Butty Villiers

BVSc ,FRCPath, DipECVCP, CertSAM, Cert VR, MRCVS

A Quality Laboratory based at Dick White Referrals serving veterinary practices throughout the UK

DWR Diagnostics is a well established laboratory service providing a comprehensive range of diagnostic testing. We offer:

A first class, personal service with rapid turn-around nationwide
Results are interpreted by internationally renowned Specialist in Clinical Pathology
Reports are written specifically for individual cases. No coded comments
Gold standard equipment in purpose-built laboratory
Externally validated quality assurance systems
Unrivalled combination of quality, service and competitive pricing

DWR Diagnostics provides lab services to veterinary practices throughout the UK, as well as patients at the Dick White Referrals Hospital.

Our staff

The lab is run by Elizabeth (aka Butty) Villiers BVSc FRCPath DipECVCP, CertSAM, Cert VR, MRCVS (contact Butty), who has many years of experience of clinical pathology as well as a background in internal medicine and oncology. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologist, a Diplomate of the European College of Clinical Pathologist, a European Specialist in Veterinary Clinical Pathology and holds RCVS Certificates in Small Animal Medicine and Radiology. She is well known in the international veterinary clinical pathology community and is frequently an invited speaker at veterinary conferences and courses. Elizabeth is co-editor of the BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Clinical Pathology. She is a well known cytologist, and has a special interest in haematology, but also enjoys interpreting all laboratory data and discussing cases with veterinary surgeons.

Our second clinical pathologist is Paola Monti, who has completed a 3 year residency in clinical pathology and will shortly sit her board exams. We have a team of biomedical scientists and experienced laboratory technicians who perform lab testing. Our lab manager is Nicole Williams, who is a multidisciplinary BMS with a special interest in coagulation. Other members of the team are Adam Archard, Anne Tappin and Joy Oloya, who runs the microbiology service. Sample reception is run by Ian Lister. Our courier, Peter Cuthill collects samples from practices throughout the East Anglia region.

Histology is performed by our associate pathologists Tim Scase BSc BVM&S PhD DipACP MRCVS and Alistair Foote MA VetMB PhD FRCPath MRCVS.

Laboratory quality

The lab has high quality equipment including an Advia 120 Haematology Analyser, an Olympus biochemistry analyser and an Immulite analyser for hormone assays. We pay meticulous attention to detail to ensure results are accurate. The lab undertakes internal quality control testing and also participates in an external quality assurance scheme for haematology, endocrinology, biochemistry and microbiology. We operate according to Standardised Operating Procedures to ensure consistency in our methods and results.

What we offer

We offer all the standard tests such as haematology and biochemistry profiles, hormone testing, microbiology as well as coagulation tests, cross matching, histology and cytology. We also handle specialist test requests such as PCRs, coagulation factor tests, infectious disease testing etc - we are happy to dispatch these to reference labs, including international labs. Thus our lab services all your laboratory needs. For a list of our tests and profiles as well as test codes, click here

Reports are issued by email or fax in a timely manner. Haematology / chemistry, routine endocrinology and cytology are reported same day; histology is reported on the same day or the next day. Every report is reviewed by a veterinary pathologist before being sent from the lab and a full interpretation is given. We write a unique report for each case and do not use coded (canned) comments. There is close interaction between our clinicians and our laboratory staff to ensure that all results are reviewed in the context of individual cases. This is especially important in complex cases in which multiple tests are performed and all results need to be evaluated as one.

A recent acquisition is a flow cytometer which is used for immunophenotyping of fine needle aspirates from cases of lymphoma, and for blood and bone marrow in cases of leukaemia.

Submitting samples

Please call or email if you would like a price list, submission forms and mailing stickers / envelopes. Alternatively submission forms and postage labels can be downloaded as PDF documents - see the links below.

Submission Form

Mailing Sticker