blaise referral hospital construction
Blaise Referral Hospital Reaches Fit Out Stage As Construction Completes
1 year ago 
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- Blaise Referral Hospital is owner IVC Evidensia’s first purpose built multi-disciplinary hospital and will create 100 new jobs in the area
- With construction works on the hospital now complete, the site has officially been handed over for fit out
- Driven by the pet-ownership boom, the referral hospital will be one of the largest in the UK and treat up to 10,000 pets every year
- Three key hires have been announced ahead of opening, including clinical director Andrew Kent
Work on a new veterinary hospital is well underway in Birmingham as it gets ready to open its doors later this year.
With construction now complete, Blaise Veterinary Referral Hospital in Longbridge has reached fit out stage and the site team is working toward its doors opening in Autumn 2023, when it will provide 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, it 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 a specialist-led anaesthesia service. There will also be an emergency and critical care service offering ICU and out of hours care.
Located at the new West Longbridge regeneration site, the 36,000 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.
A series of personnel announcements has also been made 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.
Mr Kent 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.”
Mr Kent’s appointment is accompanied by two heads of service who are also esteemed practitioners in their respective disciplines. 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. More service leaders are to be announced ahead of opening.
Mr Kent 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 new 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 committed to 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 hospital owners 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 and a river walk 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, EV charging points and a travel plan implemented for staff.
The referral hospital 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.
The new West Longbridge regeneration site is easily accessible by road from the main A38 route linking the M5 and M42 with Birmingham city centre.
For more information visit https://ivcevidensia.co.uk/longbridge or https://regeneratinglongbridge.co.uk/westlongbridge/.
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