If you believe your pet is experiencing a life-threatening emergency, serious injury or severe pain:
1. Telephone an emergency provider immediately.
2. Do not begin travelling until you have spoken to the veterinary team.
3. Follow their advice about where and when your pet should be seen.
Our principal 24-hour emergency provider is: Emergency Vets Glasgow
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Emergency Vets Glasgow accepts emergency cases from Home Visit Pet Care Alness & Highlands at any time of the day or night, seven days a week, under our prior arrangement with them.
Telephone: 0141 260 5555
Address: WorkZone 85, 35 Rosyth Road, Glasgow, G5 0YE
Availability for our patients: 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Service: Emergency assessment, first aid, pain relief, hospitalisation and advanced treatment
Please telephone before travelling. The emergency team will assess the information you provide, advise you what to do next and prepare for your arrival if your pet needs to be seen.
Please telephone us on 01349 778 000.
Our team will listen carefully to what is happening and help determine the most appropriate next step. Depending on your pet’s condition, your location, the time of day and which services are available, we may:
• arrange appropriate veterinary advice;
• refer your pet to one of the hospitals or referral practices below;
• send the receiving practice your pet’s clinical history;
• help you identify the most suitable emergency provider; or
• advise you to contact Emergency Vets Glasgow directly.
If you cannot reach us promptly and you believe your pet needs immediate attention, do not wait for us to return your call. Telephone Emergency Vets Glasgow on 0141 260 5555.
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Choosing the most appropriate emergency service
Alness & Highlands covers a very large and predominantly rural area. One hospital will not always be the most practical option for every client.
Emergency Vets Glasgow is our principal 24-hour emergency pathway, but we have additional emergency and referral options in Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow. The most appropriate destination will depend upon:
• where you and your pet are located;
• the day and time;
• the nature and urgency of the emergency;
• the facilities or specialist treatment required;
• the provider’s capacity at that time;
• road and weather conditions; and
• whether your pet can travel safely.
Always telephone before travelling. Veterinary hospitals deal with unpredictable emergency caseloads and may need to direct you to a different service.
Vets Now Aberdeen provides emergency veterinary care during nights, weekends and bank holidays.
Telephone: 01224 969854
Address: Based within Ardene House Veterinary Practice, Skene Road, Kingswells, Aberdeen, AB15 8PJ
Usual opening hours:
• Monday to Friday: 7pm to 8am
• Saturday: from 12 noon
• Sunday: open continuously
• Closes Monday morning at 8am
• Bank-holiday cover is also available
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Vets Now Dundee provides emergency veterinary care during nights, weekends and bank holidays.
Telephone: 01382 699455
Address: Based within Parkside Veterinary Group, 5 King’s Cross Road, Dundee, DD2 3PT
Usual opening hours:
• Monday to Friday: 7pm to 8.30am
• Saturday: from 12 noon
• Sunday: open continuously
• Closes Monday morning at 8.30am
• Bank-holiday cover is also available
Vets Now Glasgow Hospital
Vets Now Glasgow is a 24-hour emergency and referral hospital.
• Telephone: 0141 237 7676
• Address: 123–145 North Street, Glasgow, G3 7DA
• Opening hours: 24 hours a day, seven days a week
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Although these services are additional options, clients should normally follow the pathway recommended by Home Visit Pet Care or Emergency Vets Glasgow. This helps ensure that your pet is directed to an appropriate service that is open, able to accept the case and equipped for the treatment required.
We also have referral options that may be able to accept urgent or emergency cases during their daytime operating hours.
Please contact Home Visit Pet Care first
Do not travel directly to a referral hospital unless you have been told that the case has been accepted.
Please telephone us first so that our veterinary team can:
1. understand your pet’s condition and assess the urgency;
2. speak with the receiving practice;
3. make an appropriate clinical referral;
4. send your pet’s clinical history and relevant results; and
5. confirm where and when you should attend.
Acceptance will depend upon the nature of the case, the expertise required and the receiving practice’s capacity.
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Aberdeen Veterinary Referrals
Telephone: 01224 002221
Address: Skene Road, Kingswells, Aberdeen, AB15 8PJ
Reception hours:
• Monday to Friday: 8am to 7pm
• Saturday: 8am to 12 noon
• Sunday: closed
Aberdeen Veterinary Referrals also provides ongoing inpatient care, but new referrals must be discussed and accepted through the correct referral process.
Cùmath Pet Surgeons
Telephone: 01358 293 101
Address: 5 Balmacassie Brae, Balmacassie Commercial Park, Ellon, AB41 8BY
Opening hours:
• Monday to Friday: 8am to 7pm
• Saturday: 8am to 12 noon
Cùmath accepts veterinary referrals, including emergency referrals where appropriate. Emergency cases must be discussed with the practice before travelling.
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If your pet is also registered with a local veterinary practice
Many Home Visit Pet Care clients remain registered with a local premises-based veterinary practice.
Depending on the circumstances, that practice may be able to see your pet or may have its own emergency arrangements. However, another practice is not automatically required to accept a case, so you should always telephone first and never arrive without speaking to them.
If you contact Home Visit Pet Care, we can help you consider the available options. Where appropriate and with your permission, we can also provide your pet’s records and relevant clinical information to the veterinary team accepting the case.
We understand that travelling to an emergency hospital can be difficult, particularly for elderly, disabled, vulnerable or housebound clients.
The Highlands presents particular challenges. Journey times can be substantial and may be affected by:
• rural road conditions;
• severe weather;
• snow or flooding;
• ferry availability;
• seasonal traffic; and
• temporary road closures.
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Help with patient transport
Home Visit Pet Care may be able to assist with patient transport when a client would otherwise struggle to reach veterinary care.
Depending on availability, distance, weather and the urgency of the situation, this could include transport to:
• one of our emergency providers;
• a referral hospital;
• a local practice that has agreed to accept the case; or
• another appropriate veterinary facility.
Transport assistance is not an ambulance or emergency-response service, and availability cannot be guaranteed. Please do not delay seeking emergency advice while waiting for transport to become available.
We know that emergencies can feel overwhelming, especially when you are unsure who to call or where to go. These frequently asked questions explain how emergency and out-of-hours care works for Home Visit Pet Care Alness & Highlands, including which services are available, when to contact us first, what to expect when making an urgent journey and how we may be able to help with patient transport. If you believe your pet needs immediate veterinary attention, please do not wait to read every question. Call an emergency provider straight away and always telephone before travelling.
Where Home Visit Pet Care arranges the referral, we will provide the receiving veterinary team with the relevant clinical history and other information needed to support your pet’s care.
If you contact an emergency provider directly, please tell them that your pet is registered with Home Visit Pet Care Alness & Highlands and ask them to send the clinical report to us following treatment.
If your pet also receives care from another veterinary practice, we can share relevant records with that practice with your permission and in accordance with our professional obligations.
Emergency, out-of-hours and referral treatment is provided and charged by the receiving veterinary practice. You will normally pay that provider directly.
Out-of-hours consultations are generally more expensive than routine daytime appointments. Further investigations, medication, hospitalisation and treatment will incur additional charges.
The receiving practice should discuss its initial consultation fee and likely treatment costs with you. If you have pet insurance, take your policy details with you where possible.
Immediate first aid and pain relief should not be delayed while financial arrangements are being discussed, although the provider may require payment before providing ongoing treatment.
Because distances can be significant, we strongly encourage clients to make an emergency plan in advance:
• Save our telephone number and the Emergency Vets Glasgow number.
• Consider how you would transport your pet.
• Identify a family member, friend, neighbour, taxi or pet-transport service who may be able to help.
• Keep your pet carrier, lead and essential medication accessible.
• Keep your insurance details available.
• Tell us if disability, health or transport difficulties could affect your ability to reach veterinary care.
We explain our emergency arrangements when clients first join Home Visit Pet Care, including during the first appointment and in our welcome information. Please make sure that everyone who may care for your pet knows what to do in an emergency.
We are not an emergency home-visiting service. In most emergencies, your pet’s interests are best served at a properly equipped veterinary practice or hospital, where medicines, diagnostic equipment, surgery and inpatient care are available.
Please telephone us or the emergency provider for advice rather than waiting for a home visit.
No. These are referral services, and the case must first be discussed and accepted. Please contact Home Visit Pet Care so that we can assess the situation, speak with the referral team and send the necessary records.
Yes. If your pet needs urgent help outside our availability, telephone Emergency Vets Glasgow or an appropriate open Vets Now clinic directly.
Always telephone before travelling.
The veterinary team will assess your pet’s needs and its current capacity. Occasionally, a provider may need to direct you to another suitable hospital. This is why it is essential to telephone before beginning your journey.
Telephone either us or the emergency provider and explain your pet’s condition, exact location and the travel conditions. The veterinary team will advise you based on the individual circumstances.
Telephone advice has limitations and cannot replace a physical examination. If conditions permit travel, you may still be advised to attend a veterinary hospital.
