Events, Courses, News & Awards
Courses and Training Events
At Great Western Exotics we have a commitment to share knowledge and information with our owners to help reduce future health problems.
We provide a range of courses and training events as the hospital; we are also happy to visit any clubs within a reasonable distance to give illustrated talks.
News
19/01/2011 Lectures
Neil will be lecturing this year at the World Small Animal Veterinary Association Conference in Birmingham, Crieff Small Animal Vets Conference in Scotland, the BVNA Congress in Telford, and Annual Conference of the Associaton of Avian Vets, Lousiville, Kentucky, USA, as well as other conferences and events.
01/08/2011 Lectures
Neil will be lecturing this autumn at the World Vet Association Conference in Capetown, the European Zoo and Wildlife Vets Conference in Stuttgart, the 3rd International Falconry Festival in Abu Dhabi and the British Veterinary Zoological Conference in Chester.
01/04/2011 Vets Now acquired Great Western Referrals
GWR will become Vets Now Referrals’ second permanent site to complement its original referral service in Glasgow and its first operation in England, allowing it to extend its specialised veterinary services to practices across the South West.
Vets Now Referrals plans to grow and enhance the existing Swindon referral service, by undertaking core investment to improve the premises and to extend the current referral team.
Vets Now Referrals in Swindon will be offering a full small animal referral service with specialists trained in Surgery (Orthopaedics, Soft-Tissue, Spinal), Internal Medicine, Dermatology, Cardiology, Diagnostic Imaging, as well as Avian and Exotic Medicine. In addition to this, an independent out of hours emergency service will also be available from Vets Now at the hospital for all member practices in the area.
Great Western Exotic Vets
As part of the acquisition, Vets Now Referrals are incorporating the specialist care offered for exotic pets. This service continues to be run as Great Western Exotic Vets and retains the expertise of Neil A Forbes BVETMed DipECZM(avian)FRCVS, our RCVS and European Recognised Specialist in Avian Medicine.
Awards
2011 - The Helga Gerlach Award for Excellence in Avian Veterinary Sciences
We are delighted to announce that Neil Forbes, (head of the exotics service), was awarded the Gerlach Senior Award, at the recent 11th Conference of the European Association of Avian Vets in Madrid in April 2011. Neil was nominated and selected as the winner of the award from a selection of European contemporaries, who were required to meet a strict level of requirements, including having practised avian medicine for 15 years, and undertaken extensive teaching, writing, research and clinical performance in this field. This was the very first time the award has been given, so to be the first ever recipient was a significant compliment to Neil.
Neil's award was made on the basis of the recognition of his outstanding contributions to enrich the literature on avian medicine and to promote avian medicine through teaching, research or clinical performance.
The Helga Gerlach Fund celebrates and recognises the work being done by specialist avian vets across Europe and the world, and is an excellent recognition of the vast contribution that Professor Gerlach made to the advancement of avian medicine.
2005 - The William Hunting Award
Neil Forbes and Mark Fox were chosen by a panel of 6, including the Editor and Deputy Editors for The Veterinary Record (the BVA's weekly scientific journal) to receive the William Hunting Award for the best practitioner based paper appearing during the previous 12 months, the paper being 'Field trial of a Caryospora species vaccine for controlling coccidiosis in falcons.'
2004 - The T.J. Lafeber Avian Practioner Award
Neil Forbes was presented with this award in 2004 in recognition of the work he has been doing in advancing the quality of health care for companion birds, through clinical excellence, innovation, promotion of the profession, contributions to the knowledgebase*, as well as being caring and compassionate to his avian patients and clients.
*Neil has authored and edited many publications on avian medicine including Rapid Review of Small Exotic Animal Medicine and Husbandry, Living with a Cockatiel, Parrotlopaedia, the BSAVA Manual of Raptors, Pigeons and Waterfowl, and Self-assessment Colour Review of Avian Medicine.
2003 - BSAVA Melton Award
This award is presented annually for meritorious contributions by veterinary surgeons to small animal veterinary practice. This was awarded to Neil Forbes in 2003, for his contribution in the teaching and publications relating to avian medicine as a benefit to bird patients and the vets treating them.
