Casualty Centre

We are currently experiencing an unprecedented demand on our service and as a result we have temporarily suspended our out of hours emergency service between 10pm and 9am. 

We will be operating as normal between the hours of 9am and 6pm

During the evenings 6pm till 10pm we are operating a restricted rescue service dealing with extreme casualties which can’t wait till the morning.

If you find a casualty which is in need of veterinary attention please take the casualty to your nearest emergency veterinary centre. Such centres will give basic first aid free of charge.

If the casualty does not appear to require veterinary attention please place the animal or bird somewhere secure where it can’t escape, like a pet carrier or cardboard box. This should be lined with newspaper or ideally something soft like an old towel or T-shirt.

Water should be provided, but most animals and birds do not eat or drink overnight whilst they are asleep. Hedgehogs are nocturnal so should be provided with cat food and water.

If you have a young animal or bird, please do not give it milk to drink, water is sufficient. It is essential young animals and birds are kept warm, so you may need a hot water bottle. This can be a traditional hot water bottle or you can improvise using a disposable glove or marigold gloves with the cuff end tied closed (like a balloon) to form a hot water bottle.

Further advice on common incidents involving wildlife can be found on the advice pages on this website.

Background:

Our Casualty Centre was first opened at the Shaw Barn in 2008 and moved to the current units in the summer of 2010. The hospital has expanded considerably and is now capable of holding over 250 casualties at any one time. This very much depends on the number of larger animals in care and the severity of injuries being dealt with.

The hospital has an operating theatre, X-ray Room, First Aid Room, three main casualty rooms, an Orphan Room, Isolation Room, Reception, Rehabilitation Area, Various indoor enclosures, storage, prep room areas, volunteer rest room, two offices and meeting area.

We have been registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons since 2008, and are inspected by the Veterinary Medicines Directive periodically.

Our Casualty Centre is a Hospital so not open to the public to look round as this would be too stressful and detrimental to their recovery.

If you have a casualty:

If you have a casualty please ring our rescue line 0300-10-26-999 and they will assist you from there.

Our Casualty Centre is only staffed between 9am and 6pm Monday to Sunday. We cannot guarantee staff will be present at the centre outside of these hours.

If you have a casualty our rescue line will help you the best they can. We may have an ambulance already in your area which can collect the casualty or help with its capture.

When busy we ask people to deliver casualties to our centre, but please only deliver when asked to do so. The full address is:

East Sussex WRAS, Unit 2 The Shaw Barn, A22, Whitesmith, East Sussex, BN8 6JD.

Google Maps Link: https://g.page/eastsussexwras?share

What 3 Words: https://w3w.co/cares.spending.intricate

Plus Code: W559+FH Whitesmith, Lewes

If approaching from the north: heading south down the A22 from East Hoathly, we after round the bend after Blackberry Farm (the childrens activity farm). Keep an eye open for the council village sign of Whitesmith, as our driveway is directly behind that sign.

View when approaching from the north.

Please note the Ross & Co sign is not always present and may at times be on the opposite side of the driveway.

If approaching from the south, heading up from Golden Cross, we are at the northern end of Whitesmith. Go past Holms Hill Furniture Centre, passed the Woodland Centre, past the Whitesmith crossroads and bus stops. The road then enters an S bend. We are in the middle of the S bend on the right hand side. There is a telegraph pole just in front of our drive with three orange reflective strips round it. Please be careful turning right into our driveway as cars drive fast round the bends.

It is generally safer to go on further and turn round at Blackberry Farm and come back on yourself. See the above picture and details for approaching from the north.

View when approaching from the south.

Please be aware that we do not have a veterinary surgeon on site at all times, so in some situations it may be better to deliver a casualty to your local veterinary centre. Please call our rescue line 0300-10-26-999 and they will advise you accordingly.

Calling the Rescue Line:

Our Rescue line 0300 10 26 999 is 24 hours a day, but we only have limited resources and abilities out of hours.

Between 9am and 6pm we are generally able to deal with most rescues situations.

Between 6pm and 9pm we generally have volunteer rescuers available to deal with rescue which can't wait till the morning.

Between 9pm and 9am we generally only have a skeleton staff available to deal with emergencies which members of the public can't be expected to handle or deal with themselves. The on-call rescue co-ordinator will only be able to return genuine emergency calls so please ensure you leave full details of what you have come across.

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