Facebook ceremony will celebrate deserving vets, nurses and support staff.
The Petplan Veterinary Awards, which celebrate outstanding veterinary professionals, are set to be hosted virtually for the first time.
Now in its 21st year, the ceremony will be hosted online on Thursday, 28 May at 8.30 pm on Facebook. It had been scheduled to take place ahead of BSAVA Congress in Birmingham, but was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The online event will see veteran broadcaster and writer Gyles Brandreth acknowledge the fantastic finalists and announce the deserving winners.
“We’re delighted to announce the finalists for the annual Veterinary Awards, which honours the exceptional work carried out by some of the best veterinary professionals in the country. Congratulations to all the 2020 finalists on this fantastic achievement" said James Barnes, head of sales and partnerships at Petplan.
“We understand that this remains an extremely challenging time, which is why we would like to bring the veterinary profession together so we can say thank you for your ongoing dedication to the care of pets. This is particularly true when we consider the devoted teams and individuals continuing to care for the nation's pets during the COVID-19 outbreak.
"Whilst we might not be celebrating together in person this year we hope as many people as possible will join us online for this exciting celebratory event.”
The PetPlan Awards celebrate outstanding vets, vet nurses, practices, practice managers and support staff. They recognise those who’ve been nominated by their clients and colleagues for their hard work, dedication and going that extra mile to keep the nation’s pets healthy.
This year, PetPlan receive more than 37,000 nominations for the awards, with the following veterinary professionals named as finalists:
Practice Support Staff of the Year
Dawn Prime, Wherry Veterinary Group, Suffolk
Kirsty Bennett, Blacks Vets Ltd, West Midlands
Rebecca Grose, Medivet Impington, Cambridgeshire
Practice Manager of the Year
Andrew Booth, Droitwich Vets4Pets Ltd, Droitwich
Marian Hines, Manor Vet Clinic, Kent
Martin McGovern, Fenaghy Veterinary Clinic, County Antrim
Practice of the Year
RW Equine Vets Egmont Farm, Northiam
Wangford Vet Clinic, Suffolk
Cats Whiskers Veterinary Clinic, West Sussex
Vet Nurse of the Year
Claire Shepherd, Parker And Crowther Ltd, Merseyside
Rachael Duxbury, PDSA Pet Hospital The Jean Marchig Centre, Liverpool
Samantha Lyons, Goddard Veterinary Group, Surrey
Vet of the Year
Ben Pugh, Byron Veterinary Clinic, Nottinghamshire
Charlotte Hanson, Hanson Animal Doctor LTD, Nottingham
Lindsay Henry, Kessock Equine Vets, Inverness-shire
For more invomration about the awards, visit the Petplan website.
Two independent vets have launched a podcast to help owners strengthen their bond with pets. Dr Maggie Roberts and Dr Vanessa Howie, who have worked in both veterinary practice and major charities, are keen to use their experience to enable people to give pets a better life.
