Who is that masked man….? Or woman….?? 

Likely someone who is concerned about their health risks if exposed to Covid. Even with the Omicron variants those risks are very real for some. 

Mask wearing is now optional at Halifax but we respect the concerns of those who continue to wear masks. The staff will wear masks when in the smaller spaces of the consult rooms with a mask-wearing client. 

The risks of airborne transmission of disease inside Halifax Veterinary Centre are very low.  

One of the benefits of designing Halifax Veterinary Centre to meet the BESTPRACTICE Hospital Standards is that we have an excellent ventilation system. Even in the consult rooms we have 10 room changes of air per hour. That is the whole volume of air changed every 6 minutes. This is just short of the level recommended for a Covid isolation ward (12 room changes per hour). 

Our dog and cat and isolation wards have 15 room changes per hour to minimise the risks of your pets picking up any respiratory disease while with us.  

Our sterile theatre gets 20 room changes of HEPA filtered air per hour in line with the ASHRAE standard for human operating theatres. This minimises the risk of airborne germs entering a surgical wound. It is why surgeons routinely wear masks. 

It is more that 22 years since we became the first veterinary practice accredited to the BESTPRACTICE Hospital Standards. There is currently only one other. It is a high bar, but it has continued to deliver many ‘behind the scenes’ benefits for the pets we care for. 

If you do want to look ‘behind the scenes’ we can again welcome clients who want to have a look through the hospital. And if your pet is staying in hospital you are welcome to visit. All our open hours are visiting hours. 

We are proud of our practice and what we do and look forward to being able to share more of that with you. 

Warm regards, 

The Halifax team