SPOTLIGHT PARTNER MONTH - END OF LIFE CARE

With Dignipets

Welcome to this August's Spotlight Partner, brought to you in partnership with Dignipets.

Throughout August, we'll be sharing expert-led educational content focused on end-of-life care in veterinary practice, including bitesize sessions, a live CPD webinar, practical resources, and additional learning materials designed to support veterinary professionals in delivering compassionate, patient-centred care. More information on the month's content will be announced soon.

This page is your opportunity to pre-register your interest and be the first to hear when the full programme launches. Whether you're looking to build your confidence in end-of-life conversations, learn more about hospice care, or explore practical approaches to supporting pets and their owners, Dignipets will be sharing valuable insights and resources throughout the month.

Upcoming Live Webinar
Pre-Register Your Interest!

Contextualised Care at End of Life: Hospice, Euthanasia and Maintaining Client Trust

Presented by Merel Taal DVM, CHPV
and Maja Redfern DrMedVet CHPV

Tuesday 18th August, 8pm - 9pm BST

Complete the form below to register for the live webinar:

TALK SUMMARY:

This one-hour CPD webinar, Contextualised Care at End of Life: Hospice, Euthanasia and Maintaining Client Trust, will be delivered by Merel Taal, founder and director of Dignipets and Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Veterinarian (CHPV), and Maja Redfern, Clinical Director and current President of the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care (IAAHPC).

The session explores how contextualised care provides a practical and ethical framework for navigating end-of-life decision-making in veterinary practice. Through personal reflections, clinical insight and a case-based discussion, the webinar demonstrates how hospice care represents contextualised care in action, tailoring treatment decisions to the individual patient, caregiver and clinical context.

Participants will examine the limitations of a single “gold standard” approach and understand how quality of life, caregiver capacity and patient welfare must be balanced through shared decision-making. A longitudinal case study illustrates how a contextualised approach can improve outcomes, reduce unnecessary interventions and support more meaningful end-of-life experiences.

The webinar also addresses the risks of over-treatment and its impact on client trust, while reframing euthanasia as an essential component of compassionate, contextualised care.

Practical tools, including quality-of-life tracking, will be introduced to support confident, individualised and trust-based decision-making.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Define contextualised care in veterinary medicine and explain its application in end-of-life decision-making.
Describe how hospice care represents contextualised care in practice, balancing patient welfare, caregiver circumstances and clinical realities.
Identify when ongoing treatment may constitute over-treatment, and evaluate its potential impact on animal welfare and client trust.
Apply shared decision-making principles to guide discussions around hospice care, treatment limitations and euthanasia.
Utilise quality-of-life assessment tools to support contextualised, patient-centred decisions at the end of life.

Free Resources

You will be able to access a range of practical resources from Dignipets to support confident, compassionate end-of-life care. These downloadable tools are designed to help veterinary professionals assess quality of life, navigate complex clinical decisions and deliver patient-centred care.

Quality of Life Guide

Quality of life is not static – it changes over time. This practical guide explores the key clinical and behavioural indicators to consider when assessing end-of-life patients, including comfort, mobility, appetite and interaction. It explains why ongoing assessment is essential and introduces the Dignipets Quality of Life Tracker, enabling veterinary teams and pet owners to monitor changes over time and support informed decision-making.

Download the Quality of Life Guide in August

Contextualised Care Decision Framework

Designed for veterinary professionals, this structured framework provides a practical approach to contextualised end-of-life care. It supports clinical reasoning by helping you assess patient welfare, caregiver circumstances, treatment burden and potential care pathways while encouraging shared decision-making and regular reassessment. Used alongside quality-of-life monitoring, it helps deliver ethical, individualised care for every patient.

Download the Contextualised Care Decision Framework Soon

Dignipets Partners is an independent, vet-owned UK network dedicated to providing compassionate end-of-life care for pets in the comfort of their own homes. Our services include online home hospice support, quality-of-life guidance, and peaceful euthanasia, helping families say goodbye in a calm and familiar environment.

Alongside home visits, Dignipets also offers online hospice support. Through our app, pet carers can track their pet’s quality of life over time and share updates with their veterinary team. We also provide online consultations covering decision-making support, ongoing hospice care, and guidance through grief, ensuring families feel supported at every stage of the journey.

Through Dignipets Partners, experienced vets can build their own local services via a joint venture model. Partners are supported with IT systems, marketing, and operational expertise, while remaining active directors and building a business with real long-term and resale value.

Together, this creates a growing network across the UK, combining compassionate care with strong business support. Helping pets, families, and vets through one of life’s most important moments.

Find Out More