Job Description

Are you a confident and experienced veterinary surgeon who thrives leading a small team? Do you have a passion for leading and shaping the future of a practice? Medivet Three Bridges is seeking a Lead Veterinary Surgeon to join our dedicated team and help guide the continued growth of the branch.


This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced veterinary surgeon with ideally 5+ years UK experience to step into a pivotal role leading a practice, training, coaching and supporting the existing team.


You'll work alongside a friendly team, helping to coordinate clinical workflow, mentor junior team members, and contribute to the overall strategic direction of the branch. Excellent time management and a proactive, collaborative approach to team leadership will be key to your success in this role. The current team consists of a 2 year qualified vet, a Head Nurse, 2 RVNs and 2 SVNs alongside a CCA.


Three bridges is very near Crawley town centre, set in a lovely residential area. Three Bridges is walkable, family-friendly, and welcoming, with a strong sense of community and convenient access to shops, history, and green spaces. The nearby Goffs Park and Tilgate Park are green jewels offering lakes, playgrounds, nature walks, and wildlife, perfect for family outings with easy access to both Brighton for a coastal break and London for city life or commuters, as well as being very close to Gatwick airport.


The practice is equipped with adequate facilities that you would expect to find in a comunity branch, within reasonable proximity to the Faygate 24 hour flagship hospital.


If you're ready to lead a talented, close-knit and passionate team in a community practice, with the autonomy to make a real impact on both clinical standards and team culture then we'd love to hear from you.


For a friendly, informal conversation or more information, please contact joanne.gray@medivet.co.uk.

Responsibilities

Client care:

Deliver exceptional care to clients, each and every day. Manage any client concerns or complaints raised in the clinic. Ensure the client receives updates on patient care following all procedures. For any out of hours (OOH) or enhanced care, ensure the client is updated on patient care and wellbeing.

Patient care:

Carry out patient consultations and procedures. Accountable for patient care and monitoring. Responsible for admissions and discharges for procedures (depending on complexity). Ensure patient records are accurate and up to date. Complete a clinical handover and make arrangements for the transfer of any patient requiring OOH or enhanced care. Responsible for prescribing medication and carrying out dispensing checks. All patient care is carried out under the guidance of the vet/lead vet in line with clinical competence. Lead Vet JD V4 01/2024

Standards and Compliance:

Accountable for compliance with all regulatory and practice standards and agreed ways of working. Ensure the appropriate regulatory, practice and operational veterinary and nursing standards are implemented in the practice. Ensure compliance with health and safety requirements.

Commercial performance:

Understand the commercial performance drivers in the clinic such as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), nurse and vet appointments, sale of products and material margin. Work closely with the Practice Manager to maximise the commercial performance of the clinic. Prepare accurate estimates and costs for clients and ensure payment is made at the same time as the procedure. Take action to minimise debt and support action plans to address any issues with clients. Maximise growth and revenue opportunities through the most effective utilisation of clinical skills and capacity.

Communications:

Effectively deliver timely clinical communications to veterinary and nursing teams sharing news of changes or improvements to processes or practice standards, Social Ecosystem Model (SEM) outcomes etc. Ensure clinical teams are aware of new or evolving practice standards. Hold engaging clinical meetings with veterinary and nursing teams as required.

Clinical leadership:

Carry out colleague clinical mentoring as required ensuring clear development plans and support are in place. Pro-actively support sharing clinical best practice within and across clinics and the wider Medivet community. To continue to deliver exceptional care to clients the Vet and Lead Vet are responsible for mentoring graduates within the clinic. The Nurse and Head Nurse are responsible for coaching the nursing team.

Clinical administration:

Accountable for ensuring lab tests are carried out correctly. Escalate any issues to the Practice Manager as required.

Skills, knowledge and experience

Must be an RCVS registered veterinary surgeon. Able to demonstrate clinical leadership skills. Has an understanding and appreciation of exceptional care and how this improves the client experience. Experienced in delivering exceptional clinical care to clients and patients. Implementation of a progressive clinical culture. Knowledge of driving strong commercial performance through the most effective allocation of clinical activity. Able to work as part of a team. Experienced in using coaching and influencing skills to get the best out of each and every colleague.

Our clinics are run by small teams who need to work together effectively to deliver exceptional care to our clients, patients, and colleagues. This means that, from time to time, you may be required to carry out tasks outside your normal duties, where you have the skills, knowledge and experience required