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B.C’s veterinary college says it has cancelled Surrey Animal Hospital’s accreditation

‘This could be a temporary state or it could be longer term,’ says CEO of College of Veterinarians of B.C.
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(Photo: Google Maps)

NEWTON — The College of Veterinarians of B.C. has revoked Surrey Animal Hospital’s accreditation but the CVBC says it could be temporary.

“That happened this week,” CVBC CEO and registrar Luisa Hlus told the Now-Leader last Friday (March 2).

As of Wednesday (March 7,) it remained revoked.

“It is possible for the clinic to invoke the review process,” Hlus said, “or to apply for new accreditation.”

Hlus wouldn’t comment on what led to the cancellation of the Newton clinic’s accreditation, or if any complaints had been filed against it.

“We don’t log complaints against clinics, we log complaints against veterinarians,” she explained.

The cancellation means the facility must surrender its accreditation certification, Hlus said, and must display a sign or notice notifying the public.

“So I’m hoping that is in place and we will be checking that,” said Hlus.

“Thirdly and most importantly, it must cease providing veterinary services… That doesn’t mean it has to close its doors and not let anyone in… because the public may enter in order to ask for copies of medical records,” she noted.

The clinic is also still permitted to sell inventory that’s not medically prescribed, such as dog food or tooth brushes, she said.

Hlus emphasized the cancellation could be reviewed and reversed.

“We don’t have a time frame for that,” she said. “They could apply for accreditation and the process of the accreditation could happen in the space of a week. This could be a temporary state or it could be longer term.”

If clients find themselves struggling to obtain medical records, Hlus explained each clinic has a designated registrant responsible for taking care of such matters, “whether the clinic is open or closed.”

“We do strive to ensure the public knows what’s going on if they go to the facility,” said Hlus. “Hopefully the signage is in place because we are concerned that the public have notification.”

Meantime, Hlus told the Now-Leader that no veterinarians at the clinic have been disciplined by the college.

“At this point there’s nothing to talk about or publish in terms of discipline,” she said.

Surrey Animal Hospital, which is located at 155-7135 138th St., has not responded to requests for comment.

To contact the college, visit cvbv.ca.