WELCOME
Specialist veterinary cardiology service, provided throughout New Zealand.
Our aim is to provide excellent customer service for both the referring practice and the pet owner, whilst prioritising the animal's wellbeing.
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Benefit from advanced diagnostics, fast response case advice and informative CPD.
SERVICES
OFFERED
CASE REFERRAL : Remote or In-person Consults
Refer a companion animal case for review/investigation and management plan.
CASE ADVICE
Call/email if you would like to discuss a cardiac case you are managing.
HOLTER MONITOR HIRE
Hire a Holter kit, containing everything required to record a 24 hour/48 hour/7 day ECG; with analysis and interpretation by our Cardiologist. (Please note, we do not send out Holter kits for cats; they would need to be referred if a Holter is needed).
ECG / X-RAY INTERPRETATION
Interpretation of your ECGs and radiograph images - quick and simple to upload.
ABOUT
APEX
Click here to see our 5* reviews
An adaptable, friendly veterinary consultancy service, offering investigation and management of cardiac conditions. Generally, pets are seen at 'associate practices' which tend to be referral centres, which benefit from specialist level staff and equipment. Please find details of these hospitals here.
In certain situations, pets can be seen at their own practice (or even in their own home), therefore avoiding a long journey and owners can have the reassurance of taking their pet to a familiar, trusted practice.
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Our aim is to provide excellent customer service (for both Vet and Owner) and offer advanced diagnostics to all pets, whether at a referral hospital or their own local practice.
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The service is fully mobile, using state-of-the-art equipment.
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Jacqui is an enthusiastic teacher and CPD can be tailored to your schedule and learning requirements.
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Whether you would like to refer a case, have radiographs, ECGs or echos for interpretation, or would like to discuss a case you're managing, please get in touch.
ABOUT
JACQUI
Dr Jacqui Huxley BVSc CertVC DVC MVM MRCVS is our Veterinary Cardiology Specialist.
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She graduated from the University of Bristol in 2003 and immediately began working in first opinion small animal and mixed practices; during this time she developed a passion for the heart and successfully gained the RCVS Certificate in Veterinary Cardiology. She has spent the last 15 years working in cardiorespiratory medicine in referral hospitals, both as part of a team and as the sole cardiologist. Jacqui has completed a residency in Veterinary Cardiology with the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, and is proud to have obtained the RCVS Diploma in Veterinary Cardiology and been awarded specialist status. She has been awarded a Masters in Veterinary Medicine, the subject of which was intermittent collapse ('faint') in dogs and cats.
Having spent 6 years in first opinion practice, Jacqui has a good understanding of the challenges faced in general practice and tries to maintain a pragmatic approach to case management, whilst striving to deliver the highest standard of care. She strongly believes that the animal’s wellbeing, along with the owner’s happiness, should be paramount.
Jacqui’s areas of clinical interest are cardiomyopathies and intermittent collapse, and she has been involved in research in both of these areas. Outside of work, Jacqui spends her time with family and friends, runs with her dog and explores New Zealand.
Photo credit: Anh Vu (Boehringer Ingelheim Australia)
ABOUT
SUZANNE
Suzanne is our Administrator and Book-Keeper. She brings a wealth of experience in information technology and accounting. Her career began in London, where she worked first in banking and then for a company providing information technology for stockbrokers/merchant banks. Then, four children lead to a career change, and she ran the school library at a British senior school in Bahrain. In 1990, Suzanne moved back to the U.K. and continued her role as Librarian at Hoe Bridge School. She went on to become Head of Information Technology and was also the Network & Database Manager.
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Suzanne enjoys the theatre and regularly visits art galleries; along with walking (with and without four-legged companions!) and knitting for her grandchildren.
ABOUT
REBEKAH
Rebekah Mai DipVN
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Rebekah is an experienced veterinary nurse, having graduated from Massey University with a
Diploma in Veterinary Nursing in 2003. She began her career in a large mixed-animal practice in
Feilding and held a variety of roles in her 12.5 years there – veterinary nurse, reception, marketing, clinical supervisor for student nurses, IT support, puppy preschool trainer, and the list goes on…(!) Rebekah then spent 5 years as a veterinary nurse with the medicine specialist team at the Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital – before life took a new turn and she became mum to twin girls.
Rebekah is passionate about ensuring her patients have as stress-free a visit to the vet clinic as
possible, and she will go above and beyond to help make this happen. She endeavours to provide exceptional service to pets, their owners, and our referring clinics; and she enjoys
teaching/mentoring students and junior team members. Even after all these years in the industry, Rebekah still loves learning something new, and is always making sure she takes part in regular continuing education to stay up to date. She's excited to be part of the Apex team and use her experience/knowledge to help in the cardiology field.
When not at work Rebekah enjoys adventuring with her family, and she loves friends, good food, good coffee and finding a new Netflix addiction (!)
WHY CHOOSE US?
Informative reporting, we will telephone you soon after the animal is discharged with any urgent case information and follow that up with a written report once all diagnostics/analyses are complete.
Improve customer service by minimising travel time for your client
Excellent case continuity as the ongoing care (and provision of medication) is carried out by you; with full support from us.
Quick response to any queries and supportive case advice.
Our diagnostic equipment is top end, helping to provide accurate, reliable results.
Arrange in-house CPD to fit around your own requirements/schedule.
INFO
OWNERS
Jacqui: "I have pets of my own, and have had to make tough decisions for them in the past, so I understand how important choosing your vet is. You can rest assured that I always give honest advice and have your animal’s well being as my main priority. Having worked with animals since I was 14 years old (and had pets all my life) I have a good ‘animal sense’. Happily the majority of tests I do are non-invasive and simply require your pet to stay still (not always the easiest in some cases!) and I insist upon a calm, quiet environment, so even the most timid animals may fall asleep during a scan".
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YOUR APPOINTMENT
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Please do not feed your pet for 4-6 hours before their appointment, but do allow free access to water and give any medications that are due (a small amount of food for this purpose is fine).
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We know how frustrating it is to be kept waiting, so unless there is an exceptional circumstance, you will be seen on time.
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Consultations are long and relaxed (up to 1 hour) to give you time to fully explain your concerns and decide what tests are carried out.
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In most cases we will carry out any diagnostic tests immediately after your consultation, and many of them with you present. Some tests require your pet to stay with us for the day, or overnight.
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Some procedures require your pet to have a small patch of hair shaved, this will be discussed first during your consultation and is at your discretion.
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We will show you any scan images, xrays, ECGs, etc and discuss all our findings and provide you with a management plan.
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We will speak to your Vet to share our findings and provide them with a detailed written report of our findings.
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We only accept cases from Veterinary Professionals and your own Vet should always be your first point of contact. Should your pet have a murmur, cough, exercise fatigue, collapse ('faint') or any other condition that you would like us to evaluate further, please ask your Vet to contact us. Once we have received their referral request, we will contact you to arrange your appointment.
CLINIC LOCATIONS
Massey Vet Teaching Hospital
Palmerston North
Totally Vets, Feilding
Palmerston North
New Zealand
Ad-hoc Mobile Service
CONTACT
DETAILS
Apex Cardiology
PO Box 8056
Hokowhitu
Palmerston North 4446
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Email: clinic@apexcardiology.co.nz
Tel: 06 359 0300
