A Bristol graduate, he worked in mixed practice in Wiltshire for 16 years. He joined MAFF “temporarily” in 2000, worked through the FMD epidemic of 2001 and became a Veterinary Officer. He left APHA after 14 years, which included a year seconded the Welsh Government as a Veterinary Advisor on bovine TB. Now a regional TB test assessor and has worked on OCQ(V)s for Improve International. He also continues to work part-time for a large practice in Wiltshire.

Jon., originally from Somerset, graduated from the RVC in 1999 and spent two years in mixed practice in Dolgellau, North Wales. From there, he moved to Pembrokeshire where he spent seven years in a couple of practices as a mixed practitioner and VN assessor, and then as a predominantly large animal/abattoir vet. He then spent three years working for the State Veterinary Service (now APHA field services). In 2009, Jon. Moved to Aberystwyth where he spent six years as a mixed practitioner and VN assessor. Other duties included a TB-testing assessor for Improve International.

Jon. now works as centre manager for the Wales Veterinary Science Centre in Aberystwyth. Most of his time is occupied by lecturing in all aspects of veterinary science at Aberystwyth University on the Veterinary Bioscience degree, post-mortem examination of animals and as Quality Manager. He has chaired the OV conference for Improve International for the last three conferences.

President of BVNA

Wendy, President of BVNA, started as a trainee Veterinary Nurse at a small animal practice in Surrey during 1991 and on qualifying moved to Yorkshire; working in a large mixed practice. She then left there as Head Nurse to have her first son and to also re-locate to Germany with her Forces husband.
Following a move to Devon and having had her second son, Wendy started work at a two branch, small animal practice as a nurse, VN Assessor and then Practice Manager. Moving to the North West in 2002, she worked as a nurse in a small animal practice, before becoming the VNAC Co-ordinator at Myerscough College. After four years there, she then returned to practice as a part-time VN, which enabled her more time with her family.
She started working for Anthony Chadwick in 2007, initially as Nurse Manager, then as Practice Manager. During this time, The Webinar Vet was created. Once this became established, Anthony sold the practice and she remained with him as his Operations Manager.
In this role, Wendy organised CPD for Vets, nurses and SQPs. In addition, she dealt with Dermatology referral clients and spent at least one day a month working in practice. She joined BVNA Council in October 2016 and set up Malex Consulting Ltd in November of 2016 and now helps businesses with their online presence, as well as locum nursing. In March 2017 she became Junior Vice President of BVNA and then became President of BVNA in October 2017.

Emma graduated from Bristol university in 1996. After 12 years in practice she became a technical advisor for Hills Pet Nutrition and worked with them for seven years.

Emma was a trustee of the Animal Welfare Foundation for six years and sat as their representative on the BVA Ethics and Welfare group for two years. She has written nine books on pet animal welfare and pedigree health problems and spoken at various conferences on different animal welfare subjects such as pedigree dog health, the ethics of showing and the welfare of elite horses. Her latest book, Picking a Pedigree; How to Choose a Healthy Puppy or Kitten, was published in 2018.

Emma now lives in France with her husband, two girls and a cross-eyed moggie called Stella! She continues her welfare work and writing.
Photo credit: Bailey Cooper

EBVS® European Veterinary Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine, RCVS Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine
Director of Small Animal Medical Services, Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge

After graduation, Nick worked in primary care practice before completing a residency in small animal medicine at the University of Cambridge. He gained both the RCVS and European Diplomas in Small Animal Medicine in 2006, and is a European and RCVS Specialist. He remained at Cambridge as a medicine clinician, before undertaking a Wellcome Trust funded PhD in canine hepatology. He moved to the University of Nottingham in 2013 where he was Clinical Associate Professor in Small Animal Medicine and Oncology for four years. In March 2018 he became Director of Small Animal Medical Services at the University of Cambridge, and is responsible for overseeing the medicine, oncology, dermatology and primary care services, along with running the residency and internship programmes. Nick is a member of the ECVIM internal medicine examinations committee, and was a previous Chair of the RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Medicine examination committee. He was a member of the BSAVA Congress Scientific Committee for several years and Chair between 2014 and 2017.

EBVS® European Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine, RCVS Specialist in Small Animal Medicine (Gastroenterology) Editor-in-Chief of Veterinary Medicine and Science. Bristol Veterinary School

Ed Hall is Professor of Small Animal Internal Medicine at the University of Bristol. A Cambridge graduate, he undertook postgraduate clinical and research training in Philadelphia and Liverpool, and is a Diplomate of the ECVIM-CA. He is a Past President of the BSAVA, and is the only RCVS Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Medicine (Gastroenterology).

Head Nurse, Vets Now 24/7 Emergency & Specialty Hospital

Helen Rooney BSc(Hons) CVN CertEd DipAVN (Medical) RVN. Since qualifying in 1996, Helen initially worked for many years in a busy multidiscipline referral hospital, first in the soft tissue referral service and later as the Senior Ward Manager. Later in her career, she spent years as a veterinary nursing lecturer at Myerscough College lecturing mostly in medicine, patient care and emergency and critical care. In November 2016, Helen became the Head Nurse at Vets Now’s new Emergency and Critical Care and Specialty Referral Hospital in Manchester.

Molly gained her RCVS Certificate in Zoological Medicine in 2001 and her Diploma (Mammalian) in 2007. Her special interests are rabbit medicine and surgery. Molly has contributed to several books including the BSAVA Manual of Reptiles, Nursing Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Rabbit Medicine and Rabbit Surgery and volumes on rodent/rabbit medicine and surgery. Molly’s update on the Textbook of Rabbit Medicine has recently been published. Molly also reviews articles for other authors and Journals, and has been involved in reviewing the WildPro volume on Lagomorphs. She is an examiner for the RCVS Diploma in Zoological Medicine. Molly heads the Exotics Referral Service at Rutland House Veterinary Referrals, St Helens, Merseyside.

Jon graduated from Cambridge in 2004 and spent several years in small animal practice. He completed a rotating internship at the RVC in 2010 and then spent a few months working for an emergency out of hours provider. In 2011 he returned to Cambridge for a surgery residency and was an affiliated lecturer for 2 years after becoming an ECVS diploma holder in 2015. Jon has been a senior lecturer in small animal soft tissue surgery at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Science in Edinburgh since the beginning of 2017.

David graduated from Cambridge in 1988. After gaining his certificate in veterinary ophthalmology and a PhD in ocular immunology, he spent time working at the Animal Health Trust and the Royal Veterinary College. David’s research interests include veterinary and comparative ophthalmology, specifically age-related cataract, ocular surface disease and immunology. He has written numerous books and book chapters in ophthalmology and spoken on the subject internationally. David is currently director of studies in veterinary medicine and pathology, college lecturer in pathology and associate university lecturer in veterinary ophthalmology at the University of Cambridge.

EBVS® European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery, Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists

Alison graduated from the University of Bristol in 1996. She initially spent four years in first opinion practice. She completed a Junior Clinical Training Scholar (Internship) in 2000 and a three year Senior Clinical Training Scholarship (Residency) in Small Animal Surgery in 2004, both at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC). She was a Lecturer in Surgery at the RVC until 2007. She then worked in private referral practice in Surrey for 6 months before joining Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists in 2008. She works as a specialist soft tissue surgeon, offering secondary and tertiary referrals in all disciplines of soft tissue surgery.

Alison became a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2005 and is an RCVS Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Surgery.

As well as providing clinical services, Alison is actively involved in veterinary postgraduate certificate teaching and she is an examiner for several of the certificate qualifications available in the UK.

Founder of The Veterinary Wound Library & Bandaging Angels

Georgie is an independent specialist in wound management and dressing technologies. She has lectured widely, both nationally and internationally across equine and small animal disciplines and has authored many peer reviewed articles across the UK and beyond. Georgie’s day to day role is focused on running the Veterinary Wound Library and her team of ‘Bandaging Angels’ who deliver tailored in house CPD to help practices refine their dressing selection and overcome their bandaging demons. Georgie is an associate member of the BVNA, AVSTS, a member of European Wound Management Association and past secretary of the Vet Wound Healing Association.

Gayle graduated from the University of Cambridge and completed her postgraduate training at the Royal Veterinary College in London. She then completed a PhD investigating aortic valve prolapse at the University of Nottingham. She is currently Professor in Veterinary Internal Medicine and Critical Care. She is an American Specialist in Internal Medicine and Emergency and Critical Care and Associate Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging. Her main interests are cardiology, gastroenterology, imaging (particularly ultrasonography), analgesia and emergency and critical care.

VDS Training

Penny graduated from the RVC and spent 2 years in mixed practice before returning for a small animal internship. On completion, she decided to explore opportunities beyond the vet profession and spent 6 fast-paced years working in project and programme management, deploying radiology systems into the NHS. In 2010 she joined Ernst and Young as a management consultant, working with clients across a range of industries and sectors, as well as delivering coaching and training internally. She returned to small animal practice for an enjoyable 3 years before transitioning out to pursue her joint passions for developing people, endurance sports and travel. Penny holds diplomas in Personal Performance, Small Business and Corporate and Executive Coaching and is an NLP Practitioner. She now runs her own business as a leadership and performance coach and trainer working with individuals, teams and businesses. She is an associate with VDS Training, inspiring members of the vet profession to make positive changes to become more resilient, develop their personal leadership skills and become the people they want to be.

Director of VetDentist

Bob Partridge provides veterinary dental services from a dedicated referral practice in North Leeds. Bob qualified from Edinburgh’s Royal Dick Veterinary School in 1984 having served briefly in the British Army with the Royal Engineers. After a period in mixed, equine and small animal practices he established his own practice in Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England in 1988. His interest in Veterinary Dentistry was established in 1986 when he was one of the first vets in the UK to have access to a high-speed air driven dental machine. This led to Bob being a founder member of the British Veterinary Dental Association (BVDA) in 1988 and acting as Treasurer. The practice in Harrogate grew and in 1992 Bob created the first Veterinary Hospital in the whole of North Yorkshire (England’s largest county). An integral part of this development was the “Peter Emily Dental Theatre” and the numbers and complexity of the dental cases (both internal and referred) increased. The practice opened a further branch practice in Ripon. In 1998 he attended his first European Veterinary Dental Society meeting and has been a regular attendee since. In 2011 Bob achieved Diplomate status of the European Veterinary Dental College. This was one of his proudest moments as it represented many years of work and allowed him to use the accolade of Recognised European Veterinary Specialist in Dentistry. He is also now a Recognised RCVS Specialist in Veterinary Dentistry. In 1999 Bob founded Pet Smile Month, an annual pet dental health promotion. This led to over 1500 veterinary practices in the UK providing free dental check-ups for clients, together with distributing dental health promotional materials and widespread media coverage in the press, radio and TV. In 2016 VetHospital was sold to Medivet, allowing Bob to concentrate on his referral and dentistry work and he set up a new purely referral practice in North Leeds in 2018.

Langford Vets

Helen started her nurse training in 2006 and qualified in 2008. She trained and qualified in a privately owned first opinion and referral hospital. A few years after qualifying she became Head Surgical Nurse. Helen has always had a passion for anaesthesia and wanted to specialise from early on in her career.
Helen started working at Langford Vets in 2013, initially as maternity cover but quickly went on to became a permanent member of the anaesthesia team.
She has now been a dedicated anaesthesia nurse for nearly 6 years, teaching VNBS students both in clinics and classroom and also the final year BVSc students on their clinical rotations.
Helen is currently working towards gaining her VTS in anaesthesia/analgesia and has been lucky enough to win a teaching award for best clinical teacher in the nursing/support staff category in 2015.

RCVS Recognised and European Veterinary Specialist in Small Animal Surgery

Scott graduated from the University of Glasgow in 2001 and his first job was as a Temporary Veterinary Inspector during the Foot and Mouth Epidemic of that year. He then spent six years in general practice, both mixed and small animal, before moving to Croft Veterinary Hospital in Northumberland to work with Malcolm Ness and undertake an ECVS Residency. He completed his RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Surgery in 2009, became a European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery in 2013 and an RCVS Recognised Specialist in 2014.
In 2013 Scott moved to North Downs Specialist Referrals in Surrey before moving to Willows Referral Services in Solihull in 2015. He left Willows in 2017 to pursue his dream of establishing his own surgical referral hospital which has resulted in frank. Pet Surgeons. based in Leeds.
Scott is actively involved in clinical research and CPD provision. He has published extensively in the veterinary literature and has lectured widely in the UK, Europe, USA and Australasia.

Medical Sciences Library, Texas A&M University

VBS Direct Ltd.

Stephen Barabas is a graduate of Glasgow University veterinary medicine and zoology faculties. He has worked in mixed practice in the west of England and North Wales, and in Cumbria during the 2001 FMD. He was previously the technical director for VetPlus and Schering-Plough, both within the UK, USA and Internationally. He has been secretary and past President of Central Vet Society, and sits on the BVA Council as the London Regional Representative. He runs two veterinary companies selling innovative equipment and IT services to vet surgeons, nurses and their businesses, VBS Direct Ltd. and Animal Oracle Ltd. In addition, he has a human medical company that works directly with the NHS and Private Healthcare. He is also an Honorary Laser Consultant at St Thomas and Guy’s Hospital in London.

RCVS and European Specialist in Small Animal Medicine

Mike Herrtage graduated from the Liverpool University and is currently Professor of Small Animal Medicine at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge. He is Dean of the Cambridge Veterinary School and is in charge of the small animal medicine and diagnostic imaging services at the Queen’s Veterinary School Hospital. His clinical responsibilities include all aspects of small animal medicine and diagnostic imaging, but he has a particular interest in endocrine and metabolic disorders.

He was awarded the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (B.S.A.V.A.) Woodrow Award in 1986 for outstanding contributions in the field of small animal veterinary medicine and the B.S.A.V.A. Blaine Award for outstanding contributions to the advancement of small animal medicine in 2000. In 2014, he was awarded the World Small Animal Veterinary Association International Award for Scientific Achievement for outstanding contributions by a veterinarian, who has had a significant impact on the advancement of knowledge concerning the cause, detection, cure and/or control of disorders of companion animals. In 2016, he received the Kennel Club International Canine Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of a career dedicated to improving canine health and welfare. He was voted Webinar Vet Speaker of the Year in 2015 and 2016 at the Annual Webinar Vet Veterinary Trust Awards.

He has been President of the British Veterinary Radiology Association, President of the British Small Animal Veterinary Association, President of the European Society of Veterinary Internal Medicine and President of the European Board of Veterinary Specialisation. He is a Diplomate of both the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and of the European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging and was until recently President of the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

RCVS, American & European Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Surgery (Soft Tissue)

Prue graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 1993, and completed a surgery residency at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. She became a Diplomate of the American and European Surgical Colleges in 2000, has been an examiner for the RCVS and the European Surgery College, and is currently a member of the RCVS Surgery Board. Following five years running the Soft Tissue Surgery Unit at the Animal Health Trust, Prue has worked in private referral practice since 2005. She has a particular interest and expertise in Surgical Oncology, but enjoys all aspects of soft tissue surgery and is always happy to discuss problem cases or potential referrals.

Clare Spencer graduated as a Veterinary Surgeon from the RVC in 1984 and has retained a deep passion for animal care. She lives on her small holding in the Forest of Dean along with an extensive menagerie. Clare has worked predominantly in small animal practise both here in the UK and also in France, combining her love of clinical work with a veterinary role in industry which extended over 20 years. Her work with a leading pet food manufacturer required her to study small animal nutrition and professional communication in considerable depth, provide staff training, lecture at congresses and conferences, veterinary schools and colleges as well as delivering in-clinic seminars. Clare was the medical editor for the VNJ for 10 years and holds additional qualifications in nutrition and adult learning. Clare currently works as a small-animal locum, a small animal nutrition lecturer for Improve International, an examiner in small animal nutrition for ESVPS, a communication skills trainer for Onswitch and she also provides nutrition based CPD to the Maltese veterinary community bi-annually. She is especially interested in medicine, nutrition, client care and treating pets as part of the family. Wherever she works, Clare knows she can’t do her job properly without the support of a good team.