The CityU Veterinary Medical Centre Emergency Services provides 24-hour emergency care services. Veterinarians are on site 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to manage acute and chronic, life-threatening diseases and injuries.
We understand your fears when a beloved pet is in critical condition. Our emergency team is highly skilled in assessing, processing, and treating pets which become ill or experience life-threatening injuries. When your family veterinarian is unavailable, we can receive emergencies 24 hours a day to care for your pet. We communicate and update your family veterinarian every step of the way.
Common emergencies which we commonly manage include high-rise syndrome (fall from height), being hit by a car (HBC), profuse vomiting or diarrhoea, difficulty breathing, seizures, snake bites, and toxin ingestion. While some patients can be treated on an outpatient basis, many require admission to the ICU for ongoing stabilisation, diagnostics, and monitoring. Patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries will be admitted to our intensive care unit (ICU) for close monitoring and advanced life-support measures.
Below is a list of common conditions in which a patient would benefit from Emergency and Critical Care Services (but not limited to):
- Trauma (e.g., Dog bites, hit by cars, high-rise syndrome or burns, stabbing, impalement injuries, etc.)
- Animals having difficulty breathing (congestive heart failure, aspiration pneumonia, pulmonary thromboembolism, pulmonary hypertension)
- Animals exposed to toxins or ingestion of poison (pesticides, rat bait, chocolate, xylitol, snake bites, etc.)
- Any patient who requires blood products or transfusion medicine (anaemia, tick fever, blood loss)
- Animals with signs of shock (e.g., such as elevated or prolonged heart rate, low blood pressure, pale gums, bleeding, collapse).
- Patients with uncontrollable seizures or neurologic signs (e.g., coma, non-responsiveness, behaviour changes, brain tumours or encephalitis etc.)
- Any patient that is straining to urinate or having difficulty passing urine
- Any patient with organ dysfunction or failure (e.g., liver injury/failure, kidney injury/failure, etc.)
- A patient that has problems clotting its blood
- A patient not recovering well from anaesthesia or one who has a complication from an anaesthetic event or sedation
- Heat stroke or consequences of heat stroke (e.g., lung or organ failure, DIC, etc.)
- A patient with immune-mediated disease (immune-mediated thrombocytopenia or anaemia)
- Patients who require frequent and intensive monitoring and interventions (e.g., blood pressure monitoring, hearting rhythm monitoring, blood sugar, electrolyte or acid-base monitoring and adjustment, intravenous fluid
We understand that coming to the emergency room with your beloved pet is stressful; here is what you can expect from our team at CityU VMC:
Triage: Every pet is first evaluated by a triage nurse, who assesses and prioritises care based on the presenting complaint, vital parameters, and a preliminary survey. Priority is given to pets with the most critical conditions that may be potentially life-threatening. With triage, we ensure that every pet that presents to our busy ER department is evaluated and assessed. Timely intervention saves lives!
Emergency Stabilisation: If your pet is in critical condition and requires immediate medical care or emergency procedures, you will be asked for permission to treat it immediately. In the most critical situations, this is verbal consent.
What can I expect in the waiting area? Our nursing and client services staff will do their best to keep you updated while you wait. Please don’t hesitate to ask our staff for help if you have any questions.
If your pet is waiting with you in the waiting room and you think your pet is deteriorating or in pain, please ask to speak to a nurse for re-evaluation. We will take your pet to the treatment area for further assessment and to initiate treatment if required.
Why is my pet being taken to the treatment area? Often, the nurse will bring your pet to the treatment area for evaluation by a veterinarian or initial diagnostics until the veterinarian can speak with you directly.
Our on-site emergency veterinarian will assess your pet’s condition, conduct a physical examination, and communicate with you on how best to proceed with treatment.
At CityU VMC, your pet may need to be hospitalised depending on their condition in one of three areas:
- Intensive care unit (ICU): This is the highest level of care at CityU VMC, reserved for patients requiring intensive treatment and monitoring. The ICU is equipped with advanced medical equipment, and there are separate rooms for cats and dogs to minimise stress and noise. A dedicated veterinarian with a team of nurses is stationed in the ICU 24/7.
- Dog/cat ward: These wards are for patients who do not require intensive care or close monitoring but may need IV fluids, injectable drugs, or medications. Our nursing staff still monitors pets in these wards.
- Isolation: The isolation wards are reserved for patients with potentially contagious or zoonotic diseases. They are designed to minimise the risk of spreading pathogens to other areas of the hospital while maintaining a high level of care and patient monitoring. CityU VMC has both respiratory and gastrointestinal isolation wards.
CityU Veterinary Medical Centre (CityU VMC) ECC clinic is the *FIRST facility in Hong Kong to receive certification from the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (VECCS).
The VECCS Facility Certification program reflects the dedication of veterinary facilities to maintain the highest standards of patient care. By meeting or exceeding the requirements set forth by VECCS, CityU VMC has shown its commitment to providing exceptional care and ensuring the well-being of every patient entering the clinic.
*Reference: https://veccs.org/certified-facility-directory/
The CityU Veterinary Medical Centre Critical Care Services provides 24-hour care services. Veterinarians are on site 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to manage acute and chronic, life-threatening diseases and injuries.
Emergency stabilisation treatment is also necessary for critically ill animals. Patients may need to stay in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for monitoring and life-sustaining measures. We will cooperate with our specialities to provide appropriate care for our patients.
Some of the services we provide in the ICU (but not limited to):
- 24-hour Fluid Therapy and monitoring
- Component therapy- blood products (red blood cells, plasma, cryoprecipitate, platelets, albumin)
- Diagnostic Imaging and Analysis (radiography, ultrasound (POCUS), CT, MRI)
- Antivenin – for both neurotoxic and hemotoxic snake envenomation
- Blood Gas, Co-oximetry, Coagulation, Complete Blood Count, and Chemistry
- Intermittent and continuous Pleural Suction
- Multi-parameter monitoring (capnography, pulse oximetry, non-invasive and invasive blood pressure monitoring, ECG monitoring)
- Early enteral nutrition, partial parenteral nutrition
- Long-term Ventilation Therapy (mechanical ventilation)
- Oxygen Therapy (low-flow oxygen therapy, high-flow oxygen therapy)
- Multi-modal pain management
- Life Support Options (mechanical ventilation, also known as “life-support.”)
CityU Veterinary Medical Centre (CityU VMC) ECC clinic is the *FIRST facility in Hong Kong to receive certification from the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (VECCS).
The VECCS Facility Certification program reflects the dedication of veterinary facilities to maintain the highest standards of patient care. By meeting or exceeding the requirements set forth by VECCS, CityU VMC has shown its commitment to providing exceptional care and ensuring the well-being of every patient entering the clinic.
*Reference: https://veccs.org/certified-facility-directory/