Veterinary Surgeon

Essex | £66,000–£70,000 DOE | 4-Day Compressed or 5-Day Week

Looking for more than a traditional GP role?

GVC are assisting a progressive veterinary practice in Essex with the recruitment of an experienced Veterinary Surgeon to join its established hospital and brand-new, purpose-built hospital site.

This is an exciting opportunity for a vet who enjoys clinical variety, complex cases and having the facilities to investigate and manage patients in-house. With advanced diagnostics, dedicated surgery time every week and a highly experienced team of certificate holders, you’ll enjoy genuine hospital-level clinical exposure within a primary care setting.

If you’re looking to develop your surgical skills, manage challenging cases and work alongside colleagues who love getting stuck into clinical discussions, this could be the perfect next step.

The Role

As Veterinary Surgeon, you’ll enjoy a varied and rewarding caseload, combining general practice with hospital-level medicine, emergency presentations and routine soft tissue surgery.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Dedicated surgery time every week, with an average of six surgical cases per day at the established hospital and a growing surgical caseload at the new site.

• Managing complex medical and emergency cases, including road traffic accidents, GDVs, haemabdomen, blocked bladders, foreign body ingestions, cystotomies and paralysis.

• Working cases up from initial investigation through to diagnosis and treatment, with a strong emphasis on keeping cases in-house wherever possible.

• Managing hospitalised patients during a dedicated inpatient shift each week, typically caring for 10–12 patients with dedicated nursing support.

• Making confident clinical decisions, including when working in sole charge.

• Collaborating with certificate holders and experienced colleagues across a range of clinical disciplines.

• Contributing to the continued growth and development of a brand-new hospital, with the opportunity to help shape its clinical offering.

You’ll need to be confident with routine soft tissue surgery, emergency presentations and inpatient care, while bringing a compassionate and calm approach to challenging clinical situations.

The Practice & Team

You’ll work across two well-equipped hospital sites, offering an excellent balance of an established, busy caseload and the opportunity to contribute to an exciting new facility.

The established hospital supports its own clients alongside local veterinary practices, creating a varied caseload that includes genuine emergencies and more complex referrals. The team enjoys investigating and managing cases in-house, giving you the opportunity to follow patients through their diagnostic journey and treatment rather than routinely referring them elsewhere.

The new purpose-built hospital represents a significant investment in the future of the practice. Facilities include:

• Five consultation rooms.

• Two operating theatres.

• A dedicated dental area.

• Advanced diagnostic facilities, including CT, X-ray and endoscopy.

• Separate dog and cat wards, with a dedicated cat-only consultation and waiting area.

• A six-station preparation room.

• Isolation facilities and an in-house laboratory.

As the caseload continues to grow, there’s genuine scope to help shape the hospital’s development and become part of an ambitious clinical team.

You’ll be joining a particularly strong group of veterinary professionals, with certificate holders across medicine, small animal surgery, cardiology, dermatology and diagnostic imaging. The wider team includes three medicine certificate holders and two imaging certificate holders, creating an excellent environment for case discussion, collaboration and continued learning.

There is a genuine appetite for working cases up internally, with colleagues who enjoy sharing knowledge and tackling challenging cases together.

Working Hours & Flexibility

Work-life balance is taken seriously, with two working patterns available to suit your lifestyle.

Option 1: Four-day compressed week

• Three longer days, 8am–7pm.

• One shorter day, 8am–4:30pm.

• An additional day off each week.

Option 2: Five-day working week

• Five 8-hour days.

• A mixture of early shifts, 8am–4:30pm, and later shifts, 11am–7pm.

Admin time is built into the working day, and lunch breaks are provided in line with shift length.

There are no out-of-hours commitments, and the current weekend rota is expected to reduce as the team continues to grow.

What We’re Looking For

We’re keen to hear from an experienced Veterinary Surgeon who enjoys a busy clinical environment and wants to make the most of excellent hospital facilities.

You’ll ideally have:

• RCVS registration.

• Around five years’ UK clinical experience, although this will depend on your previous exposure and level of confidence.

• Essential previous experience working within a hospital environment.

• Confidence with routine soft tissue surgery.

• Experience managing emergency and critical cases.

• The ability to manage hospitalised patients confidently.

• Strong diagnostic and clinical reasoning skills.

• Confidence making clinical decisions when working in sole charge.

• Previous referral experience would be advantageous.

Just as importantly, you’ll be empathetic, resilient and calm under pressure. You’ll encounter some challenging and sensitive cases, so a compassionate approach to patients and their owners is essential.

You’ll also enjoy collaborating with colleagues, discussing complex cases and continually developing your clinical skills.

Salary & Benefits

• Salary of £66,000–£70,000 per annum, dependent on experience.

• Choice of a four-day compressed week or five-day working pattern.

• Five weeks’ annual leave, plus bank holidays and your birthday off.

• No out-of-hours work.

• RCVS and VDS fees paid.

• Career progression opportunities.

• Enhanced sickness pay.

• Enhanced family leave.

• Employee assistance programme.

• Wider wellbeing supprt.

Interested?

If you’re an experienced Veterinary Surgeon looking for a role that combines a varied caseload, advanced facilities, dedicated surgical time and a genuinely collaborative clinical team, we’d love to hear from you.

Contact GVC today for a confidential conversation and find out more about this exciting opportunity in Essex.
 

Stephanie.Hellier@gvcvets.com | 01392 793069