VBJ articles

June 2020

The coronavirus outbreak has brought massive and sudden change to the veterinary profession. But practices are adapting to a new normal and lessons are being learned every day, as the team as Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service in the West Midlands is discovering...

26 mins

May 2020

When Lennon Foo opened Amity Vets in Newton Abbott nearly three years ago, he had a bold vision for the way he wanted to deliver veterinary care. VBJ caught back up with Lennon to see how his practice and bold, client-centred vision was bearing up to the coronavirus crisis...

26 mins

April 2020

Vet Chris Copeman built one of the first Passivhaus homes in the UK and now he has opened its first Passivhaus veterinary practice.

March 2020

Buying into a partnership is still a big part of the plan for many veterinary surgeons. But what happens when that plan suddenly has to change? VBJ paid a visit to Swaffham Veterinary Centre in Norfolk to find out...

3 mins

February 2020

Spinney Vets near Northampton has just undergone a significant refurbishment that has seen the practice double in size. Now the dust has settled, VBJ paid a visit to see if the investment has paid off...

1 mins

December 2019

The demise of the high street is a well-documented phenomenon in villages and towns across the UK. But as VBJ discovered when we visited West Sussex last month, for some vets this has provided the perfect opportunity to put their practices back at the heart of the communities they serve…

2 mins

November 2019

Earlier this year, Lambert, Leonard and May (LLM) Farm Vets became the latest farm practice to join the VetPartners group. VBJ paid a visit to see how this change has impacted on one of the UK’s most highly respected farm animal outfits...

41 mins

October 2019

The UK has 725 referral practices, which means 17% of all veterinary sites are now dedicated referral centres or offer referral services. So, anyone thinking of entering this crowded marketplace needs to pitch their offering carefully...

3 mins

September 2019

Building a small animal practice right next door to a cattle market might not seem like the best piece of logic. But for Ben Gamsa and his team at Cotswold Vets, near Swindon, it made perfect sense...

3 mins

August 2019

The recruitment crisis has hit hard in veterinary practices of all shapes and sizes across the UK. But in some places it’s hit especially hard, as VBJ discovered when it paid a visit to rural Lincolnshire.

2 mins

July 2019

One of the biggest reasons given for the growth of corporate veterinary practice is that the traditional partnership model is broken. But is that really the case? VBJ headed to Didcot, Oxfordshire to find out...

2 mins

June 2019

Not many equine practices in the UK have such a gilt-edged reputation as Oakham Veterinary Hospital. And as VBJ discovered when we paid a visit to the horsey hotbed of Rutland last month, it’s a reputation well earned…

2 mins

May 2019

Few other practices better reflect the near exponential growth of the UK referral sector than North Downs Specialist Referrals. The Surrey hospital has trebled in size in its 15 years – a tale of sustained success and one that echoes a wider story…

7 mins

April 2019

Wildbore Vetstop sounds like it might be a rather intriguing, perhaps even slightly dangerous, place to work. But what’s in a name? Not a lot, as VBJ discovered last month when we headed north to hear another independent success story…

March 2019

A first opinion hospital practice on the edge of Epping Forest, with in-house CT and MRI, and a dedicated radioiodine unit in nearby Harlow, the practice has certainly branched out in recent years...

2 mins

February 2019

It is always a tough task setting up a new veterinary practice from scratch. But some have it tougher than others – as VBJ discovered when we headed to Merseyside to visit Village Vets last month…

2 mins

December 2018

Running the referral division for one of Europe’s largest corporate practice groups can be a complicated business. VBJ discovered just how complex when we paid a visit to CVS referrals director John Innes at the ChesterGates Referral Hospital Veterinary Specialists.

2 mins

November 2018

In these days of manic corporate consolidation, it is important to remember the benefits owning your own practice can bring. So when VBJ was asked to visit an independently owned practice that is positively thriving in the face of corporate competition, we jumped at the chance.

3 mins

October 2018

It is often said the best things come in small packages. For a branch of Cromwell Vets, that package proved to be a 9m by 4m prefabricated box. It’s not a lot, but, as VBJ discovered, it's already having a big impact ...

28 mins

September 2018

Anyone opening their own veterinary practice has to be a pretty remarkable person. So when VBJ heard about a woman who did just that in less than six weeks for £150,000, we just had to pay her a visit.

7 mins