25/12/2025
A festive message from the Directors
We would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to the support the practice has received from all our wonderful clients and dedicated colleagues this year, and to pause and reflect on the events of 2025.
We have welcomed several new staff to the practice this year, Ellie a qualified Veterinary Nurse who has gained experience in first opinion and referral practices, she has a keen interest in emergency and critical care. Ashleigh has also joined us as a qualified nurse and has a particular interest in animal behaviour. And Jordanna also a qualified veterinary Nurse who comes to us having gained her certification whilst working in a busy practice in southwest London, her area of interest is in feline nursing, anaesthesia and client consultations. We also were pleased to have Megan join us as a student Veterinary Nurse after having spent time working here as a nursing assistant and on work placement from college. Lastly Grace who originally came to the practice in 2023 initially as a volunteer, is now part of the reception team covering maternity leave. She is also studying for her Veterinary care assistant diploma balancing her reception duties alongside being hands on in our wards.
Joining our strong team of 10 Veterinary Surgeons is Shaun Smith, who has vast experience in all aspects of surgery, he holds a certificate in small animal surgery which he gained in 2012 working in a veterinary hospital. He has developed a special interest in ear, nose and throat procedures, especially BOAS (brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome) surgery. Keep an eye out next year when we will be holding a client evening on this subject. Since joining the team, the practice has heavily invested in state-of-the-art equipment to facilitate Laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery. We are now able to offer this technique for bitch spaying, amongst many others. He is also experienced in advanced diagnostic imaging including CT’s, ultrasonography and endoscopy and again the practice has invested in the equipment for this which helps us treat more of your pets in house, limiting the need to refer to Veterinary hospitals for specialist care.
Alongside Shaun, Michelle Rana comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience. She holds a certificate in small animal medicine and has also been awarded Advanced practitioner status by the RCVS. She enjoys all aspects of working in a first opinion practice and enjoys building relationships with clients and their pets, supporting them as individuals and tailoring their needs.
As well as investing in new equipment and technology, we have also dedicated significant time to advanced training for our team. This includes ultrasound training for our vets, teaching our nurses to perform triage ultrasounds, ventilator training to support our anaesthetic capabilities, and further training on our laparoscopic equipment. This ongoing investment in skills and knowledge ensures we continue to provide safe, modern, and high-quality care for every patient.
We continue to be able to offer many different surgeries and therapies not usually available in general practice for example, platelet rich plasma (PRP) and bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) stem cell therapy designed to help patients recover from injuries, managing arthritis and regain comfort and mobility, a cutting-edge natural therapy.
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We can provide extensive cardiac care with our Vet Lana who has advanced training and has a certificate in cardiology. She can manage many heart conditions in practice that may otherwise require an immediate referral, she acts as our primary cardiac care coordinator, guiding and supporting with long-term monitoring and treatment plans.
Our referral service has been particularly busy this year as we continue to build on and provide a comprehensive service across a range of disciplines, supported by our experienced RCVS certificate holders and advanced practitioners. Whilst we are not a specialist centre, we are proud to deliver high-quality, referral level care at a competitive cost to clients from other local practices.
As we look to 2026, we have many exciting projects ahead, this will be our 60th anniversary of being an independent practice, of which we are immensely proud. We will be celebrating later next year with an open day and other fun activities, we would urge you to keep in touch with us on social media and our website where we will be sharing our calendar of events. These will include information evenings on various topics and many nurse lead events at the practice. We will also be sharing details of our planned building expansion where we will be creating dedicated cat friendly areas, new consulting rooms and dedicated imaging suite, watch this space!
We hope that you and your families enjoy a happy and healthy festive season and we look forward to seeing you all in 2026.
Best wishes
Lindsey and Stefaan
