Pets 1st, UK

Organisational background

At Pets 1st we have two sites, Runnymede Hill Veterinary Hospital in Egham and our branch practice in Sunningdale.

We have been here for over 40 years and are situated across the road from an M&S and next door to a Ferrari garage!  We have strong ties within the community.

What sets us apart and why we are a great place to work is our team.

Our vet team is led by Andy our Clinical Director, an experienced vet with 26 years under his belt, who is also a budding golf enthusiast.  Andy is a mentor to all staff at the practice along with David our Deputy Clinical Director.  David has gained a wealth of knowledge over his 31 years of practice along with a PhD and a large following of clients that adore him.  He is a talented baker (his ginger cakes are to die for) and the organiser of our seasonal growing competitions.

Vet Hannah is our GDP adviser and together with David and Andy she supports our vet team and new grads, that is when she is not off climbing Everest.  Claire has just joined us a year into her life as a vet and we are currently interviewing for our remaining vacancy. We also have the lovely Simone who works mornings for us.

We have an amazing and accomplished nursing team of 11 RVNS and 3 SVNS. We support and encourage further training and our nursing team hold certificates in anaesthesiology, medicine, behaviour, ECC, and wildlife to name just a few.

We pride ourselves on listening to staff and actively making improvements to support a work-life balance, patient care, and staff morale.

In February of 2021 we made the decision to work alongside Vets Now and use them to provide our OOH service, but we still provide 24-hour nursing care to our inpatients.

In addition, we also created two night nurse roles which reduced the nights and weekends our team of nurses have to work .

Other roles we have since created are two-term time-only nurses and a dedicated Clinical Coach and EMS/work experience manager.

It is very important to us that our nurses nurse and our vets vet; this is why we have increased practice support.

Our reception team work in a team of three for each shift. They are supported by the client care manager and insurance manager.

Like many other practices, we are very busy and want to meet and exceed our clients’ expectations.  We constantly look for ways to improve and following our front of house changes we are now looking to introduce a new role of Reception Team Leader. We know we need an RVN and a people manager and have created a job role to meet these needs.

In 2018 we joined IVC Evidensia and as a result, our practice was able to grow and expand.  We created additional much-needed roles, bought some swanky equipment, and went on some cool CPD.  We increased staff salaries, enhanced sick pay and family and friends benefits, and everyone gets more holiday!

We have exciting plans for the future - our building will be expanded, and we will have a new waiting area and additional theatres and wards.

Organisation aims & mission

Our mission is to support and improve the health and quality of life of all our patients through exceptional quality of care.

• To provide our clients and patients with a trained & experienced veterinary team, committed to providing exceptional care for your pets for life.
• To educate our clients about the roles they play in keeping their pets healthy and happy.
• To support our staff’s wellbeing and training to ensure our practice leads the community in both veterinary medicine and customer service.
• To place integrity and honesty at the heart of our service.

The team, our people!

Staff, ex-staff, and locums tell us we are a great place to work. Many of our staff have left and returned to us. Everyone says it is because of the team.

What staff like:

• Clinical rounds daily. Cases are discussed and plans are agreed on. Everyone is aware of what the plan is for the day.
• Varied vet rota. Our FT vets work a 4-day week, with 3 shifts from 8.30 am to 7pm and 1 shift from 8 am to 5 pm.
• 15-minute consults.
• Early shift consults are 9 to 12 and 2 to 5 both with a 30-minute break.
• Another shift is split between ops in the morning and consults from 3 to 6.30 with a 30- minute break.  All breaks are scheduled and are not bookable.
• Nurses work a 4 day week with weekend shifts paid or taken as TOIL.
• Investment in equipment. Over the last 12 months we have replaced, upgraded or purchased new dental machines, diathermy, state-of-the-art ICU chambers, new kennels, and lab machines.
• Summer and Christmas dos, we know how to have fun and are homing our skills at Top Golf.

Above all, this is a practice where you will gain experience, learn an awful lot, share your knowledge and work alongside some amazing people.