The Ralph

15/10/2026

🐾 We're recruiting! Two veterinary surgeon opportunities in Emergency and Critical Care at The Ralph!

We're looking for two new colleagues to join our wonderful Emergency and Critical Care (ECC) team at The Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

🐾 ECC Out-of-Hours Staff Clinician

We're looking for an experienced emergency clinician to join our out-of-hours team.

This is an Advanced Practitioner-level role, although formal Advanced Practitioner status isn't essential. We'd love to hear from colleagues with postgraduate ECC qualifications, as well as those with substantial emergency experience who are keen to develop further.

✅ Full-time or part-time opportunities
✅ Flexible start date, ideally as soon as possible
✅ A busy referral caseload and specialist support

🐾 ECVECC Resident

We're also recruiting for our three-year, ECVECC-approved residency programme, starting in July 2027.

This is a wonderful opportunity to train in one of the UK's largest and busiest referral ECC services, working alongside experienced specialists and caring for a wide range of critically ill patients.

📅 Residency application deadline: Sunday 22 November 2026

A little about us:

The Ralph is the UK's largest independent multidisciplinary specialist referral centre. Our ECC service operates 24/7/365, with dedicated Dog and Cat ICUs, advanced facilities and a large, experienced team.

We're proud of our commitment to compassionate, ethical veterinary care. We care deeply about our patients, their carers and the wellbeing of the people who work here.

Clinical excellence matters to us. So does kindness.

💌 Interested, or know someone who might be?

For an informal and confidential chat, please contact Kim Chong, our Head of ECC, at [email protected].

You can find full details of both opportunities and how to apply here:
👉 https://theralph.vet/vacancies/ecc-veterinary-surgeon-opportunities/

We'd be very grateful if you could share this post and help us reach colleagues who might be interested in joining Team Ralph. 🐾

ECVECC Resident and Out-of-Hours Staff Clinician The Ralph is the UK’s largest independent multidisciplinary specialist referral centre. Based in Marlow, southeast England, we are a...

15/10/2026

In our new series "Clinical Considerations", we explore what makes the featured breed unique, from breed history and general temperament to common health conditions and nursing considerations.

As the leaves turn golden this autumn, we’re shining the spotlight on the Golden Retriever, who are known for their gentle temperament, intelligence and loyalty 🧡

📖 Read the full article on Our Community page to learn more: https://theralph.vet/our-community/

🩵 While we recognise that there are commonalities within breeds, we see each patient as an individual in their own right. The Ralph actively encourages rescue/rehoming over breeding.

13/10/2026

For cats, a visit to the vet can feel especially overwhelming 🐱

At The Ralph, we use our Calm Patient Pathway to help feline patients feel safe and secure at every stage. That includes a familiar carrier at home, hiding places during hospitalisation, cat-friendly medication advice and a quiet recovery once they're back home.

Calmer patients mean safer handling and a more comfortable experience 💛

Want to know more? Read the full article in the Autumn edition of The Ralpher on Our Community page 🔗: https://theralph.vet/our-community/

12/10/2026

General Boots (Gen) became suddenly unwell when her family noticed her stomach was firm and swollen. She was also unusually quiet and was breathing faster than normal. Her carers had noticed her eating gravel in recent weeks, passing some in her poo. Sensing something was seriously wrong, they rushed her to her primary care vet, where X-rays and an ultrasound confirmed Gastric Dilation and Volvulus (GDV). This is a life-threatening emergency where the stomach severely bloats and twists on itself, cutting off blood supply to the stomach and nearby organs.

Gen underwent emergency surgery where her spleen had to be removed due to severe damage, and her stomach was opened to clear out accumulated food and gravel. Following surgery, she suffered some complications, including inhaling stomach contents under anaesthetic and ongoing bloody fluid leaking from her wound. After receiving a plasma transfusion - where the liquid portion of donated blood is given to replenish vital clotting factors and proteins - she was referred to our Emergency and Critical Care (ECC) team.

When Gen arrived with us, she was dehydrated and anaemic. Our ECC team immediately started intravenous fluids and administered a second plasma transfusion. To gently relieve the pressure in her stomach, we placed a temporary tube through her nose. X-rays showed that her intestines were very distended (swollen/filled up with gas), most likely because they were temporarily not moving normally following her surgery (ileus), so we started her on medications to help get her digestive system moving normally again.

Gen spent six days in our ICU under round-the-clock nursing care. Over her stay, the swelling around her wound steadily resolved, her liver values began to settle, and her breathing remained stable. By day six, she was strong enough to head home to her family!

We were so touched to receive these wonderful words recently from her family: “The team at The Ralph were nothing short of extraordinary. We will be forever grateful to everyone at The Ralph for giving us more time with our beautiful girl. You saved Gen’s life, and we are eternally grateful” 💙

P.s. Swipe to see Gen now! 🥹

10/10/2026

Did someone say new blog? 👀

Join our Head of Anaesthesia + Analgesia, Robyn, as she walks you through a real anaesthetic case, answering key questions along the way.

Head to Our Community page on our website now: https://theralph.vet/library-learning/ 💉

08/10/2026

🥼 From lump to slide to diagnosis: are you getting the most from every cytology sample?

🔬 Cytology Essentials: Getting the Most from Every Sample 🔬

Join us for a FREE webinar presented by Battlab and hosted by The Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre, led by Francesco Cian DVM DipECVCP FRCPath FRCVS.

🗓️ Wednesday 11th November
⏰ 18:30 - 19:30
💻 Online via Zoom – from the comfort of your own home
🎟️ Book your place now: https://Cytology.eventbrite.co.uk

Designed for veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses, this session will help you turn cells into clinical clues, recognise common cytological patterns, and interpret reports with greater confidence. We'll cover:

✅ Sampling, smear preparation and staining
✅ Assessing sample quality
✅ Recognising basic cytological patterns
✅ Reading and interpreting a cytology report
✅ Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
✅ Knowing when cytology isn't enough, and what to do next

Whether you're collecting samples, preparing slides, reviewing results, or talking through findings with carers, you'll come away feeling more confident at every step.

🎟️ Book your place now: https://Cytology.eventbrite.co.uk

P.S. This is part 1 of a 2-part webinar series! 👀

07/10/2026

For every patient, unfamiliar sights, sounds and smells can be a lot to take in.

At The Ralph, we use our Calm Patient Pathway to make every step of a dog's journey as low-stress as possible. It runs across seven stages, from preparing at home and arriving with treats to a calm discharge and "happy visits" afterwards.

Small changes can make a big difference to patient welfare 💙

Want to know more? Read the full article in the Autumn edition of The Ralpher on Our Community page 🔗: https://theralph.vet/our-community/

06/10/2026

🍂 AUTUMN EDITION OF OUR NEWSLETTER NOW AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE 🍂

Keep an eye out in practices this week or check out the Our Community page on our website to take a read of the most recent edition of our newsletter, including:

🩺 Clinical considerations: Golden retriever
💉Anaesthesia: An interactive case study
🪞 Reflections of a specialist (or three!)
🎓 The journey of our PCA's to RVNs
2️⃣ Double soft tissue surgery case study
🧘 Creating calmer environments in practice: The calm patient pathway

…and SO much more

All this and a chance to win our crossword competition on page 12, what are you waiting for?!

🔗 https://theralph.vet/our-community/

04/10/2026

Our nurses' go-to comfort food after a long shift? Carbs and chocolate 🍫

What's your go-to comfort food after a long shift? 👀

02/10/2026

Bambi’s carers first noticed something wasn’t right when unexplained bruising began developing on her back legs. They took her to their primary care vet, where initial blood tests revealed that her platelet count had dropped dangerously low. Because platelets are the tiny, essential cells in the blood that help it clot, a sudden drop like this can put a patient at risk of internal bleeding. Because her blood test results were so severe, Bambi was referred to The Ralph's Emergency and Critical Care team for further investigation and treatment.

Following her initial assessment, Bambi was transferred to our Internal Medicine service to find out why her platelet count had dropped so severely. Our team performed thorough investigations, including detailed bloodwork, infectious disease screening, urine testing, chest X-rays, and an abdominal ultrasound. When these tests ruled out any hidden infections or underlying illnesses, the pieces of the puzzle came together. Bambi was diagnosed with Immune-Mediated Thrombocytopenia (IMTP) - a condition where the body's immune system mistakenly becomes overactive and destroys its own healthy platelets.

We started Bambi on a medication called prednisolone, which helps soothe the overactive immune response so her platelet count can rebuild. Bambi stayed in hospital for a week, receiving round-the-clock monitoring and plenty of love from our nursing team while her blood levels stabilised.

Slowly but surely, Bambi responded to her treatment! By the end of her week with us, her platelet count had bounced back so well that she was bright, happy, and ready to head home. Bambi was discharged to her family with her medication and a plan for routine rechecks with her primary care vet as her dose is gradually adjusted over time. We are sending Bambi and her carers so much love for her continued healing back at home 💙