Brand new mixed practice, 3 Bridges Vets, in Dunfermline has opened its doors to clients this month and is the newest member of the XLVets community of independent practices. Founded by vet, Hannah McKerrow and her husband Bruce McKerrow, the purpose-built clinic features large animal surgical facilities, thoughtfully designed separate cat and dog areas, and has staff welfare protocols in place. As the only true mixed practice in the Dunfermline area, 3 Bridges Vets are looking forward to an exciting future of growth and servicing the local community.
Hannah explains “It was now or never! I’ve worked in various practices, have locumed a lot, as well as spending time in industry. I knew I wanted to come back to practice, and given the challenges the industry is facing, I knew I wanted to do it myself.”
Creating a practice from scratch has enabled Hannah to design the ideal practice for her skills. A keen sheep practitioner, whose certificate has a bias towards sheep medicine, Hannah has built a large animal ward for farm animal inpatients. Along with procedures such as caesareans, the team will be providing advanced sheep reproduction services such as embryo transfer and AI. Acknowledging the growing town around the practice, and their pets, much thought was put into designing the small animal side of the clinic. There are separate waiting rooms and wards for cats and dogs, and additional discrete entrances for the consult rooms in the case of anxious dogs, or grieving owners.
The practice will cover its own out of hours services, which Hannah recognises as being fundamental to the business, “Covering our own out of hours is vital. I have worked in emergency OOH clinics and know how much clients value seeing their own vet in an emergency situation. I want the practice to have that continuity of care for our patients.”
Hannah and Bruce are also committed to looking after the welfare of her staff, ensuring all breaks are blocked off and protected. Small animal consultations are a minimum of 15 minutes, and during the build, they were sure to include a large, comfortable staff room where staff can properly relax. “We’re a small team at the moment, and I want to make sure we get the balance right. The framework is in place for when we grow.”
As the new business owners look forward to the future of the practice, they are finding invaluable help and support within the XLVets community. “XLVets offers us a great support network as we open our doors and start to grow our independent practice. As we are starting out on this journey, it’s great to know we can call on the support from other vets who have done something similar. And by being part of this large community of independent practices, it will allow us to offer competitively priced products and services to our clients in every area of our work.”
Andrew Curwen, Chief Executive Officer at XLVets, explains that the community is delighted to welcome a new practice, “We couldn’t be happier to welcome 3 Bridges Vets into our community and be part of their story as they grow. They are a new, exciting practice, with so much potential, and we are thrilled to be able to support them as they will, no doubt, flourish.”
XLVets provides a supportive environment for practices to work together, share best practice and develop their thriving businesses. Members collaborate to address current challenges and support each other. For more information, visit https://www.xlvets.co.uk/the-boss/.
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