Livestock Matters Summer 2019

Livestock Matters Summer 2019 19 for the assistants just starting out, there is a large volume of work as well as out-of-hours cover to provide and then often clinical work to do the next day. It can be stressful for young vets. Fortunately, as you get older and more experienced, the clinical work does become less stressful. “Being a director does bring some stress – I’ve still got my clients and the clinical work and now I’m also partially responsible for the livelihoods of 29 other people! My name is on the door, and I’ve co-responsibility for the services and reputation of the practice. “Sometimes people ask me why I wanted to buy into the practice. The truth is, I wanted ownership. I wanted to have a say in creating my own destiny. Practice management “Since becoming a director, a large proportion of my time is taken up with managing the practice. When you’re an assistant vet you know there’s a lot of organisation going on within the practice, but until you are part of the management team, you’re never fully aware of how much! “Being a co-owner of the practice allows me to have an influence on how the business is run. One of the areas that I enjoy is helping make the business more efficient – cutting costs and looking at new kit or computer software that will make our work easier, or better. “I’m also enjoying the personnel side of things, helping people with their careers – developing their skills and hopefully helping give them job fulfilment. I like having the ability to help remedy any problems they may have, rather than only being able to offer a sympathetic ear. “One of my roles within the practice is to About Belmont Farm & Equine Vets The client base for Belmont Farm & Equine Vets is a fairly even mix of beef, sheep and dairy farmers, and horse owners. The practice has two sites: one in Bromyard and new premises just outside Hereford. The practice serves farmers as far west as Hay on Wye, north to Tenbury Wells, south to Abergavenny and east to The Malverns. Currently there are 13 clinical vets – 2 of whom specialise in equine work – and 7 TB testing vets. There are 10 support staff, including a Vet Tech and 2 qualified SQPs with 2 more in training. be involved in the purchasing of medicines and equipment. We are always up against other medicine or wormer suppliers, but thanks to being a member of XLVets, we can buy our medicines for good prices which we can pass on to our clients. Going forward “These days there’s a lot more pressure on farmers from consumers and the food sector. We need to make sure that animal welfare continues to be amongst the best in the world. Part of the responsibility of those involved with farming is to ensure that the public is aware of the great work that farmers do and the high levels of welfare on farms. “At Belmont Farm & Equine Vets, we are adopting new and innovative veterinary techniques of benefit to animal welfare and/or productivity. Several of us are trained in laparoscopic endoscopy to correct LDAs; this is less invasive and usually doesn’t require antibiotic treatment. “We’re also investing in training more of our support staff to become SQPs so they can provide advice on parasite control. And we are developing the role of Vet Techs within the practice to help in areas such as mobility scoring, body condition scoring, and potentially offering a vaccination service. “Belmont has expanded a huge amount over the past few years, typically taking on an extra vet each year. This is mainly due to our ability to offer a high level of service yet also retain a friendly, family atmosphere. One of our strengths is our independence, and we are very proud of this.”