Veterinary referral centre expands surgical capabilities with leasing arrangement

Bridge Referrals, a multidisciplinary referral centre based in Tyneside, has expanded its advanced care services for pets in the north-east with two new operating theatres.

Since opening its doors in 2022, the centre has grown rapidly with revenue increasing

by 50% annually and it now has more than 70 employees (the team was 20-strong to start with). The centre’s key services include cardiology, diagnostic imaging, internal medicine,

neurosurgery, oncology, ophthalmology, soft tissue surgery and orthopaedics.

Bridge Referrals was in the process of opening two new operating theatres, expanding its

total to four. One of the theatres was specifically built for x-ray and fluoroscopy services; a fluoroscopic c-arm was selected from Siemens Healthineers and sourced from supplier PLH Medical. Funding came via Siemens Financial Services (SFS), its veterinary leasing arm, which offered a tailored financing option: SFS financed the c-arm for nearly £80,000, adding in other small value equipment for the operating theatre, up to a total value of £150,000. All this equipment is embraced in a single leasing arrangement.

Iain Kennair, operations manager at Bridge Referrals, explains: “Given the size of the investment, financing from SFS helped ease the burden of purchasing the equipment we needed. They also took care of the whole process for us, from raising a PO to organising delivery, and made it hassle-free.

“Our centre is still in its infancy and it’s a big project to manage, so SFS’ help in overseeing

the acquisition of our new equipment was invaluable, allowing us to concentrate on other

parts of the business that needed our attention. We weren’t anxious about lead times for the

project, since SFS made sure everything arrived on time.”