Small Paws Veterinary Clinic
This case study looks at Raybloc's involvement in supporting Small Paws with radiation shielding for their veterinary X-ray room in Brierley Hill. The project brought together the practice's need to keep imaging safe and workable within a compact clinical space, and Raybloc's specialist shielding knowledge, to deliver a lead-lined sliding doorset suited to the demands of a busy small animal practice.
Small Paws Veterinary Practice | Brierley Hill Case Study
The Challenge
Veterinary practices carry out diagnostic radiography every day, often within buildings that were never originally designed around imaging. Unlike a purpose built hospital department, a practice X-ray room usually has to work within an existing footprint, alongside prep areas, kennels, consult rooms and circulation routes that are already tight on space.
For Small Paws, the imaging room needed to be properly protected in line with the practice’s radiation protection requirements, while still being easy to use during a normal working day. Staff move animals in and out of the room on trolleys, in carriers and on leads, sometimes while sedated and sometimes while under restraint. A conventional hinged doorset would have required a swing clearance the room simply could not give up, and that clearance would have sat directly in the path staff use when moving patients.
There was also the practical side of a veterinary environment to consider. Doors in a practice take a lot of contact. Trolleys, cages, kennel doors, feet and cleaning regimes all take their toll, and a finish that looks acceptable on day one needs to still be sound several years later.
The doorset therefore had to do three things at once. It had to provide the required lead protection, it had to save floor space rather than take it, and it had to stand up to daily use in a working animal practice.
Supporting Small Paws with Specialist Radiation Shielding
Veterinary imaging rooms are often smaller and busier than people expect, and the shielding package has to reflect how the room is actually used rather than how it looks on a plan.
Raybloc worked with Small Paws to understand the opening, the room layout and the way staff move through the space, then advised on a doorset arrangement that would give the required protection without eating into usable floor area.
A sliding doorset was identified as the right approach. Because the leaf runs across the face of the wall rather than swinging into the room, the clear space in front of the opening stays available for trolleys and handling. That matters in a room where a member of staff may be manoeuvring a sedated animal single handed.
As with any controlled area, the detail around the opening is as important as the leaf itself. Raybloc coordinated the lead equivalence and the vision panel position so the room could be operated safely, and so that staff have a clear view into the room without needing to open the door mid procedure.
The Solution
Raybloc supplied and installed a lead-lined sliding doorset for the X-ray room at Small Paws, manufactured to Code 3 lead equivalence and finished to suit a clinical veterinary setting.
The doorset was supplied with heavy duty sliding door gear, chosen to carry the weight of a lead-lined leaf and to keep the action smooth under repeated daily use. Pull handles were fitted in place of a lever set, which suits a sliding arrangement and is easier to use when staff have their hands full.
The leaf was finished in oak laminate, giving a hard wearing and wipeable surface that keeps the room feeling calm and domestic rather than institutional. Kick plates were fitted to both sides to protect the lower section of the door from trolley wheels, carriers and general contact.
A flush mounted vision panel was included at 250mm x 800mm, allowing staff to see into and out of the room without opening the door. The flush mount keeps the panel sitting neatly within the leaf, with no proud framing to catch on trolleys or make cleaning awkward.
Installation was carried out by Raybloc’s own specialist team, and the doorset is covered by the Raybloc Assurance 10-Year Radiation Shielding Warranty.
Specifications and Requirements
Lead-Lined Sliding Doorset
- Raybloc® lead-lined sliding doorset
- -Single leaf, width less than 1200mm (non-oversized)
- -Code 3 lead equivalence, 1.32mm Pb
- -Non fire rated
- -Oak laminate door finish
- -Kick plates fitted to both sides
- -Heavy-duty sliding door gear
- -Pull handles
Vision Panel
- Flush-mounted lead glass vision panel
- -Vision panel size: 250mm x 800mm
- -Lead glass viewing section to match door lead equivalence
- -Positioned to give a clear view between the X-ray room and the adjoining area
Installation and Assurance
- Installation by Raybloc (X-Ray Protection) Ltd
- -Works carried out during normal working hours
- -10-year material and workmanship guarantee
- -10-year radiation shielding warranty on Raybloc-installed products
The Benefits of Installing Control Booths, Windows and Doorsets from Raybloc
This project shows how the right doorset choice can solve a space problem and a protection problem at the same time.
By working with Small Paws on the opening and the room layout, Raybloc was able to provide a shielding solution that suits the way a veterinary practice actually operates rather than one that simply meets the specification on paper.
The project achieved:
- -Radiation shielding to Code 3 lead equivalence for the practice X-ray room
- -Floor space retained in front of the opening through a sliding arrangement
- -Easier movement of animals, trolleys and equipment in and out of the room
- -Durable oak laminate finish with kick plates for a hard working clinical environment
- -Clear visibility into the room through a flush-mounted lead glass vision panel
- -A tidy flush detail with nothing proud of the leaf to catch or collect dirt
- -Specialist installation and a 10-year radiation shielding warranty
Most importantly, the doorset supports the day to day work of the practice, helping protect staff while keeping imaging quick and straightforward for the animals in their care.
About Raybloc Radiation Protective Products
Veterinary practices need shielding partners who understand that an imaging room in a small animal clinic is a very different environment to a hospital radiology department.
For veterinary projects, Raybloc brings together lead-lined doorsets, sliding and hinged options, wall panels, internal windows, warning lights, penetration detailing and specialist installation support, all sized around the space that is actually available.
Because veterinary imaging rooms are often within converted or constrained buildings, the shielding package has to be planned around real openings, real routes and real handling. Raybloc’s experience allows those constraints to be turned into practical, buildable and compliant solutions.
The Small Paws project is a good example of that approach: a single room, a tight footprint and a solution designed to protect staff without getting in the way of the work.