Emergency and Critical Care

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One Door to Multidisciplinary Care

Willows’ Emergency and Critical Care (ECC) service led by internationally renowned ECC Specialists provides an outstanding level of care for pets with critical disorders in one of the best equipped Veterinary Intensive Care Units in Europe.

Based within our advanced Intensive Care Unit and fully supported by our Specialist multidisciplinary team, our ECC team provides exceptional expertise in critical care and treatment for every patient when they need it most.

Willows’ ECC service is supported by our dedicated team of Nurses and clinical support staff 24 hours a day, every day of the year providing the best possible care for your pet.

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What Can I Expect if my Pet is Referred to Emergency and Critical Care?

Our Emergency and Critical Care service provides an unrivalled level of care for pets with any critical disorder, in one of the best equipped Veterinary Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in Europe.

Critical care cats and dogs will benefit from our multidisciplinary approach working with Specialists in Internal Medicines to provide a nutritional support service as well as a full range of advanced procedures and therapies including; central venous catheter, invasive blood pressure monitoring, feeding tubes (nasogastric, esophagostomy), multimodal analgesia and vasopressor therapy.

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What are the Most Common Medical Conditions?

Our Specialist-led Emergency and Critical Care service provides an unrivalled level of care for patients with any critical disorder including:

  • Abdominal bleeding (Hemoabdomen)
  • Diabetic Ketoacidosis
  • Dogs with Twisted Stomachs (Gastric Dilation Volvulus)
  • Urinary blockages in cats
  • Victims of Road Traffic Accidents.

Meet The Team

Poppy Gant

BVSc MVETMED DipACVECC MRCVS

American Specialist in Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care

Head of Emergency and Critical Care

Poppy graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2014. Already knowing that a career in emergency and critical care was her goal, she then completed two emergency-focused internships and then spent a year working as a busy hospital Vet before embarking on a three-year residency programme at the Royal Veterinary College in London. She completed her training and passed her Specialist exams in 2020.

Working in several busy hospitals means Poppy is experienced in managing a wide variety of critically ill patients. However, her Specialist training is particularly useful as part of a multidisciplinary approach to severely ill patients with complex problems, such as those with life-threatening infections or polytrauma.

Poppy is also always looking for ways to improve the way we manage the sickest of patients and has been carrying out research in the areas of congestive heart failure, diabetic ketoacidosis and resuscitation medicine.

Outside of work, Poppy is an enthusiastic gardener and is always looking to expand her plant collection. She also enjoys exploring the countryside and working her way through various recipe books.

Fernanda Camacho

DVM, MVETMED, DipACVECC, MRCVS

American Specialist in Emergency and Critical Care

Acting Head of Emergency and Critical Care

Fernanda graduated from the University Lufosona (Lisbon, Portugal) in 2013. She then moved to the North of England, where she worked for two and a half years in a busy first opinion practice. With the aim of improving her clinical skills and seeking a specialisation, Fernanda completed a rotating internship here at Willows, followed by an ICU internship at the University College Dublin.

In 2018 Fernanda began her three-year Residency in Emergency and Critical Care at the Royal Veterinary College and became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency Critical Care in October 2022.

Fernanda joined Willows’ Specialist team in 2021, where she enjoys all aspects of Emergency and Critical Care.

Outside of work, she likes to travel, try new restaurants, spend time with friends, read, and watch series and movies. She has also recently become a plant enthusiast!

Dave Beeston

BVetMed(Hons) PGDip(VCP) MVetMed DipACVECC MRCVS

American Specialist in Emergency and Critical Care

Dave graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, London, in 2017. He then returned to his home county as a small animal general practitioner in Shropshire, where he stayed for two years before returning to the Royal Veterinary College in 2019 to complete a one-year small animal rotating internship. Knowing that he wanted to pursue a career in Emergency and Critical Care, he enrolled on a three-year residency in ECC at the Royal Veterinary College, completing his specialist training in July 2023. Subsequently, Dave joined two of his prior colleagues, Fernanda and Poppy, as a clinician in Emergency and Critical Care at Willows in October 2023.  

Dave particularly enjoys teaching and has lectured internationally on the use of point-of-care ultrasound, a tool used frequently in both the emergency room and intensive care unit. He has a particular interest in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and improving the standard of care for our critically ill patients. As such, he is one of a handful of veterinary professionals in the UK who has completed the RECOVER registry CPR instructor course, allowing him to formally certify veterinary professionals in both basic and advanced life support.  

Additionally, Dave has a specific interest in the management of critically ill patients with cardiovascular disease and shock, and has been invited as a panel speaker at the European Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society congress in 2024, Gothenburg, to lecture on cardiac critical care. 

Outside of work, Dave likes to keep active and is a regular gym goer and swimmer. He loves to cook for his friends and family and has occasionally been known to get up at 3am to start smoking a brisket on the barbecue. Although Dave has no pets, he is already planning his pack of Golden Retrievers and hopes to get his first one soon! 

Giulia Toth

DVM, BSAVA PGCertSAECC, MRCVS

Emergency & Critical Care Intern

Giulia graduated from the University of Bologna, Italy in 2013 before commencing a rotating internship at the referral center Istituto Veterinario Novara (Anicura). Giulia then moved to the UK and worked for 6 years as an Emergency Clinician in a busy first opinion hospital and completed her postgraduate certificate in small animals Emergency and Critical Care with BSAVA in 2022.

Giulia’s passion for ECC kept growing and with the aim of expanding her knowledge she completed a 1 year ECC internship at the University of Liege in Belgium before joining the Willows team in 2023 as an Emergency & Critical Care Intern

Giulia loves all aspects of ECC, and had a particular interest in sepsis, respiratory emergencies and the use of Point Of Care Ultrasound Scan. She also enjoys teaching and research and believe both contribute to the standard of care we can provide our patients.

Outside of the hospital Giulia is a competitive Latin and ballroom dancer, recent gym enthusiast, speaks 4 languages and enjoys travelling and spending time with her rescue cat, Sayuri.

Emergency and Critical Care

Find out more

To assist owners in understanding more about Emergency and Critical Care, we have put together a range of information sheets to talk you through some of the more common critical disorders cared for by our Specialists.