Client: Coastway Veterinary Group
Type of works: supply of five different made-to-measure stainless-steel sinktops.
A leading Brighton veterinary practice has specified made-to-measure stainless-steel sinktops from GEC Anderson for its new clinic. Combining durability and easy maintenance with an aseptic surface, the sinktops give Coastway Veterinary Group a quality solution to a key requirement in specialist areas. GEC Anderson supplied five sinktops in satin stainless-steel for the new clinic at Freshfield Way, which provides treatment for many of the city’s pets.
Coastway needed the sinktops for the new premises which replace its original Kemp Town surgery, at nearby Montague Place. Founder and senior partner Tony Cowie says: “We chose GEC Anderson sinks at the recommendation of our designer who well knows the abuse that routine veterinary work can dish out on the unsuspecting sink. We wanted something resilient and hard wearing for our new showcase clinic. The Freshfield site is the first where we have had no design constraints. It was a huge industrial shell unit, in which we could design the ideal practice in terms of ergonomics, health and safety and the ever present clinical imperatives. With GEC Anderson we had the opportunity to have sinks made to our bespoke specifications – and ‘man’ enough to cope with what we will throw at them.”
Specialist Veterinary Designer, Norman Ray, who has designed all Coastway’s clinics, says he has specified GEC Anderson products for 15 years. “They are good, solid products, and ideal for veterinary surgeries. GEC Anderson can manufacture virtually anything and they have an excellent advisory service.”
GEC Anderson provided the sinktops in three configurations, all with water-retaining edges and integral bowls with basket strainer wastes and overflow fittings. The 1,215 x 600mm sinktop for the consulting room hand-wash has two bowls, each 500 x 400 x 190mm; the front edge is 30mm high, while side and rear edges are 50mm high. The cat and dog recovery rooms each have 1,000 x 615mm sinktops with 30mm high edges all round and a single 550 x 500 x 240mm bowl. The isolation unit and the education room have identical 450 x 500mm sinktops with 30mm high edges and a 300 x 344 x 175mm bowl.
Coastway opened its first Brighton surgery at Montague Place in 1974, and the group now has five clinics between Shoreham and Rottingdean. Tony Cowie says relocating its Montague Place clinic to Freshfield Way provides improved facilities for staff, patients, and owners. These include separate cat and dog areas, bespoke hospitalisation and intensive care facilities, a specialist referral centre and a new home for the group’s 24 hour emergency surgery. “The move also allows us to extend our veterinary nurse training programme, holding seminars and courses on the premises. We’ve waited several years to make this move, ensuring that the new position, building and facilities were worth the wait,” he says.
Martin Tye, GEC Anderson Managing Director, says the new Brighton clinic highlights the role that quality stainless-steel products can play in modern veterinary, medical and dental facilities. “Stainless steel is extremely durable and it can be maintained to high standards of hygiene with minimal effort. It is impervious to most chemicals and is available in a bespoke acid-resistant grade for special applications.”