Vets in Bognor Regis and Chichester announce temporary closure due to staffing issues

AlphaPet, which serves a number of communities throughout West Sussex, said it will be closing its Birdham and Bognor Regis surgeries for several weeks.

The Birdham branch was closed temporarily on July 24 following a ‘sudden staff shortage’, and is expected to reopen after three weeks. Now the AlphaPet team have announced that the Bognor Regis branch, in Westmeads, will close on August 7 for two weeks. The Chichester surgery will be open as usual.

Writing on Facebook, a spokesperson said staff will be in touch with those clients who have lost appointments. Customers have also been warned to expect delays when it comes to ordering insurance claims, repeat prescriptions and other services. “This is whilst we delegate tasks amongst the clinical teams, who will deal with them as and when they can,” a spokesperson said.

AlphaPet staff have thanked members of the public for their patience, promising to update them as the situation evolves.

The Bognor Regis branch sustained severe storm damage in November last year and has not been able to offer surgeries since, despite a partial reopening in March. Responding to customers on Facebook, a spokesperson said staff still don’t know when they will be able to offer surgeries again. Thanks to the closure of the Birdham branch, the only branch at which surgeries can take place is in the Oldwick Farm branch, a little ways out of Chichester.