Ep20b Using my knowledge of rehabilitation to establish a Regional Centre for OA Care

Guest Dr Caroline Gardner BVSc CertSAS MRCVS
RCVS Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal Surgery

Caroline is a Veterinary Surgeon and Clinical Director of a practice in Pembrokeshire.
She holds a Certificate in Small Animal Surgery and is an RCVS recognised Advanced Practitioner.

In these two podcasts Caroline sat down with Russell Chandler to discuss the Osteoarthritis Management Service that her practice provides. Caroline’s is a highly practical approach, in which she and her team always put the pet, and the client at the centre of what they do.

Caroline emphasises how important having a dedicated team of personnel of all disciplines is crucial to the success of any OA service. She explains how to encourage the development of such a team, including her own journey by way of learning the theory and practice of hydrotherapy.

One excellent take away is the A to H model of OA care Caroline has created. This has become an indispensable tool for organising their OA offering and communicating this to the owners.

Caroline is engaging and refreshingly honest about what is possible and the challenges that we all currently face.

The VOA is really grateful to Caroline for sharing her insights, we are sure that you will enjoy these episodes, and find them very useful.

Carline Gardner’s A-H OA Plan
A. Analgesia
B. Bodyweight
C. Care
D. Disease modification
E. Exercise
F. Follow-up
G. reGeneration
H. Hydrotherapy