Outstanding opportunity for an ECC night vet

Due to our continued growing reputation, a fantastic opportunity has arisen for an experienced veterinary surgeon to join our modern, vibrant, independent and family owned practice.  Based within our beautifully refurbished, flagship hospital nestled at the foot of the South Downs National Park in sunny West Sussex, we are ‘more than a vets’ – a family that uphold the values of respect, humility, professionalism and communication.  We deliver a personal service that our clients deserve, delivered with real empathy and care – because it is how we would want to be treated ourselves.

The candidate: we are looking for a driven and ambitious veterinary surgeon, ideally an Advanced Practitioner in Emergency and Critical Care or an experienced ECC vet who has worked in veterinary hospitals.  The candidate will work alongside and complement our existing dynamic team of certificated vets and nurses as we further develop and grow our service.

We are proud to currently be the only independently owned hospital in the UK to have full RCVS accreditation as well as achieving outstanding status in all associated awards.  In addition to this, SDEV shares its facilities with our sister service, Arun Vet Group (AVG) which has 4 branches surrounding the hospital, all of which are accredited and designed to the highest standards with comprehensive facilities.

During the day, AVG provide routine vet care as well as complex treatments by Advanced Practitioners in state of the art facilities. By night, SDEV delivers the highest standard of emergency and out of hours care to both our patients and neighbouring subscriber practices from within our hospital. Teamwork and inclusivity are very important to us and one of our many strengths is the support we offer each other.  The team are always available to support complex cases or the occasional exceptional caseload.

Continuity of care and exceptional communication with clients, colleagues and member practices is what sets us apart – our candidate needs to be passionate about providing the highest standards for our patients and a premium service for our clients.   

The role:

• The role will involve seeing first opinion emergencies alongside providing continuous care for our inpatients.
• An ability to efficiently investigate cases to a high standard and have a medical mind-set, as well as being competent with emergency surgeries sole-charge.
• Good personal skills are essential and the candidate will be encouraged to maintain continuity with clients and see cases through to a conclusion.  
• We have a great relationship with the daytime teams in the hospital and branch practices, and have developed strong bonds with our member practices. It is therefore vitally important that the vet who joins us has excellent communication skills and understands as well as values the importance of teamwork.
• Working alongside experienced and dedicated ECC RVNs who are both friendly and excellent team players.
• We recognise the importance of achieving work life balance and have developed a sustainable rota that reflects this concept, which involves working an average of 12 thirteen hour shifts in a 28-day period.
• Although experience in emergency care or ECC Advancer Practitioner status is preferred this is not essential and funding towards an ECC certificate will also be considered

Remuneration/Package:

• Salary subject to experience and Certificate/Advanced Practitioner Status
• Holiday of 5.6 weeks per year equivalent to 17 shifts per year, based on your average weekly working hours
• Annualised hours system (to be discussed on application)
• CPD allowance £1500
• Auto enrolment pension scheme
• Support for a Certificate if required and training agreements considered
• RCVS, VDS and BSAVA membership

As owners, the retention of our independence means that by working alongside our teams at ground roots level, we have an inherent understanding of everyone’s needs and can respond in a bespoke way.  We believe in taking care of our team, through consistent communication, trust and honesty, treating everyone in an individual way.

This is an exciting opportunity where the candidate will work within excellent surroundings, supported by a family-style team in a thriving independent practice. We invite you to join our family and be part of something special.