Project Description
Behind every good vet, there’s an even better nurse!
Our experienced team of veterinary nurses can give you helpful advice and care on a wide range of services, including:
Hydrotherapy clinics – Our nurses run the hydrotherapy unit at Charter Veterinary Hospital, Roundswell. Hydrotherapy is used as an alternative to, or to compliment weight bearing exercise. It has many uses such as to speed up recovery after operations, to relieve degenerative conditions such as osteoarthritis and is also used as a tool in overweight dogs to build fitness and aid weight loss.
Adolescent puppy checks – our nurses see your puppy at around 5 months old for a check up and to offer preventative health care advice
Microchip insertion – talk to us about protecting your pet, microchip insertion is available at all our sites
Post-operative care – our nurses are able to carry out wound dressing management and suture removal
Dental healthcare – our nurses can give valuable advice and a demonstration on prevention and treatment of dental disease
Ear cleaning – contact us for advice on products and a demonstration of how regular care can prevent disease
Dry eye checks – our nurses can monitor your dog for low tear flow, which affects 1 in 22 of the general dog population, and 1 in 11 of specific breeds
Slimming clinics – run by our veterinary nurses who have gained higher qualifications in pet nutrition. They can help your pets maintain a healthy weight through diet and exercise
Weight loss medication monitoring – talk to our nurses about what medication may be appropriate for some patients that are overweight and have found it difficult to lose weight through dietary management alone. This may be due to concurrent arthritis or mobility problems. Following exclusion and consideration of any underlying disease, medication is now available that may help these patients lose weight to allow them to improve their mobility, maintain their weight loss and improve their quality of life
We love our nursing team and we think your pets will too!


Intensive care
Whatever the time of day or night, if your pets needs intensive care, we are there to provide it. Charter Vets have a fully equipped veterinary hospital so rest assured, we have a team on-site 24 hours a day to look after your pet’s needs.
Pet Dentistry
We provide dentistry for pets using equipment you would recognise from your own dentists’ surgery. We are also one of the few facilities in Devon that offers dental radiography.
Hydrotherapy
Our hydrotherapy unit allows your pet to benefit from buoyancy-assisted exercise in warm water - a gentle and supportive way for your dog to exercise while recuperating from injury or illness.
Diagnostics
No matter how thorough our vets are, some diagnoses require more than just a physical examination alone. We offer an extensive range of diagnostics to find out why your pet is ill.
Nurse Clinics
Behind every good vet, there's an even better nurse. Our experienced team of veterinary nurses can give you helpful advice and care on a wide range of services.
Deaf BSL service
SignVideo is a free service for deaf clients who use British Sign Language (BSL). You can use it to make a call to our veterinary practices and during a face to face appointment.
Frequently Asked Questions

When you visit the vets we know that this can be an anxious trip for you and your pets. These are some questions that we are reguarly asked here at Charter Vets so we thought we would share them with you to try and ease some of your concerns.
We are pleased to be able to offer the following small animal petcare services:
- Collection and return of patients for treatment where clients have problems with transport.
- Moving patients to one of our Hospital sites for more specialised care, investigation or treatment.
- Delivery of food & medicine.
If you are interested in this service, please call one of our friendly reception team on 01271 371115 to obtain more details.
Our ‘Out of Hours’ Service is co-ordinated through our hospital premises in Barnstaple and Ilfracombe.
In an emergency please call your usual surgery phone number and the call will be automatically diverted. It is important to call first and not just turn up so that our duty team are ready for your arrival.
- Your pet must microchipped.
- Vaccinated against rabies (and kept fully up to date with boosters)
- Have a pet passport issued by your veterinary surgeon.
Importantly, DO NOT PANIC, your dog is highly likely to make a full recovery if treated promptly and correctly. It is important, where possible, to reduce the movement of your dog following a bite; ideally carry your dog or walk quietly back to your vehicle. Ring your nearest veterinary surgery to let us know what has happened and your estimated time of arrival. This enables us to be sure that we have a veterinary surgeon and nurse immediately available to see your dog, and we have had time to prepare our treatments before you arrive. If a bite goes unnoticed, but you see symptoms suggestive later in the day you must ring your vet without delay and seek veterinary attention, even if it is outside of normal opening hours.