The daily checks every vet clinic should keep
Clinics run on routines: fridges, theatre, controlled drugs and cleaning. They're easy to skip on a busy day and hard to prove afterwards. Here is a simple daily set, and how to make it stick.
Vaccine fridge temperatures
Most vaccines must be kept between 2 °C and 8 °C. Record the current, minimum and maximum temperatures at least twice a day, at opening and closing, then reset the min/max reading. If a reading is out of range, don't throw stock away and don't use it yet: move it to a working fridge, label it, and contact the manufacturer for advice. Record what happened and what you did.
Controlled drugs
Update the register each time a controlled drug is used, at the time it's used. Do a balance check at a set time each day, such as before closing, so a discrepancy is found within hours rather than weeks. The rules for controlled drugs differ between states and countries, so check your regulator's requirements for what the register must show and who can sign it.
Opening and closing checks
- Vaccine fridge: current, minimum and maximum temperature
- Anaesthetic machine leak test before the first surgery
- Oxygen supply and spare cylinders
- Theatre and consult rooms cleaned and restocked
- Controlled drug balance checked at close
Theatre and consult room cleaning
Record what was cleaned, by whom and when: between patients for consult tables, and in full at the end of the surgical list. A short checklist per room stops the same corner being missed every day.
Equipment checks
Leak-test the anaesthetic machine before the first procedure of the day and check oxygen levels and spare cylinders. Check the emergency kit on a fixed day each week, including expiry dates, and record who checked it.
Build checks into opening and closing
Checks that depend on someone remembering get skipped. Tie each one to a role and a time: the opening nurse does the fridge and the machine check, and the vet on the last surgery signs off theatre. When checks are part of opening and closing, they're done before anyone gets busy.
Keep records you can show
Inspections, audits and insurance claims all come down to records. Keep checks dated, signed by the person who did them and easy to find. A record nobody can find on the day might as well not exist.
