West Mount Vets
Veterinary surgeon vacancy details
Full or part-time Position for Veterinary Surgeon.
Suitable for experienced graduate.
Start Date: early 2008.
Period of appointment: One year. Permanency may become
a possibility but will not be a part of the initial terms and conditions.
West Mount Vets Ltd:
West Mount Vets is a 5 branch small animal practice. There is a central
surgery in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and four (soon to be five) more self-contained
surgeries within Calderdale and Kirklees.
The practice has Investor in People status, several branches are registered VN Training Practices and most are Tier II in the new RCVS Practice Standards Scheme. We have 8 full-time and 3 part-time vets and 10 of our support staff are qualified Veterinary Nurses.
Each branch has consulting and surgical facilities, with radiography / laboratory equipment etc. The Halifax surgery has a more extensive laboratory, plus ECG, Ultrasonography and facilities for intensive nursing care. Out-of-hours work takes place at our Halifax branch, where there are comfortable bed-sits for whichever vet and helper is on duty. We provide partial out-of-hours cover for one other local practice. Throughout the practice we focus upon a more thorough approach to our cases in preference to a very high through-put of appointments, although we expect all our colleagues to take a fair share of the work-load.
This is quite an agreeable place to work - our staff and colleagues get on well together and we organise occasional social events throughout the year. We are surrounded by some lovely countryside; the Pennine Way passes through the centre of Calderdale and there are good opportunities for out-door activities. The practice is within easy reach of the city attractions of Manchester and Leeds. Quick access to the motorway system, and good rail links mean that most of the UK is within reasonable travelling distance. There are three airports within little more than an hour's drive, giving economical access to many European and longer-haul destinations.
Our ideal person:
•Enjoys working as a vet.What we can offer:
•Likes working to a high standard.
•Can work well under pressure if necessary.
•Enjoys meeting and dealing with clients.
•Is self-confident and sociable.
•Can be both assertive and tactful.
•Knows how to work within a team.
•Is capable of working independently.
•Supports colleagues.
•Is comfortable charging proper fees.
•An interesting job in a good working environment.
•Colleagues who appreciate and take pride in high quality work.
•Good support-staff.
•Professional management.
•A personal say in the way that the practice functions.
•Encouragement and support.
Rota:
Weekdays:
A full-time rota includes a mixture of long and short weekdays. A long
day starts at about 8.45am and continues until the end of evening surgery.
The last routine appointment is usually at 6.30pm. Sometimes there are
cases to follow up after the end of evening surgery, but it should usually
be possible to get away by 7pm. A short day starts at the same time and
finishes at 4pm. Most weekdays include morning and afternoon / evening
appointments, plus some surgical work and care of in-patients. We do refer
some patients to specialist centres, but we prefer to do most of the work
ourselves. The weekday work-load varies. Sometimes we can be quiet (especially
in the afternoons), but at other times it is busy all day.
Weekends and Public Holidays:
Full working weekend are based at the West Mount branch in Halifax and
involve appointments and in-patient care throughout Saturday and Sunday.
We would expect to deal with most stabilised emergency surgical cases
on the day they are presented.
The rota also includes some public holidays (scheduled like a Sunday,
including on-call overnight).
There are also some additional Saturdays (mostly appointments at the branch
surgeries, finishing early or late afternoon). These additional Saturdays
do not involve being on-call overnight.
Night-times:
Weekday nights include a block of late evening appointments, from 6pm
until as late as 9pm, if the demand is there. These late appointments
are on offer to clients from the whole practice and we find that they
reduce the number of emergency calls later on. After 9pm, incoming calls
are intercepted by an answering machine and prices go up, to deter non-emergency
calls. We discourage house-calls at night: there are only a handful every
year.
The on-call vet stays over-night at the surgery, with a member of support-staff.
There are comfortable bed-rooms and a living-room / kitchen with satellite
TV, a stereo etc. We have a Work-Force Agreement that allows us to comply
with Working Time regulations while continuing to provide a high standard
of care in-house. There are in-patients to look after most nights, but
there's a reasonable chance of sleep. Some of our colleagues prefer to
organise their rota so that they have their day-times and night-times
together as a block. Others prefer to finish earlier after a night on
call and we do our best to fit in with preferences, whenever possible.
Salary and Allowances:
The salary will depend upon the experience and abilities of person we
choose, but we aim to pay a little more than the norm for our part of
the UK.
Support and Administration:
We provide new staff with a full contract, detailed job description and
a Practice Manual, before the start date. There is a more detailed folder
referring specifically to the Halifax West Mount branch. There is a detailed
Health and Safety manual, and we prepare an individual written induction
plan for new colleagues. For the first few days in the job, an experienced
member of our support-staff helps in the consulting room, demonstrating
and explaining the use of the computers, paperwork, in-patient procedures
etc.
For the first few weeks, we expect even experienced colleagues to need
help and advice about many aspects of the job.
After the induction period we would not expect experienced colleagues
to need much day-to-day assistance and we would not expect to interfere
with the way that you deal with your cases unless you ask for advice.
We would not expect to provide routine back-up during weekend or on-call
times although advice is rarely more than a phone-call away and we encourage
discussion of cases with colleagues whenever anything puzzling or complicated
arises.
Branch meetings are held every one to three months. Everyone from the
branch is invited and is expected to participate. The agenda can include
anything at all that concerns the local support-staff and vets and a copy
of the minutes goes to the Directors. These meetings are a genuine opportunity
to influence decisions about the way that the branch (or the whole practice)
is run.
The practice is actively managed (although we try not to be intrusive).
The practice’s Directors are the owners (along with their spouses),
and both are veterinary surgeons. They established the practice over twenty
years ago and have only recently withdrawn from hands-on veterinary work
to focus more on running the business side. Richard divides his time between
practice matters and management of another non-veterinary company. He
also has a business degree (MBA) and is a Council Member of the Society
of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS). Clare’s management role
focuses on promoting the practice and supporting and developing staff.
She is also a member of RCVS Council and chair-person of one of the RCVS
sub-committees. Both partners are personally involved in vet rotas, job-descriptions,
development reviews, contracts, health and safety etc. as well as the
financial side of the business.
Interview Process:
There will be an interview lasting about an hour, and you will be asked
to complete a questionnaire about yourself. There will be plenty of opportunity
to ask questions about the practice and the job.
You will also have the opportunity to spend further time with some of
the other staff and have a good look around. You will be welcome to visit
our other surgeries independently and meet the staff there too, or call
anyone in the practice for an off-the-record chat. If you want to return
for a further visit or visits, or to meet Richard and Clare again, you
will be made most welcome.
We will ask you to let us know promptly if you decide that this is not
the job for you and we will give you an indication of when we will be
making a decision.
If we make a job offer, we will do so by e-mail or in writing, including
a draft contract and job description with details of the remuneration
package. You can take a couple of days to think about our offer and discuss
any further queries. We will then ask for a firm answer in principle one
way or the other (other applicants will be waiting to hear from us and
we will need to give them a yes or a no). If you accept our offer, you
will have time to have the wording of the contract checked by an adviser.
We will ask you for a signed copy of the final version before you start
work with us, and also a note to confirm that you have read and understood
our Health and Safety rules.
Contact
Applications to Clare Wright at West Royd, Hebden Bridge, West Yorks. HX7 8DB or email WMvacancy@btinternet.com
