Rawesome Vets · Internal Staff Protocol

Appointment Booking & Categorisation

Nursing Team

Reception

Version 1.0 · May 2026 · For internal staff use

⎙ Reception Book — Quick Reference (print & laminate)

Purpose

To ensure every booking gets the correct appointment type, time, urgency, and scheme — so the diary runs accurately and patients are seen appropriately. This SOP sits behind the printable Reception Book quick reference.

Standard timings

20 min Standard consult
30 min Longer consult (skin, ears, eyes, or multiple concerns)
10 min Recheck
Quick injection (nurse/short): short slot per diary template
Now Emergencies — fit in immediately, allocate extra time, alert vet

How to categorise a booking

Ideally, find the appointment type that best matches the concerns — this is particularly important for new clients, euthanasias, and litter vaccinations, as they have specifically allotted time for the work to be done. A new client, for example, would be booked as a 30-min consult.

1. Emergencies

What it is: Anything time-critical or potentially life-threatening.

Triggers — book immediately and alert the vet: tick toxicity, toxin/poison ingestion, hit by car (HBC), snake bite, collapse, difficulty breathing, active bleeding, seizure, suspected bloat, vaccine/drug reaction, sudden severe pain.

Appointment types: Tick Toxin · Toxin Ingestion · HBC · Snake Bite · Emergency · Reaction.

BEFORE THEY HANG UP — every emergency call:

Get the client's phone number (in case they get lost, redirected, or you need to call them back).
Confirm where to come — tell them: "We're Rawesome Vets, on 48 Rifle Range Road, a little bit past the Bede Polding school."
Ask how far away they are and their ETA — so the vet/nurse know how long they've got to prepare.

Owners in a panic regularly drive to the wrong place. This step is non-negotiable.

2. Longer consults (30 min)

What it is: Presentations that reliably take longer than a single 20-min consult.

Triggers: skin problems, ear problems, eye problems, OR any patient with more than one concern.

Appointment type: Consultation, booked as a 30-min slot.

Rule: If the owner lists two or more problems, book 30 min even if neither is skin/ear/eye. When in doubt, ask: "Is there more than one thing you'd like checked today?"

Suggested wording if they're listing a few concerns: "Sounds like you've got a few concerns with [name] — maybe I should book a 30-minute slot so you've got time to discuss all of them with the vet?"

3. Standard consults (20 min)

What it is: A single, straightforward concern.

Appointment types: Consultation · New Client · Vet Schedule.

4. Rechecks (10 min)

What it is: Follow-up on a problem already seen, or a post-operative check.

Appointment types: Recheck · Recheck Post Op · Discharge by Appointment.

Rechecks are generally FOC (free of charge) — but any additional tests or medications dispensed at the recheck will be charged for. Let owners know this upfront so there are no surprises.

Ideally book with the same vet who saw the patient last time, if their roster allows it — continuity of care is better for both the patient and the vet's confidence in the plan.

5. Scripts / repeat medications

Eligibility rule: The pet must have been seen by a vet within the last 6 months for the relevant condition.

Seen within 6 months → process the script request.
NOT seen within 6 months → a consult must be booked before the script can be issued.

How much is dispensed: Scripts are provided for up to 6 months' worth of medication, designed to coincide with the 6-monthly recheck — so the next script falls due when the patient is due to be seen again.

Fees: A script fee applies to each medication requiring a script. If more than one medication is needed, the fee applies per medication, not per visit.

Rule: If unsure when the pet was last seen, check the record before promising a script. Never commit to issuing without confirming the 6-month rule.

Full step-by-step nurse procedure and vet dispensing flow is in the separate Meds & Script Requests SOP.

6. Injections — who books them with, and when

Appointment types: Cartrophen Injection · Bravecto Quantum Injection · Proheart SR-12 Injection · Cytopoint.

General principle: Nurse-only injection slots are for patients the vet has already seen and signed off within the last 6 months. Any longer gap, or a new/restarted course, goes with the vet.

Cartrophen

Newly prescribed, OR restarting a course → first shot with the vet, to chat and confirm how things are going.
Mid-course, already established → nurse slot. Check the patient card for where they're up to and book the series.

Bravecto Quantum & Proheart SR-12

Nurse slot ONLY if seen by the vet within the last 6 months.
Most typically fall due alongside vaccination → which involves a vet check, so book the vet/vaccination slot, not a standalone nurse injection.
If not seen within 6 months and not bundled with a vaccination → needs a vet check first.

Cytopoint

New to Cytopoint → always book a consult + injection (20-min consult slot). The vet must assess before the first dose.
Ongoing Cytopoint → book a standard 20-min consult. Charging depends on what the vet finds:
- No infection, no investigation needed, just a top-up → charged for the injection only.
- Concurrent infection with other meds dispensed → charged consultation + dispensed meds, along with the injection.

Reception note: Book ongoing Cytopoint as a 20-min consult regardless; tell the owner the final charge depends on the vet's assessment — don't pre-quote "injection only."

7. Vaccinations

Individual adult: Vaccination Booster / Yearly Vaccination · Easy All In One Yearly Package → standard vaccination slot.

Litter vaccinations: refer to the Litter Vaccination Bookings SOP — quoting, microchipping options, and slot allocation are all covered there.

Our vaccine protocols — selling points to share with clients

Puppies — early socialisation protocol:

We finish the puppy vaccination course as early as 12 weeks (as opposed to the more common 18 weeks).
This is to encourage early socialisation — the critical socialisation window closes early, and waiting until 18 weeks misses it. Earlier finish = puppies can safely socialise sooner = better companion animals long-term.

Adult dogs (18 months and over) — 3-yearly parvo protocol:

We use a 3-yearly parvovirus vaccine to avoid over-vaccination — the immunity lasts at least that long, so annual parvo isn't needed or desirable.
Kennel cough and the annual health check are still yearly — the health check is what catches the slow-onset problems early and is the real value of the annual visit.

Example wording: "The yearly health check plus the full C5 is $x."

8. Desexing

Refer to the Desexing Booking SOP (coming soon) — covers all scheme types (Private, AWL voucher, NDN voucher, Rescue), species + weight band matching, and what each package includes.

Until the SOP is live: always confirm which scheme applies before booking. Wrong scheme = wrong pricing and inclusions. If unsure, check with a senior nurse or vet.

9. Dental

Dental consults are always free — and they're a quick 10-minute check. Make sure to specify this when offering it to the owner: "It's a free 10-minute dental check with the vet."

Been in recently (within the last month) AND has a valid estimate → all good to book straight in for dental surgery.
Anything else (estimate older than a month, no estimate, owner unsure, or never assessed) → book a free 10-min dental consult first.
If they want to come in on the day → offer an on-the-day free dental consult to confirm what we're doing before committing to the surgery slot.

Surgery appointment types when ready to book: Dental Surgery — Clean and Polish / Minor Extractions · Major Dental · Multiple Extractions.

10. Surgery / procedures (general)

Surgeries are most typically discussed with the vet first before booking — the vet will tell reception what to book and when. If the owner is calling cold without a prior vet discussion → they need a consultation first, not a direct surgery booking.

Appointment types (once cleared by the vet): Surgery · Surgical Admission with Vet · VSOS Surgery · Procedure (Surgery) · EUA Ears/General/Wounds (Surgery) · Radiographs/Xrays (Surgery) · Restraints/Discuss Before Surgery.

Rule: Confirm fasting instructions and admission time at booking. Flag "Restraints/Discuss Before Surgery" cases to the vet/nurse ahead of the day.

11. End of life

Appointment types: Euthanasia · Cremation.

Rule: Allocate a longer, quiet slot, ideally at a calmer time of day. Alert the vet and nurse, note any sensitivities on the booking, and handle the call with care.

For what to discuss with the client over the phone (cremation options, what to bring, sedation, family attendance, payment, etc.) — see the Euthanasia & Cremation Protocol.

12. Callbacks & vet admin tasks

These are actual tasks for the vet — writing up scripts, returning clinical calls to clients, writing referral letters, processing med requests, etc. They take real vet time, so they need to be blocked out in the vet's column on the diary to represent allocated time for the work.

Don't treat them as invisible to-dos that happen "around" appointments — they get squeezed out and forgotten.

Types: Call Owner – VET TO CALL · Call Owner – NURSE TO CALL · Rep Visit · Notes to ourselves.

Rule: Allocate these as time blocks in the relevant vet/nurse's column. "PLEASE SELECT" is only a default placeholder — never leave a real booking on it.

Sign Off

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