LVS Vet Nurse Holly In 'rewarding' Sri Lanka Charity Support Trip

Holly Brown, who is a surgical nurse at Linnaeus-owned London Vet Specialists (LVS) in Belsize Park, spent a month on the Indian Ocean Island working in an animal hospital for the UK-based WECare Worldwide Charity.

Holly said she thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of working in different departments of the hospital and out in the communities of Sri Lanka.

She explained: “I really enjoyed the whole trip. It was amazing and the work WECare is doing there is really special.

“If I had to choose words to describe my overall experience I’d say ‘adrenaline-fuelled, gritty, sweaty, relentless and extremely rewarding’. I absolutely loved it.

“The people were very kind, friendly, respectful and so helpful, and all of the staff at the charity were so welcoming, too.

“It all helped me settle in quickly and after just a few days I felt like I already knew the hospital well.

“It also helped that I knew the head nurse as we’d worked together at The Royal Veterinary College, Potters Bar, and became great friends – what a small world!

“The hospital itself has a great set up including an imaging room, a laboratory, a theatre, indoor and outdoor kennels and isolation kennels.

“My work there consisted of monitoring general anaesthetics for procedures such as leg amputations, and neutering. I also assisted with medicating inpatients, and physiotherapy, which I really enjoyed.

“I also took part in outreach work, where we would drive to different villages and give flea and worming treatments, along with vaccinations to dogs which had previously been to the WECare hospital.

“I also assisted in the triaging of a lot of emergencies, including some emergencies that did not get called in and were just left at the hospital’s front door, so there was always something to throw yourself into and animals to treat. I am so glad I went.”

LVS is a multidisciplinary veterinary referral facility which offers expert care in anaesthesia and analgesia, critical care, cardiology, dermatology, diagnostic imaging, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology and surgery.

For more information about London Vet Specialists, and the services it offers, visit https://londonvetspecialists.vet/.

For more information on WECare, visit: https://wecareworldwide.org.uk/. Anyone who wants to support WECarer should visit their donation page: Donate - WECare Worldwide.