The Role

We are looking for 2 experienced Veterinary Surgeons to join our expanding team at Three Rivers Vets. Support in operating can be provided but ideally the candidate will be confident and competent in performing all routine surgeries as well as procedures such as c-sections, dentals, pyometras and enterotomy/cystotomies. However, we are open to a consult only role. Certificate holders or vets with experience/interests in cardiology, medicine or surgery would be an added benefit but this is not essential. Further work towards a certificate/career progression is desired.

One of our goals for the next few years is to improve our vets work/life balance and reduce their work-load. This has already begun by making the decision to start outsourcing our out of hours work from 1st May 2021. We are also working to reduce our vets’ hours from 41.5 to a 40 hour week split over 4 days instead of the current 4.5-day week. We strongly believe that hospitalised animals should not be transported between an out of hours provider and ourselves which means there will be some inpatient care required on week nights and weekends. This will be on a rota basis with TOIL following a weekend worked which will be a maximum of 1:4 weekends. We are looking at this as an opportunity to improve hospitalised patient care and are working to involve our nursing team further in the care of overnight patients (let’s face it; they are much better than vets at patient care and it will lighten the load on our vets!). Another change we made last year, partly due to COVID working requirements was to reduce the amount of travelling between our branches that vets undertake. This has reduced significantly and although a share in branch work will be expected, this is restricted to only 1-2 days a week and only between 1or 2 branches.

We have 2 positions that have become available due to one member of staff leaving to take on a management role elsewhere and our desire to add a further vet to expand our team and lighten our vets work load. Ideally we are looking for full time applicants but can be flexible with regards to hours and part-time applicants would be considered. However, contribution to the weekend rota is mandatory.

About Us

Three Rivers Vets is a well-established first opinion small animal practice with the addition of a dedicated farm animal team (don’t worry you will not be expected to help with cows!). We joined IVC approximately 4 years ago and have enjoyed a smooth transition with the existing clinical directors remaining for many years to support the team through this period. We are now at the point where we have internally promoted a new clinical director team who have settled into this role and are complimented with an excellent head nurse and practice manager. The management team are looking to continue improving the practice for both staff and patients, and have found IVC incredibly supportive of this. There has always been a strong family atmosphere throughout the team at Three Rivers and we like to try and provide team building activities, fundraising for charities, social events and bonding over cake (Covid permitting!). Prior to Covid, many of our staff socialised together outside of work regularly.

Three Rivers consists of the main site at Beccles where our patients are hospitalised and non-routine surgeries are performed. This site typically runs with 3-4 vets per day performing a mixture of consulting and operating. The 5 branch surgeries have all been recently renovated and offer daily consultations with 1-2 routine ops mornings at the larger branches. Branch work is normally sole charge with the ability to refer cases to Beccles for further treatment/investigation. We are well equipped with high quality ultrasound including cardiac probe and ECG, digital radiography, CT scanner, electrocautery and therapeutic K-laser. We have multi-parameter monitoring for anaesthetics and have a good range of surgical equipment including for all general orthopaedics.

Beccles is a beautiful market town on the edge of the Norfolk Broads on the Norfolk/Suffolk border, surrounded by lovely countryside and many nature reserves. The coast is just miles away with stunning beaches close by. Beccles has direct rail links to London and is within a 30 minute drive to the city of Norwich. Being situated in the east of East Anglia, we enjoy some of the direst and warmest weather in the UK. There are lots of great outdoor activities and wildlife to be seen.

Applicant Requirements

We are looking for experienced vets who are able to work well in a large team and have excellent communication skills. These roles are not suitable for new graduates or those who are not confident in sole charge consulting. We encourage our vets to retain their own cases to improve client communication and improve job satisfaction. We are looking for vets who want to share their experiences with us and look to grow with the practice. We conduct regular practice meetings to discuss new ideas/address any issues that arise and also work towards ensuring all members of staff receive regular appraisals and 1-1 sessions with management. We have also recently started to participate in clinical audits and conducting SERs, utilising the RCVS Knowledge website.
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As a BAME and LGBT+ inclusive employer, we are keen to hear from candidates from all minority and diverse groups. As a Disability Confident Employer we are keen to hear from candidates with disabilities and long term health conditions, and would be happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments needed during the recruitment process.

If this position is of interest to you then please get in touch.