UPDATE – PUBLISHED 21SEP22

We are pleased to announce that all of the maintenance and upgrade works in our rabies facility are now complete and we will resume testing from today. We will work through the backlog of samples as quickly as possible but for any urgent samples our rabies express service is now available. We would like to apologise for the delay in us resuming testing, this was due to circumstances beyond our control.

UPDATE – PUBLISHED 15SEP22

This year we had an extended shutdown to perform some essential upgrade works and while most of these works have now been completed an issue has been identified with a critical piece of equipment. Due to circumstances beyond our control the repair of this equipment has not yet been completed so we have been unable to restart testing this week as originally planned. Our contractors and engineers are working tirelessly to complete the necessary repairs and we are hopeful that these will be completed on Monday morning. All being well we therefore hope to begin testing the backlog of samples on Monday afternoon.

We will be testing samples in order of receipt and all express samples will be put on the first available test. It may take us 2 – 3 weeks to catch up with testing so new samples received may not have results until mid October.

Please accept our apologies for this additional delay. We will be working to get results to our customers as quickly as possible.

Please check our website regularly for further updates or email us if you have any questions.

We will be shutting down our high containment rabies testing laboratory temporarily in order to complete our routine biannual maintenance. This shutdown is required to enable our engineers to gain access to the laboratory for routine servicing in order to ensure that the laboratory and equipment are maintained to the highest standard.

As well as our routine maintenance we will also be performing some plant upgrades to improve reliability of some of our safety critical equipment. This additional work will mean the shutdown period will be slightly longer than normal, however it will mean our rabies service will be even more reliable moving forward.

All other areas of our business will operate as normal during this period.

This work will start in August 2022 with a timetable as follows:

15 Aug 22 (Mon) Last tests will be set up
17 Aug 22 (Wed) Tests from 15 Aug 22 will be read and reported.
Week of 12 Sep 22 Normal testing resumes (Exact date subject to engineer service sign off).
19 Sep 22 (Mon) First results will be reported.

This means that for a period of approximately one month, no rabies testing will be available. We will naturally use our best endeavours to ensure the upgrade works are completed as quickly as possible in order to minimise the downtime and service disruptions to our customers. During the shutdown we will post updates on our social media channels to confirm exact re-start dates. 

As with previous shutdowns we will clear the testing backlog as quickly as possible to ensure your results get back to you within our normal published timescales. Once the facility returns to normal operations our express service will be available for any urgent samples, all other samples will be processed in order or receipt.

Express testing will not be available during the shutdown as the unit is closed and no tests can be set up.

If you are aware of any clients that may require certificates before 19 Sep 22 we would encourage you to send in samples as soon as possible in order to avoid disappointment.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] if you require any further information regarding the shutdown.

We have a fantastic opportunity for our farm clients who may be attending the National Youngstock Conference 2022 – use the code VPyoungstock22 to get £10 discount on the £35 ticket. 

Click Here for more info.

National Youngstock Conference

Harper Adams University – 27^th July 2022

The calf rearing period is the most crucial time for any livestock system, with success in later life being greatly determined by the inputs and management of the new-born calf. Research has shown that the way an animal is managed and how it performs during its first few months of life will affect how well it performs later, be that as milk production in the dairy sector or as finishing performance for beef animals.

The National Youngstock Conference (NYC) is set to provide practical advice on the key areas of calf management and help support dairy and beef producers to optimise calf, welfare, and growth to ensure lifetime productivity. This is a one-day event, held at Harper Adams University in Shropshire, 9.00am – 4.30pm. VetPartners has 2 vets speaking at this event.

HiHealth Herdcare Members

Please note that we have been informed that CHECS intends to re-start farm visits of farms belonging to CHECS Health Schemes in May.

During the Covid 19 pandemic, visits had to be put on hold, but now as much of everyday life is returning to normal, CHECS feels that it is the appropriate time to re-start.

We will be providing CHECS with a list of all our current members from which they will select farms at random to visit. They will contact you in advance by telephone to advise that your farm has been selected so please don’t worry that they will turn up unannounced. During the farm visit, it is likely that the auditor would like to check your CHECS herd accreditation certificate, if you have one, and also discuss biosecurity in relation to farm boundaries and added animals.

If you have any further questions regarding this please contact the HiHealth Herdcare office by email at [email protected] or by phone on 0131 440 2628 and speak to one of the advisors.