Lead Veterinary Surgeon

As a Lead Vet you will be accountable for the clinical leadership of the veterinary team ensuring we deliver exceptional care, always there for our clients, patients and colleagues whilst maintaining the highest levels of compliance with regulatory, operational and practice standards. You will also work closely with the Network Partner and Operations Support Manager to maximise the commercial performance of the clinic.

The practice is spacious, modern, and well-maintained, with a loyal client base and a highly organised, collaborative support team. Facilities include two consulting rooms, a large operating theatre, a fully equipped in-house laboratory, a dedicated isolation suite and a portable ultrasound machine. Dental x-ray is due to be installed shortly.

Free on-site parking is available for staff and clients.

The team consists of an experienced part-time Veterinary Surgeon, Head Nurse, Student Nurse, Receptionist and Veterinary Care Assistant. Our 24-hour referral hospital, located just two miles away, provides out-of-hours care and supports cases requiring advanced treatment or referral.

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