Work on the Blaise internal fit out has commenced. With the building construction now complete, we are planning to open our doors late Autumn, providing a specialist-led, multi-disciplinary referral service and 24/7 emergency care for pets in Birmingham and the surrounding areas.
Blaise is the first purpose-built multi-disciplinary hospital for IVC Evidensia, one of the UK’s leading veterinary care providers.
Driven by the boom in pet-ownership over the last three years, we will accept patients referred from primary care vet practices across the UK, and will offer a wide range of specialist treatments including orthopaedic and soft tissue surgeries, cancer treatment, specialist cardiology procedures, and will offer a specialist-led anaesthesia service. We will also have an emergency and critical care service offering ICU and out of hours care.
Located at the new West Longbridge regeneration site, our 28,632 sq. ft hospital is named after the patron saint of veterinarians. Known for his kindness and empathy towards animals and his ability to heal them, St Blaise was said to be able to tame the fiercest of animals and help timid creatures become braver. Animals trusted him and looked to him for help.
We also have a series of personnel announcements for the hospital, including Clinical Director Andrew Kent. A European Specialist in Veterinary Internal Medicine, Andrew has worked in referrals for over 10 years and will oversee the hospital from opening, driving it forward to become one of the UK’s top specialist veterinary hospitals.
Andrew said:
“I am very much looking forward to joining Blaise Veterinary Referral Hospital and IVC Evidensia in this exciting project and creating a hospital that is an amazing place to work as well as one that offers exceptional levels of patient care.”
Andrew Kent’s appointment is accompanied by a number of Heads of Service who are also esteemed practitioners in their respective disciplines, including Internal Medicine, Anaesthesia, Cardiology, soft Tissue and Orthopaedic surgery . Joining his team are European Specialists in Small Animal Surgery Lara Dempsey, as Head of Soft Tissue Surgery, and Mike Farrell, as Head of Orthopaedic Surgery.
Andrew continued, “Being able to bring such stellar talent to Blaise early on in our journey puts us well on our way to being one of the leading hospitals in the UK and having a specialist team well placed to look after pets across the Midlands.”
With the capacity to treat up to 10,000 pets pet year, the hospital will include state-of-the-art equipment, pioneering treatments and specialist-led extended clinical services including a custom-built intensive care unit for emergency and critical care, advanced imaging suite, oncology treatment wards and a number of modern operating theatres.
Speaking about the recent developments, Lucie Goodwin, National Medicine Lead for IVC Evidensia UK, said:
“Blaise is our first ever purpose-built hospital and naturally we’re all very excited to take another step in the journey towards opening its doors. I’m particularly looking forward to working with Andrew Kent in his new role as Clinical Director, and with the Heads of Service.”
“The facilities at Blaise will allow delivery of an excellent specialist service to clients, and the location in Longbridge next to the ‘rewilded’ riverbank is peaceful and perfect for both pet owners and staff to spend some time. We are hugely supportive in creating a positive workplace culture making Blaise a great place to work, benefitting employees, patients and clients alike.”
Vets Now, the UK’s leading pet emergency service which is also part of IVC Evidensia, will be based at the hospital providing a comprehensive OOH service to local practices to complement the specialist-led Emergency and Critical Care referral service.
The hospital plans focus on a number of environmentally friendly building initiatives and is set in a landscaped green space with picnic tables to help enable a relaxing environment for owners and their pets.
It will embody IVC Evidensia’s Positive Pawprint sustainability strategy which looks after pets, people and the planet. The programme aims to reduce energy consumption and waste, along with supporting team wellbeing with the introduction of mental health first aiders, environmentally friendly clinical practices and many other initiatives.
Some of the sustainability initiatives at Blaise include solar panels which span 40% of the building’s roof, air source heat pumps to decrease the use of fossil fuels and EV charging points in the onsite car park. Staff will also be encouraged to car share or use public transport to get to work.
We will eventually employ around 100 staff and is part of a wider collection of developments at Longbridge which will regenerate 75 acres of brownfield land, deliver up to 5,000 new jobs, up to 395 new homes and 27 acres of landscaping and open-space.
