Drove Veterinary Hospital in Swindon
South West Veterinary Group Recruits New Team To Provide 24 Hour Emergency Services
1 month ago 
207 views
Swindon’s largest and oldest independent veterinary practice, Drove Vets, has launched a new out of hours and emergency service after recruiting six highly experienced vets and nurses to offer round the clock care to pets from across the town and beyond.
Catherine Rowe, Anna Bateman and Maciej Ligus join as veterinary surgeons and all three have a wealth of out of hours, emergency and critical care experience. In addition, Emma Clayton, Linka Sendall and Amiee Simpkins, who have all worked in Swindon for many years, have been recruited as registered veterinary nurses.
Drove Vets has six practices across Swindon and the new out of hours service will operate from its veterinary hospital, which is just south of Swindon town centre, off Croft Road. These latest appointments mean Drove Vets, which can trace its roots back to 1839, now employs a 117-strong team.
Lynne Gaskarth, Drove Vets’ practice director and small animal director vet, said: “For the past four years we’ve outsourced our emergency services to a corporate veterinary chain, that would work in our veterinary hospital at night and at weekends. However, we had little control over how it was run, so we’re hugely excited to now offer a dedicated out of hours service with our own pricing structure and experienced team.
“We’re also now receiving enquiries from other veterinary practices in the surrounding area that want to be able to send their clients, that require emergency care, to a well-known, reputable and independent local business that they trust.”
Lynne added: “We’re also very fortunate to have been able to attract such an experienced and knowledgeable team to run the new service. Most of them already have a strong track record in providing out of hours and emergency services, and they were all extremely keen to join us, which speaks volumes about our reputation.”
Commenting on her decision to join Drove Vets, Amiee Simkins said: “Drove Vets is a highly respected and well-known independent practice and when I heard about the plans to launch this new service, I immediately wanted to be part of it.
“Although I’ve worked in all areas of veterinary care, I’ve always really enjoyed the out of hours and critical care work because no two shifts are ever the same and it’s very fast paced at times. It’s also incredibly rewarding when you successfully treat a case that was completely unexpected and create a positive outcome for both the pet and its owner.
“I’m now looking forward to working alongside my new colleagues to make a genuine difference to local pets and their families, as well as ensuring this new service is a success.”
Drove Vets is a member of XLVets which is a community of independently owned veterinary practices that works collaboratively for the greater good of the veterinary profession by sharing best practice, experience, knowledge and skills to define the highest standards of veterinary care.
More from XLVets
- Farm vet expands in South Lanarkshire with second site
- Vets are ‘puffin’ through mammoth pink yacht racing challenge
- The XLVets community is thriving after 20 years and lays the foundations for the next 20
- Future is healthy for longstanding North Yorkshire veterinary group as it welcomes new partners
- A decade of development for small animal graduate programme
