Small Animal Internal Medicine
The Internal Medicine Unit at the AHT has two main purposes. The first is to provide a full clinical referral service in feline and canine internal medicine that complements the other small animal specialities in the clinic. The second is to contribute knowledge and information on important canine and feline diseases, working in conjunction with other veterinarians and scientists at the Animal Health Trust.
We aim to offer a friendly, client-orientated referral service where the needs of the patient come first. We offer a full referral service in canine and feline internal medicine, backed up by extensive clinical and laboratory facilities. We aim to see genuine emergency cases the same day wherever possible.
The internal medicine team work closely with other disciplines at the Trust, utilising the wealth of experience in the specialist services available and hospitalised patients receive complete 24-hour care from our team of qualified veterinary nurses. We are also able to provide critical care for patients needing intensive monitoring.
The AHT benefits from having a state-of-the-art MRI facility along with all other typical imaging modalities (radiography, ultrasonography and scintigraphy), and we also have a full range of endoscopic equipment to allow non-invasive investigation of various disorders. This, together with the minimally invasive techniques offered by our surgical team, means many problems can be extensively investigated without the need for traditional surgery.
The AHT is one of the few institutes in the UK to offer a special focus on feline internal medicine, with two of our clinicians having further training in this area, and one being a recognised RCVS Specialist in Feline Medicine. The AHT is also one of only a very few centres in the UK that is able to offer radioiodine therapy as a treatment for hyperthyroidism, which is a highly successful form of therapy. Cats treated with radioiodine therapy at the AHT only have to remain hospitalised for three weeks.
Internal Medicine staff
Andrew Sparkes BVetMed PhD DipECVIM MRCVS
European Specialist in Internal Medicine
RCVS Specialist in Feline Medicine
Head of the Division of Small Animal Studies
Andrew graduated from the Royal Veterinary College (University of London) in 1983, and after four years in general practice joined the University of Bristol as an intern/resident in feline medicine in 1987. Following completion of this, he successfully completed a PhD and then in 1993 was appointed to a lectureship in Feline Medicine at the University of Bristol (funded by the Feline Advisory Bureau). After being promoted to senior lecturer in 1999, Andrew moved to the Animal Health Trust in 2000 to take up a position as the Head of their Feline Internal Medicine Unit. Andrew was then promoted to the Head of the Division of Small Animal Studies at the AHT in 2007. He has published widely in the field of feline medicine, and is the founding and current co-editor of the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. He is the current chairman of the Feline Advisory Bureau – an international charity based in the UK dedicated to promoting feline health and welfare.
Sheila Wills BSc BVetMed CertSAM MRCVS
Head of Small Animal Medicine Unit
After graduating from the University of Reading in 1994 with a BSc in Animal Science, Sheila went on to study veterinary medicine at the University of London, graduating in 1998. Sheila then spent five years in general practice before undertaking a Residency in Feline and Internal Medicine (funded by the Feline Advisory Bureau) at the University of Bristol. During her three years there, Sheila successfully obtained her RCVS CertSAM and following her residency joined Great Western Referrals in Swindon as their small animal medicine clinician. In 2007 Sheila joined the Animal Health Trust and she is currently studying for her ECVIM Diploma having successfully passed the first part of this examination.
Catherine Bovens DVM MRCVS
Senior Clinical Fellowship in Small Animal Internal Medicine
After qualifying from the Veterinary Medicine Faculty of the University of Liege, Belgium, in 2005, Catherine spent one year in the same faculty for an internship in small animal veterinary medicine. During this internship she had various responsibilities in the clinical departments, was responsible for emergency consultations and hospitalised cases and presented a memoire about the histological characteristics of cutaneous epitheliotrophic lymphoma in dogs. She is currently in her second year of clinical fellowship in Small Animal Internal Medicine at the Animal Health Trust, and is enrolled for the RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Internal Medicine.
