We have an in-house laboratory at our Chippenham, Melksham and Corsham surgeries, where we can carry out numerous different tests.

These include:

Blood testing – we can perform a range of different blood tests. Routine in house blood tests include:

• Biochemistry – this analyses the blood plasma to look for problems with organs such as the liver and kidneys and metabolic issues such as diabetes.

• Haematology – this looks at the red and white blood cells which could show up issues such as infection, anaemia, and some cancers.

Other blood tests include thyroid levels, pancreatic lipase to test for pancreatitis, electrolytes, blood clotting, and some infectious viruses.

Other in-house lab tests we offer are:

• Urinalysis including dipstick test, urine specific gravity which shows us how well the kidneys can concentrate the urine, and microscopy. We can check for things such as blood, protein, glucose, bilirubin, ketones, pH, bacteria and crystals.

• Parasitology – we can take small samples of your pets fur or skin and look under the microscope to check for parasites such as mites and lice.

There are some tests that can only be performed at a specialist external laboratory. If your pet needs one of these we send the sample via a courier service and usually get the results within a week.