Veterinary nurses

Katie has been our head nurse since July 2016 but originally started working for the group in 2005. She has been qualified for many years and has worked in referral practice gaining knowledge and experience in all aspects of nursing, including advanced and specialist work. She has a keen interest in anaesthesia, analgesia and critical care and gained her nursing certificate in anaesthesia and critical care in 2011. She is a clinical coach for our student nurses and is also passionate about animal nutrition despite having her own slightly overweight rescue cat Henry! Her horse, Theo takes up most of her free time outside of work.

Penny has been a registered veterinary nurse since 2010 but is also an animal behaviour counsellor; having attained a certificate and diploma in canine and feline behaviour. Penny works part time for the group and is passionate about puppy socialisation and kind methods of training to correct behaviour. Outside of work Penny is kept busy by her cats, Maggie and Harry and has recently adopted a lovely dog called Benny who came to the practice as an injured stray and stole all of our hearts.

Jess qualified as a Veterinary Nurse in 2019 and joined us soon after, having worked at a small practice in Orpington beforehand. She enjoys all aspects of nursing but particularly enjoys caring for your pets when they’re under anaesthetic and have a smooth experience. She has a gorgeous Labrador called Poppy who keeps her busy. In her spare time she enjoys taking Poppy for walks, spending time with family and going to the gym.

Amanda joined our team as a veterinary nurse in 2010, after qualifying in 2008 and has been a core member of the team ever since. Amanda has developed an interest in emergency and critical care nursing and enjoys mentoring our student nurses as their clinical coach. She has a gentlemanly cat called Simba who has kept Amanda on her toes with his various medical conditions. Outside of work Amanda practises ballet and looks forward to her holidays in Ibiza.

Tom originally joined us in 2015 soon after qualifying and worked at our Tanhouse branch but has always enjoyed the fast paced action in a hospital environment. He travelled to Australia and worked in a busy emergency practice in Sydney before coming back to locum for us. Tom then joined our team at the hospital on a permanent basis in 2019. In his spare time Tom enjoys photography and improving his baking skills!

Lydia has worked in local veterinary practices for many years and has been a qualified veterinary nurse for over since 2015. She started working at our Merstham branch in January 2017 and particularly enjoys running the busy nurse clinics. She has a strong interest in rabbit medicine and animal behaviour and hopes to become an animal behaviour counsellor in the future. She has two beautiful blue British Shorthair cats called Neo and Luna.

Lucinda joined us as our cat hotel kennel assistant and found that she really enjoyed helping the groomers, receptionists and the nursing team - no matter the task as every little job helps to run the practice smoothly. She then applied for a role as a Student Veterinary Nurse at the practice and we are delighted as she is a natural when dealing with any worried and anxious pets.

Lucinda has grown up surrounded by animals and loves to spend as much time with them as possible. She loves watching wildlife documentaries. Lucinda would eventually like to explore the possibilities of working with more exotic and marine animals.

Emily joined Village Veterinary Group recently after working as a Patient Care Assistant at a local referral practice and working at the PDSA. She realised her passion for nursing and applied for a role as a student with us. She really enjoys medical nursing of our sick in-patients; trying to keep them calm, comfortable and well cared for in our wards. She has a cheeky dog called Donnie who was a rescue from Romania. Emily likes going to the beach with Donnie and is focusing on her studies.

Liberty joined our Smallfield team as an Animal Nursing Assistant. Having previously worked in a dog boarding kennels, she is putting that experience to use by assisting the veterinary nurses when they are caring for the animals that come into the surgery. She has a little Bichon Frise cross called Mitzi who she adores.

Jackie joined our Merstham team in November 2016 but before this she worked with children in a children’s nursery for four years. Jackie has always wanted to work with animals and now has her dream job as an animal nursing assistant. Outside of work she enjoys eating out with her fiancé, going to the cinema, taking her daughter to the park and baking yummy cakes. Jackie aspires to become a veterinary nurse.

Charlie always knew she wanted a career in veterinary practice as has always had a passion for animals, especially dogs, cats and horses. She joined our team in Caterham in 2017 as an animal nursing assistant and aspires to one day become a veterinary nurse. She loves how varied each day is at The Village and particularly likes watching our patients get better. She has a gorgeous Cavalier King Charles Spaniel called Archie and a cat called Millie. She enjoys reading, drawing and riding horses whenever she has a free moment.