NE Vet Travels The World To Develop Surgery Techniques

And Predicts Doubling of Turnover - Whatever the atmosphere surrounding the well reported credit crunch, it seems that the North East is still keen to invest in the best possible medical care available to their pets. Croft Vets is one company that is bucking the recession trend at the moment with its growth plan. The company is expanding rapidly with the acquisition of a practice in South Gosforth, the opening of a new cat only dedicated clinic in Jesmond and the pending opening of a state of the art £3,000,000 Regional Veterinary Referral and Emergency Hospital, currently being constructed in Cramlington. With these additions to the existing eight branches, owners of the practice Judith Joyce and Malcolm Ness are predicting that their turnover will double over the next five years. Currently boasting a turnover in excess of £2 million, the company employs 12 veterinary surgeons, and has plans in place to increase that by at least 33%. Non veterinary staff brings the total of employees currently up to 42, again a figure that the company expects to swell by another 25%. Judith, who is a qualified vet and graduate of the Royal Veterinary College in London, has 25 years hands on experience which adds to up an impressive CV. She said: “When we established Croft Vets in 1987 it was just a typical general veterinary practice providing primary care to domestic pets and other animals from our base in Blyth. We have built upon this focussing and specialising in domestic pet animals, and the practice has expanded gradually across SE Northumberland and North Tyneside. “Unlike other veterinary practices we have chosen a different route, concentrating on developing ourselves through increasing our specialisation. For example the Blyth hospital became the first, and is still the only practice in Northern Britain to be inspected and fully approved by RCVS and ECVS for the training of surgeons to specialist level. We also thrive through our primary care and referral/consultancy service, which is used by vets working in other practices across the country who need to tap into our surgical and medical expertise. “We are now ready to build upon this again, hence the acquisition of the South Gosforth branch and the addition of the Newcastle Cat Clinic in Jesmond. When the hospital opens in November we will no doubt see the company and its client base evolve again, and we are excited and ready for the future.” Another feather in the cap of the Northumberland based veterinary couple is that Malcolm is a renowned surgeon worldwide. As well as successfully developing new medical procedures, the 50 year old is finding himself travelling across the globe on a regular basis to both share and increase his knowledge. Malcolm explains: “This all started 15 years ago when I travelled to Oregon and was the first UK vet to bring back a surgical procedure, known as TPLO. Subsequently, we have done around 3,000 TPLO surgeries in our practice, and it has become the single most widely used technique for treatment of canine cruciate injuries across US and Europe . “In the years since, I have travelled far and wide teaching other vets, sharing my knowledge and where possible making sure that I am at the forefront of any medical advancements. Most recently this year, I undertook a trip to Texas as one of just three vets selected to work on the development of a canine total elbow joint replacement. “At home I have used this advancement for the benefit of veterinary patients in the NE with several of our patients already enjoying pain free, active life following successful joint replacement surgery. I will now be teaching the technique to other specialist vet surgeons at elbow replacement courses worldwide. I have just returned from one in Las Vegas, and this month I am heading to Germany to teach the course for the European Society of Veterinary Orthopaedics and Traumatology. The UK’s first elbow course takes place in Glasgow in February but before then, I have been invited to Israel to operate on two dogs in October.”

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