Veterinary Surgeon

Grove Lodge Veterinary Group; Lancashire; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A well-established veterinary practice in Lancashire seeks a new veterinary surgeon to join their team. The ideal candidate will engage in varied case management, from routine surgeries to rehabilitation services, with flexible hours and opportunities for professional development. The practice fosters a supportive environment for new and experienced vets alike, ensuring a rewarding career path in a friendly team.

Benefits

Five weeks holiday + bank holidays

CPD budget of £1750

No out of hours

Qualifications

• Preferred experience as a veterinary surgeon.
• New/ recent graduates will be considered with a supportive environment.
• Interest in student education and wildlife rehabilitation is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Manage complex medical and surgical cases.
• Help shape the new branch surgery with rehabilitation services.
• Take part in the Saturday rota.

Skills

Teamwork

Communication

Problem-solving

Education

Degree in Veterinary Medicine

Job description

About Us

Wendy Lane Vets is an RCVS Tier II accredited practice in Lancashire, just north of Manchester. We are a thriving, proudly independent practice looking for a new member to join our eight vet team.

We are looking for a new vet as, after nine years, one of our team, Penny, has decided to move on to new challenges and a planned move to New Zealand. Penny joined us as a recent graduate and during her time has developed into a highly capable vet capable of manage complex medical and surgical cases. Her shift pattern includes days at the branch surgery working sole charge and also being lead vet at the main surgery. She has completed a medicine certificate, the GDP mentoring programme and successfully mentored two new graduates. Does this sound like the kind of career progression you are looking for? Could you be the next Penny? If so read on...

The surgery opened in 1964 and takes it name from now retired partner, Wendy Lane. Phil joined the surgery in 2007 and took over from Wendy in 2013. In 2007 the surgery had three vets, and three nurses, that team has now grown to eight vets and eight nurses. Our main surgery is located in Rochdale with a branch surgery four miles away in Littleborough and a second branch four miles in the opposite direction in Heywood. The Rochdale surgery has four consulting rooms, separate cat and dog wards, separate cat and dog operating theatres and a dedicated dental room with dental xray facilities. Two years ago the Rochdale surgery achieved the ISFM Gold-level award for cat-friendly status. There’s an in house IDEXX lab, K Laser, orthopaedic kits, ultrasound and all the rest of the equipment you would expect in a busy first opinion practice. Our Littleborough surgery is also well kitted out with two consulting rooms, kennels, in house lab, operating theatre and dental facilities. The bespoke-build third surgery in Heywood is an exciting new venture. It’s a modern, fully air-conditioned building with three consulting rooms, operating facilities, in house lab and a soon to open separate pet well-being centre offering complementary therapies including hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, acupuncture and K laser. We have links with physiotherapists from Nottingham Vet School and hydrotherapists from the UCLAN Vet school and hope to make a really special pet rehab centre for the area. A candidate with an interest in this would be ideally suited to help develop this facility in the way that they want. We provide the veterinary work for the local RSPCA centre which has just moved to a purpose built multimillion pound facility at Hollingworth Lake Country Park. This contract includes the provision of veterinary care to look after all of the animals in the shelter and we are helping to develop their wildlife rehabilitation facilities. Some of our most rewarding cases come for the care provided to these charity patients. The plan will be to to develop a wildlife hub for triage, rehabilitation and release within the country park. Again, this is an area that may be of interest for a successful candidate to develop.

“I have now been at Wendy lane vets for almost 10 years and would recommend it to any vet looking for a job. The team are friendly and supportive, I now regard them all as my friends. The caseload is varied and there are plenty of opportunities to work cases up completely. The other vets are all friendly and open to discussing cases if needed. The nurses are very proactive and helpful. It is also an independent practice, Phil and Judith are very approachable to discuss anything that you need.” Sarah, Vet

“Since starting at Wendy Lane Vets as a new graduate veterinary surgeon almost 3 years ago my confidence, skill- set and knowledge has grown immensely and continues to do so every day. A large part of that has been down to the support, encouragement and guidance of all my brilliant colleagues/work family. Each day brings a new challenge mostly extremely rewarding however sometimes upsetting but I know I can always count on the support of every member of the team – we laugh, smile, gorge on choccies, occasionally cry but always together. From day 1 I felt like a valued member of the team even if I didn’t quite believe in myself at that point, my team did and have continued to help me grow and develop- answering my many questions, teaching me new skills, running through cases, supporting my moments of self doubt and being the biggest cheerleaders for my achievements always with patience, kindness and a smile.” Becky, Vet

The Team

The surgery is lucky to have a settled, stable team of twenty eight, many of whom have worked at Wendy Lanes for ten or more years. This team includes five experienced vets of 15years + experience, and three recent graduates, eight RVNs and two student vet nurses, an SQP in dispensary, eight receptionists and a practice manager. We are also sponsoring a vet student through university who will join the team when she completes her degree. Our staff are passionate about providing friendly, approachable care to our clients and their pets. One of the best ways we have found to be able to do this is by supporting our staff in a similar friendly approachable way. Our mantra is that happy, motivated staff will flourish and provide the best care possible to our patients.

We have quarterly vet, nurse and practice meetings and an open culture to discuss and implement new ideas from all members of the team. Our vet meetings typically occur in an evening over pizza and provide an opportunity to share CPD and discuss cases.

Our vets are encouraged to work up their own cases with support from colleagues. If there’s a specific area of interest then this will also be encouraged. For example Phil likes his cruciate and other orthopaedic surgeries, Penny, who has a certificate in medicine, has an interest in feline cardiology so tends to do the cat echos. Bethany has a certificate in anaesthesia and analgesia and enjoys a challenging general anaesthetic as well as keeping the team up to date with latest analgesia protocols. Sarah has developed a following amongst ferret owners with regular ‘ferret Wednesdays’ for vasectomies. We try to share consulting and operating duties equally so typically each vet will have a day consulting, a day operating (with some consults in the afternoon), a split day of consults and ops and a day at the branch surgery. All of our staff work at both the main surgery and one of the branch surgeries so we’re all one big team. The vets work one late night each (until 7 or 8pm) and all have at least one day off during the week. There’s a shared rota for one in three Saturday morning clinics (9-12). Rotas are fixed so you’ll always have the same late night/early finish/day off during the week. We use an out of hours provider for evenings, weekends and bank holidays.

Further training and development is important to us at Wendy Lane Vets. We believe in empowering our staff to learn, develop and bring new skills to the surgery. Our team of vets includes two certificate holders. We are keen to support vets wishing to study for a certificate. We are always keen on new ideas and will invest in new kit and training. This is reflected in our commitment to student vet and nurse training. We’ve always had strong links with Myerscough nursing college, there’s always at least one student nurse at the surgery. We’ve also agreed a partnership agreement with UCLAN to support the new veterinary school in Preston. Six of our team are trained vet student mentors to help with this programme. If you want to work at a surgery which is continually evolving with latest ideas and developments and where your ideas will will be listened to and implemented then this is the place for you.

As we have been a long established practice with a very stable team of staff we genuinely feel part of the community. These strong bonds with our clients helps to create a friendly work environment. We are also proud to be an independent practice and intend to stay as such. To many of our staff this is a very important factor for their enjoyment of their job.

“Wendy Lane Vets is a great place to work. I’ve been here for 18 years, started as a receptionist/nurse auxiliary and they’ve paid for and put me through my nursing qualifications and I’m now branch manager at the Littleborough surgery. We have some lovely clients at both surgeries and our team is super friendly! We’re a small independent vets which is also important to me” Helen, Branch Manager/Nurse.

“I’ve been working at Wendy Lane Vets for 20years now. It’s a friendly practice with great opportunities to develop skills” Paula, Vet Nurse.

About the role

Ideally we are looking for a candidate for 3 or 4 days per week and to be part of our Saturday rota (1 in 3 Saturday mornings 9am to 12 noon). An experienced vet would be preferred as they could help shape the new branch surgery but a new or recent graduate would be considered. With lots of exciting developments happening at the surgery there is scope for our new vet to chose how they want to progress their role within the surgery; be it at the bespoke branch surgery with rehabilitation, hydrotherapy, physiotherapy and laser, helping with the operations and diagnostics at the main surgery, taking an active role in student education, helping with the wildlife rehabilitation at the rescue centre or simply being a good all-rounder! There will be some flexibility on days/hours to suit the right candidate.

Location

The surgeries are located in Greater Manchester, at the foothills of the South Pennines and close to the M62. There are excellent transport links in the local area and there’s plenty to do be it outdoor pursuits and walking in the hills or jumping on the train to Manchester city centre.

Successful Candidate

Ideally we are looking for a candidate for 3 or 4 days per week and to be part of our Saturday rota (1 in 3 Saturday mornings 9am to 12 noon). An experienced vet would be preferred as they could help shape the new branch surgery. With lots of exciting developments happening at the surgery there is scope for our new vet to chose how they want to progress their role within the surgery; be it at the bespoke branch surgery with rehabilitation, hydrotherapy, physiotherapy and laser, helping with the operations and diagnostics at the main surgery, taking an active role in student education, helping with the wildlife rehabilitation at the rescue centre or simply being a good all-rounder! There will be some flexibility on days/hours to suit the right candidate.

Location

The surgeries are located in Greater Manchester, at the foothills of the South Pennines and close to the M62. There are excellent transport links in the local area and there’s plenty to do be it outdoor pursuits and walking in the hills or jumping on the train to Manchester city centre.

The Package

• Salary of £38 000 to £65 000 dependent upon experience Five weeks holiday + bank holidays One in three Saturday mornings (9-12) One week for CPD (or do the CPD in your own time and take 5 additional days holiday!) CPD budget of £1750 VDS and RCVS membership Journal membership No out of hours

Wendy Lane Vets is a genuinely great place to work as paid testament by the fact that we have such a low staff turnover. If you want to find out more about how this role could be right for you please get in touch.

To submit your application, please click the apply now button.