Small Animal Veterinary Surgeon - Isle of Thanet, Kent

Looking for a different way of working? To feel more relaxed, with more autonomy and be less rushed?

Kate and I were feeling this when we set up our independent practice in 2016. We are mobile and it makes all the difference; happy and less stressed vets, nurses, clients, and patients. We have all the tools to do a great clinical job but without the pressure of a full waiting room of clients and 15-minute appointments. Mobile small animal vetting has all the perks of large animal practice but without having to replace uterine prolapses in a freezing farmyard! Soon you'll be jumping for joy like Floss my dog on the beach !!

We have a fully mobile surgery, so as well as consulting, we also have the facility to perform radiographs, ultrasound, bronchoscopy, and surgical procedures in our mobile theatre. All we need is a parking space and somewhere to plug in our power supply.

We don’t book set appointment times, instead we offer clients a morning or an afternoon slot and we allow around 30 minutes per consult which fits in with our ethos of trying to provide an unhurried, tailored service to each client and pet.  We try to limit the number of appointments booked in a day to between 10 and 15 so we don’t have the huge throughput that is seen with a static practice.  All our nurses are qualified and there is an RVN in every consult with the vet. There is also designated admin time to call owners, report labs and discuss cases.

This would be an ideal role for someone with some experience who loves being a really good GP and enjoys having more time to spend with their patients. Ideally someone who is happy with routine procedures and for more complex surgeries you could be fully supported by Kate, one of the owners and a keen surgeon. We also work very closely with a local cat charity and often run neutering days so it’s a great way to hone your feline neutering skills and give something back to the community. We’re also really happy to support more recent graduates, or perhaps someone who’s had a break from work and needs a confidence boost, by fully funding the Central CPD Vet Graduate Scheme.

We are always happy to discuss different working patterns and can be very flexible if you’d like to do part-time (two - three days) or full-time (4 full days or 5 shorter ones, whatever suits you). Our full days start at 9am and visits finish at 6pm. We are also able to work around other commitments, if you need a slightly later start or an earlier finish just let us know what works for you. We don’t consult at all on Saturdays but 1:4 we take phone calls between 8.30am-12pm and this can be done from home. We triage our calls and if the client needs to be seen, they are referred to a neighbouring practice. Our out of hours are covered by the local VetsNow clinic. We do have a permanent base where our office team work from, and the mobile surgery vans are kept here. There are also kennelling and lab facilities at our base, but we don’t keep patients in overnight. Everybody meets here first thing in the morning and the vets and nurse travel together for their morning visits from here.

Our full-time salary range is between £40,000-£60,000 depending on experience. We are happy to build a package around your needs – if more holiday is important to you just let us know. In addition to our annual leave, we offer a wellness day. We also have private health care and a ‘hobby’ allowance that can be used for things like gym membership, swimming sessions or whatever you like to do to relax.

The area where we are based is known as the Isle of Thanet and is in NE Kent. It’s a beautiful area to live and work in with 37 beaches and coves to explore. There are lots of lovely bistros, cafes and bars in the picturesque coastal towns. It’s also really easy to hop across the channel on the ferry from Dover, which is only 20 minutes away or on the Eurostar from Folkestone, just half an hour from us.

Our ethos is to provide a caring, professional service to the local community. Our clients love our service, and we find it really rewarding being able to treat pets in their own home. We’re a really close-knit, friendly team and enjoy working in a relaxed coastal environment. We often socialise together and every summer we plan a practice camping weekend. We started off with just one vet and one RVN and now we are a team of 3 vets, 5 RVNs plus a wonderful support crew of nonclinical colleagues. Kate and I have loved setting up Vet2U and seeing it grow. If like us, you’d like to find a new way of working, please get in touch for an informal chat or apply now.