Isabelle Vets has secured permission to turn the former offices of collapsed construction firm RG Falla, on the Garenne Park industrial estate, into an animal hospital.
Doreen Munn-Litten, clinical director at Isabelle Vets, has called the project ‘a long-held dream’.
The company hopes to go out to tender for the work in December with work starting a few months later.
‘Creating the island’s first-ever veterinary hospital is a long-held dream, but it has taken time to find the right site that is big enough to build both a small animal and equine hospital,’ said Ms Munn-Litten.
‘We understand how pets are part of a family and that horses are very special to their owners, so providing the best possible care of patients is at the forefront of everything we do.
‘The new hospital will enable us to provide constant care on the wards day and night. We also want to ensure a great experience for our clients who entrust us to provide excellence care of their animals.’
Isabelle Vets will retain its current clinics in Route Isabelle and L’Islet as branch surgeries.
Key to the plans is the care of horses on site. The vets said they currently treated about 600 horses a year.
Currently they visit stable yards with portable equipment including x-ray and ultrasound, and there are no bespoke facilites for operations locally.
Often horses have to be referred off-island for treatment when critically ill and unfit for travel by boat. This may result in euthanasia with no other options available.
Delays in travel can also lead to horses becoming even more ill or stressed.
The plans include pre-op space, theatre and a treatment room for horses along with an indoor stable and three outdoor stables, including one isolation stable.
The project also includes separate waiting areas for dogs and cats in reception, and six consulting rooms, as well as a small animal in-patient space for animals like rabbits and guinea pigs.
There would also be a kennels and cattery, with room for 13 dogs and 20 cats, with separate isolation areas.
For diagnostics and treatment there would be three operating theatres, a dental room, an x-ray room, CT room and a pharmacy.
The site would also include the first MRI scanning for small animals in the island, which would prevent the need for off-island diagnostic tests.
Among all the animals, there would also be staff space, with a staff room, meeting room, offices and changing areas. A three-bed staff flat would be created on the first floor.
The facility would be manned 24/7 by vets and qualified nurses to ensure constant care.
The practice said that it had been a long wait to find the ideal site for its plans.
The scale of the hospital meant it could not be created in an urban location.
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