Vehicles for small animal veterinary practices
There are many reasons and benefits for purchasing a vehicle for small animal Practices, if the correct one is chosen, it can have a significant benefit to the efficiency, image and even profitability of the business, as it can be an extremely cost effective way to secure and maintain existing clients and create new ones.
My aim with this article is to highlight some of the choices of veterinary vehicle available from Animedix along with an outline of the features and benefits they can bring to the Practice.
What type of veterinary vehicle do you want?
Current driver regulations, without getting into too much detail here, means that everyone with a standard car licence regardless of their age, or how long it has been held, can drive vehicles up to a weight of 3500 kgs. In short, this gives a very wide field of vehicles from which to choose, ranging from standard saloons and estate vehicles, through pickups to vans.
For small animal practices we have found small vans such as the Renault Kangoo, Fiat Doblo, VW Caddy, Citroen Berlingo, and numerous others, provide the appropriate cargo size, comfort, safety, reliability and economy of use that is necessary.
Different formats of veterinary vehicle to choose from:
Based on my experience of working with small animal practices I am going to highlight here the three most popular formats from which to choose. There is of course no right or wrong option when purchasing a vehicle for small animal practices. The final choice is down to what you want the vehicle to do for you and how you want it to contribute to your particular circumstances. The population demographics, geographic area, competition etc. will influence the services to be offered and these, in turn, the model of vehicle required.
- Veterinary Ambulance (Animal Ambulance)
Based on the Fiat Doblo Cargo, or a model of a similar size, the Animedix Veterinary Ambulance is the best equipped and therefore the most versatile of vehicles. The dog cage and small animal carriers to the rear facilitate the carriage of patients to and from the practice or to specialist referral centres.
The forward storage compartment is fitted out with a range of equipment to allow health checks and minor treatments to be undertaken off site. A hot water hand wash units with soap, disinfectant gel and paper towelling ensures hygiene standards are maintained.
Other features include storage for clothing changes, water, documentation, consumables and even chiller box for medicines.
This Ambulance even comes with an option for a stretcher should you wish to be capable of responding to emergency incidents or provide home based euthanasia and patient removal services.
There is also sufficient space to carry merchandise such as food.
With full external graphics fitted to the animal ambulance it is in itself a brilliant and cost effective way to advertise the practice. Compare the monthly cost of a vehicle to the monthly cost of local advertising and it can come as quite a shock to see how the investment in a specialised vehicle livery compares. Not to mention the added value to the business of additional clients, additional services and extended geographic area available.
For more detailed information visit https://www.multivehicletechnology.co.uk/animedix/veterinary-ambulance/
- Veterinary Courier
The Courier veterinary vehicle, again based on the size of Fiat Doblo models is, as the name implies, more a general and less specialised workhorse. Offering the same patient transport facilities as the veterinary ambulance, but without any of the medical and operation equipment other than hand wash facilities it does however have good cargo capacity. The cargo space makes this the ideal vehicle for those only requiring primarily pet and goods transportation between practice branches, to and from clients or to referral centres.
Again though, the promotional opportunity it provides should not be underestimated. Highly visible it will be seen by hundreds of potential clients each day, advertising and projecting the right sort of image.
For more detailed information about purchasing a vehicle for small animal practices visit https://www.multivehicletechnology.co.uk/animedix/veterinary-courier/
- Veterinary TaxiCab
Once again based on the size of a Fiat Doblo the Veterinary TaxiCab provides a unique mode of transport for any practice. This well-appointed pet transporter is ideal for those practices whose clients have difficulty in transporting either themselves or their pets to the surgery. The problem of lack of transport, created through age or disability, can be overcome with this model whereby the practice can collect and transport not just the patient but the owner(s) too.
With the capacity for up to 4 passengers plus the driver this makes a great staff transfer vehicle plus other uses.
For more detailed information visit https://www.multivehicletechnology.co.uk/animedix/veterinary-taxicab/
Making the purchase of a vehicle for small animal practices
Actually using the word purchase is in itself not true as there is another option. Subject to status our range of Animedix veterinary vehicles can be purchased outright, purchased via a Hire Purchase Agreement or acquired on a Business Contract Hire basis.
But financial aspects and choices are whole subject on their own and I’ll write a specific blog on this subject in due course.
