Potts Redmond - Petplan Vet of the Year 2021
Potts Of Talent At Gilmore Vets
3 years ago 
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Petplan have just announced Potts Redmond of Gilmore Veterinary Group as Vet of the Year 2021 in their 22nd Veterinary Awards.
Known colloquially as the ‘Oscars’ of the veterinary world, the Petplan awards recognise the best of the best in five categories:
· Practice Support Staff of the Year
· Practice Manager of the Year
· Vet Nurse of the Year
· Vet of the Year
· Practice of the Year
Potts, who became Clinical Director at Gilmore Veterinary Group at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, was named as Vet of the Year in a virtual ceremony hosted by Marcus Brigstocke.
Potts had stiff competition in her category. Petplan received over 30,000 individual nominations for the awards with some 8,000 for the Vet of the Year category.
Marcus Brigstocke said,
“The judges were hugely impressed by the incredible standards of care and commitment delivered by vets, day in day out, throughout the UK.
“The winner of this important award is both motivated and motivational. The judges recognised their professional skill in providing first class care and their amazing connection with the animals in their care.
He went on to say that the winner is extremely knowledgeable and is loved by both the team and clients alike, always making time to talk to clients with compassion and humour.
He finished with,
“This vet is smart, dedicated and delivers clinical excellence and truly deserves to be crowned Vet of the Year.”
Potts joined Gilmore Vets, part of IVC Evidensia, as a locum in November 2018. She was shocked and honoured to hear the news that she had won the prestigious award. She said,
“This has been the strangest of years where I find myself snatched from the locum trail into the jaws of responsibility as a Clinical Director thanks to IR35 and COVID-19. We are working in ways I would never have imagined existed.
“Then I hear the stupefying news I'm in the final three for Petplan's Vet of the Year, wow! The surreal icing on the cake was to hear my name read out as the winner in a moment that was utterly overwhelming and remains so. Never before have pyjamas, out of date oven pizza and a small glass of red wine, seemed so inadequate and inappropriate. I genuinely didn't expect to win.
“I'm very grateful to those that took the time to nominate me and put me in a limelight I would never seek; it's an absolute honour to be deemed worthy of Vet of the Year and will remain a career highlight!
Potts decided to pursue a career as a vet at the tender age of 10, when her cat was very ill,
“Fluff (you'll be surprised to learn she was fluffy) was euthanised; I felt the vet shied away from telling the family that Fluff needed putting to sleep and decided I wanted a career where I could do right by the animals, even when conversations were difficult. I graduated a long, long time ago in a far off galaxy (the RVC, it was a long way South) when paper records were still the mainstay of veterinary practice."
Edward Davies, Chair of the IVC Evidensia UK Clinical Board said,
“We are incredibly proud that Potts has been named as Vet of the Year in the Petplan awards. It is a fantastic testament to her knowledge, dedication and compassion.
“Every single member of staff with the group has gone above and beyond during what has been a very hard year. I am delighted that their hard work has been recognised by their clients and am thrilled that out of 30,000 nominations, we also had finalists in the Practice Support Staff of the Year and Practice of the Year categories.”
Highgate Veterinary Clinic were named as finalists for Practice of the Year out of 15,000 nominations. Liz Dodd, Clinical Director at Highgate said,
“The practice and some of the vets have received nominations before, but this is the first time we have been one of the 3 finalists for Practice of the Year.
“As you can imagine we were really pleased and super excited.
“The team have a variety of interests, including dentistry, dermatology, greyhounds and physiotherapy. We are dedicated to continual improvement with new learnings, ideas and experiences being shared every day. The staff really enjoy working together, and I think this is obvious to our clients.
“Things have been challenging and far from normal this year, so it is especially nice to receive nominations for Petplan Vet of the Year and Practice of 2021 by our lovely clients and know our efforts have been recognised and appreciated” enthused Liz.
She went on to say that she felt being in the final three for Practice of the Year was a really big thank you for all of their clients.
“It felt amazing to be nominated but to get through to the final is just brilliant!”
Ann Morris of Charlesworth Veterinary Practice was one of the three finalists selected for Practice Support Staff of the Year.
Ann has worked at Charlesworth as a nurse for 40 years and is a familiar face to many of the practice’s long-standing clients.
Jane Kinsell, Clinical Director at Charlesworth said,
“What Ann doesn’t know about veterinary practice is not worth knowing. Everybody loves her. The clients love her and she’s been part of the team, part of the building really, for 40 years. The place wouldn’t be the same without her. I am thrilled that she was nominated and made it through to being a finalist. She thoroughly deserves the recognition.”
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