Elective Outpatient CT Referrals
We provide elective outpatient CT imaging for clinically stable dogs, cats and rabbits from our Formby practice.
Your patient comes to us as a day case for their scan, recovers with our team and goes home the same day. Images are sent to VetCT for reporting by board-certified veterinary radiologists, and the report comes directly back to you.
What's Included?
Our CT prices include everything needed to perform the scan — no unexpected add-ons for the routine elements of the case.
No unexpected add-ons for the routine elements needed to perform the scan.
When to Refer for CT
CT can be particularly useful when you need detailed cross-sectional imaging beyond what radiography or ultrasound can provide.
Head
- Chronic nasal disease
- Nasal masses or foreign bodies
- Retrobulbar disease
- Chronic or middle-ear disease
- Dental and maxillofacial pathology
- Selected pituitary/intracranial investigations
Musculoskeletal & Spine
- Elbow dysplasia
- Complex or unexplained lameness
- Fractures
- Joint disease
- Discospondylitis
- Selected cases of suspected intervertebral disc disease
Thorax
- Pulmonary pathology
- Thoracic masses
- Pulmonary nodules
- Metastatic screening
Abdomen
- Abdominal masses
- Ectopic ureters
- Selected urinary, hepatic and vascular abnormalities
- Oncology staging
- Suspected migrating foreign bodies
Not sure whether CT is the most useful next step?
Give us a call before referring. We're very happy to talk the case through.
Why Refer to Village Vets?
Scan, report and return
This is an outpatient imaging service, not a transfer of your case. The report comes directly back to you so you can discuss findings, options and next steps with your client.
Your client remains your client
We're an independent first-opinion practice ourselves, so we understand how important that relationship is. We won't take over ongoing management unless you specifically ask us to.
Anaesthesia & contrast included
Sedation or general anaesthesia, and contrast media where clinically required, are included in our advertised CT prices. IV fluids are given where needed for contrast administration or for other clinical reasons.
Day-case care
Patients are admitted for the day and cared for by our veterinary and nursing team throughout preparation, imaging and recovery, then discharged once ready.
Local & accessible
We're based in Formby, with CT appointments available Monday to Friday — making it straightforward to fit a referral around your own practice's schedule.
Specialist reporting through VetCT
CT studies are submitted to VetCT for interpretation by board-certified veterinary radiologists. Standard and accelerated reporting options are available.
How Our CT Referral Service Works
We want referring a patient to us to be simple for you, your client and their pet.
Submit the referral
Complete our online referral form with the patient's details, relevant clinical history, previous investigations and the area or areas you'd like us to image.
We contact your client
We'll contact your client within two working days to arrange their appointment, explain fasting and admission instructions and answer any practical questions. For more urgent imaging, please call us directly on 01704 872924.
Day-case admission
Your patient is admitted to Village Vets Formby for the day. We'll confirm consent, review their history, perform a veterinary examination and carry out pre-anaesthetic blood tests.
Sedation or anaesthesia and CT
An individual sedation or general anaesthetic protocol is selected. IV access and fluids are given where required for contrast administration or other clinical reasons, and contrast is administered where needed before we perform the CT imaging.
Recovery and discharge
Your patient recovers with our team and is discharged to their owner once we're happy they are comfortable and safe to go home.
Report returned to you
The CT study is sent to VetCT for specialist interpretation. The report and annotated images are returned to you, the referring practice, so you can discuss findings and next steps directly with your client.
CT Referral Pricing
We believe it should be easy for both you and your client to understand what a CT investigation is likely to cost.
Faster VetCT Reporting
| Enhanced — under 48 hours | +£60 |
|---|---|
| Priority — under 24 hours | +£90 |
| Urgent — under 4 hours | +£150 |
Standard reports are normally returned within 7 business days.
What Do We Mean by a Body Area?
How body areas are counted
A body area means an anatomical region included within the CT study — for example the head, neck, thorax, abdomen, spine or a joint region. The exact areas required will depend on the clinical question and the scan protocol.
A paired joint (for example, both elbows or both shoulders) counts as one body area, even when we scan left and right together.
If you're unsure how many areas your patient is likely to need, please contact us before quoting your client and we'll help you work it out.
Which Patients Are Suitable?
Our service is designed for elective outpatient CT in clinically stable patients.
It is particularly suited to patients who need advanced diagnostic imaging but do not require emergency hospitalisation, intensive care or immediate specialist intervention.
This is not an emergency or inpatient referral service.
If you're unsure whether your patient is suitable, please give us a call before referring.
Start a CT Referral
To refer a patient, please send us:
- Patient and client details
- Referring veterinary surgeon and practice details
- Relevant clinical history
- The clinical question you would like the CT to help answer
- Area or areas you'd like scanned
- Relevant laboratory results
- Previous radiographs, ultrasound reports or other imaging where appropriate
We'll contact your client within two working days to arrange their appointment. For urgent enquiries, please call us.
Village Vets Formby
Independent vets supporting local practices
Village Vets is an independent, family-owned first-opinion veterinary practice.
We know what it's like when you need access to a piece of diagnostic kit you don't have in your own building — and we know how important it is that referring for a test doesn't mean losing control of your case.
So we've deliberately kept our CT service simple:
We scan.
VetCT reports.
The case comes back to you.
We'll look after your patient and your client while they're with us — then hand them straight back.
And if you'd like to see the CT service before referring, you're very welcome to come in, meet us and have a look around. The kettle is rarely far away.
Come and See the CT Service