Companion Animal Vets

Are you looking to work in a great independent practice where you can develop your skills as a vet?

Do you want to join a friendly and supportive team?

Do you want to make a difference to the lives of your patients and their families?

If the answer is yes, read on…                         

Our mixed practice would like 3 additional companion animal vets to join our 13-vet team in our modern and truly independent veterinary Hospital in the market town of Banbury in North Oxfordshire.                                    

We are looking for:

• A new or recently qualified vet keen to develop their skills in a supportive environment with a varied caseload
• A more experienced colleague looking to work in a well-equipped practice with clinical freedom, working up cases to a high level
• Night/weekend vet, with a flexible package possible to suit the right person 

We are offering a base salary of £34-60k, depending on experience, for
a full time contract working a 4 or 5 day week. 

You will receive 6 weeks holiday in addition to most bank holidays. 

We provide a generous CPD allowance.

Enhanced OOH pay worth up to £5k per year on top of base salary.

Enhanced maternity/paternity pay.

Supported by a fantastic team of qualified vet nurses and experienced animal nursing assistants.

We would like you to be part of our 1 in 5 OOH weekend rota (Saturday and Sunday) and be on call 1 night in 7. Full support is available from at least one other Vet for OOH/weekend work. Flexible/shared arrangements are also possible. 

We will consider a part-time contract for the right candidate.

Mentoring is provided by the partners and senior vets and new vets are assigned their own mentor at the start of their employment. 

Come and join a fun and friendly team and help us plan our next team adventure for 2022 (3-peaks? Go-karting? Tour de Trigs, paintballing)!

Further information:

At West Bar Veterinary Hospital you will be supported by our experienced team working on-site at our modern Veterinary Hospital. We will help you develop your skills in consulting, diagnostic techniques and surgery. We have 20 minute consultations giving you time to engage fully with each client.  Our experienced team are keen to pass on their knowledge in medicine, diagnostics, soft tissue surgery, orthopaedics and 'keyhole' surgery.

We have modern facilities and equipment, including:

1. Purpose built in-house lab managed and run by our 2 qualified biomedical scientists. Rapid same-day turnaround on most blood tests allows us to give the most appropriate treatment to our patients as quickly as possible. Cytology and microbiology is also performed in-house. 
2. Extensive  in-house surgical facilities including 4 operating theatres and a dental suite with dental X-ray machine . 
3. Latest digital x-ray machine 
4. Endoscopic and laparoscopic equipment 
5. Modern ultrasound equipment 
6. Air conditioning 

Our main hospital is situated in the heart of Banbury, a few minutes from the M40 motorway and a short walk from the railway station with easy access to London and Birmingham. Banbury is well provided for with the usual amenities. The practice has plenty of free parking including a controlled access staff only car park. We recently added a large canopy to the back of our building to facilitate our covid-secure working practices. We have four branch surgeries in surrounding villages, the furthest being a 25 minute drive away. These branches are only open for several hours a day and new vets will not be asked to go to these branches until they are comfortable with sole-charge. 

Our hospital premises are bright and airy with lots of space for our team including comfortable rest rooms, kitchens, showers, meeting rooms etc. Our computer system has been specifically tailored for us and can be further developed in the future. iPads are available to aid remote consulting. The PetsApp application is used throughout the practice to facilitate and enhance communication with clients. It also provides a secure platform for remote video consultations where appropriate.

We have an experienced team of vets and vet nurses, as well as an experienced practice manager and head nurse. Currently we have 6 full-time small animal vets, 2 part-time, 4 mixed vets, and 1 large animal vet. We have 2 certificate holders and a lot of the vets have developed their own areas of expertise. We encourage vets to develop their skills in all areas, but we often find people find their own niche and become our in-house experts for certain disciplines. We have regular meetings to share knowledge from recent CPD events and discuss practice matters. We are forward thinking, evidence-based, and encourage people to bring their own ideas.

As truly independent vets we strongly believe that out of hours care is something we should provide for our patients. We aim to share the load of this fairly and make sure that the many colleagues that support us in this are appropriately rewarded.

Essentials

Most importantly the candidate must be a team player with good communication skills and be able to fit in with our excellent team. The candidate must be a fluent English speaker, have a right to work in the UK and hold a valid UK driving licence. We may consider sponsoring the right candidate. A 'pooled' practice vehicle is available (subject to con-ditions). The candidate must be a Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Rewards

Working for a truly independent practice in which you are encouraged
to follow your own cases and develop your own relationships with your clients. Many of our team have joined the practice and enjoyed working here so much they are still with us several decades later.

• A base salary from £34-60k dependent on experience. Enhanced OOH pay arrangements (worth around £3-5k per year) on top of base salary
• Generous CPD allowance with encouragement to undertake Accredited Post Graduate Training e.g. Certificates.
• Generous Holiday Allowance
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Pay arrangements leading to full pay for up to 6 months.

Accommodation

We have a selection of self-contained flats which are available if required. We have a comfortable and well-equipped on-site room if people prefer to sleep at the practice when on call. 

Practice Security 

Our large car park is flood lit and is covered by CCTV. The staff car park is secured by an automatic barrier system. 

Future

We are looking to invest in a CT scanner in the future. We will have at least one vet GDP qualified in the next few months.

If you are interested in one of the roles please email your CV and covering letter to julie@westbarvets.uk, our practice manager, by clicking the apply button.