A MALTON equine hospital has unveiled its new operating theatres following a £1million investment.

Rainbow Equine Hospital has developed two purpose-built surgical and intensive care facilities at Rainbow Lane in Malton.

The two-year expansion was made possible by investments from VetPartners, a veterinary group which specialises in small animal, equine, farm and mixed practices.

Moses Brennan, clinical director at Rainbow Equine Hospital, said: “The expansion of our facilities is already making a huge difference.

“Because of the proximity of the theatre to the CT scanner, patients can be scanned before and during operations, which is a huge benefit.

“The level of support, both financially and with the design and build process, has been a huge advantage and the team here have been closely involved to get it exactly how we want it, and it looks amazing.”

The development has increased the hospital’s surgical capacity, enabling pre and intra-operative CT scanning to be utilised more effectively.

One theatre will be used for orthopaedic and soft tissue surgery, while the other is for orthopaedic work such as fracture repair and keyhole surgery.

Rainbow Equine Hospital offers one of the most advanced diagnostic and surgical techniques in the UK and is staffed by specialists in equine soft-tissue and orthopaedic surgery, internal medicine, equine anaesthesia and diagnostic imaging. It also has stabling capacity for more than 50 equine inpatients.

Moses added: “With the additional theatres, we can double the number of surgeries we can do each day, ensuring no waiting time for our great referring vets and their clients.

“It is enabling us to see an increase in the number of cases and, as well as having great capacity, it has made workflow much easier.”

Rainbow Equine Hospital will start the next phase of re-development work in 2020 to create a new reception building and offices for vets and their admin team. Rainbow’s previous theatre is also set to be converted into a dedicated “standing” surgery suite.

The standing surgery suite allows horses to have procedures done under sedation while they are still standing including kissing spine surgery, selected fracture repairs, laparoscopy and keyhole abdominal surgery.