic to keep them updated.

To make an appointment with our team, please click below.

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