Staff intro

The practice is headed up by the principal, Paul Spellman BVM&S, Cert VA, MRCVS, and he leads a team consisting of, RCVS qualified nurses, trainee nurses and receptionists. Paul joined the Guisborough practice in 1988 and opening Coulby Newham in 1998 was the realisation of one of his major goals. Paul qualified from Edinburgh University in 1981 and completed further study in 1991 achieving the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Certificate in Veterinary Anaesthesia. He is also interested in analgesia (pain relief) eye diseases and skin disease. He is currently involved in organising meetings for the British Small Animal Veterinary Association to further veterinary education.

The practice aims to improve services continuously so has a policy of on-going staff training and development in a number of areas. Equipment is regularly upgraded and veterinary staff regularly attend specialist courses to ensure that their clinical development remains up to date. Animal Health Centre Vets generally will spend 35 hours per year on continuing professional development of this sort. This is not compulsory but we feel that it is of vital importance.

Our veterinary staff range from individuals with many years experience to recent graduates who will bring the latest ideas and treatments into the practice pool of knowledge. All the vets have specific areas of interest and expertise but all are focussed on the care of small animals.  Animal Health Centre Vets are members of various professional bodies including the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA), The Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists (AVA), The British Veterinary Dermatology Study Group (BVDSG) and the British Veterinary Association (BVA).

The practice is also recognised as fulfilling all the criteria for the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme Tier 2 and is a Training Practice for the training of veterinary nurses.

As with the Vets our Nurses also have a wide range of experience. We train and develop our own staff from 16 year old trainees through NVQs in Small Animal Care through pre-veterinary nursing courses and thence on to VN/NVQ courses to become qualified Veterinary Nurses. The nursing staff are all fully trained Nutrition Advisers and can offer good advice in this area and many other areas of pet care without the need for a veterinary consultation. The nurses have their own professional body and our nurses are members of the British Veterinary Nurse Association (BVNA).

Our reception staff are here to make you feel at ease when you bring your animals in and to help make your visit as pleasant and stress free as possible. They will try and arrange for you to see an appropriate member of our veterinary team and arrange times that are convenient for you. All of them have pets of their own and all of our reception staff have had a pet under treatment at one time or other. Thus, they have first hand experience and understand exactly what it feels like when your pet is in need of attention.

Whilst staff numbers and members may change from time to time we will maintain a team of committed individuals who are skilled and enthusiastic in their chosen profession and areas of expertise. At all times they will be focussed and dedicated to maintaining the health of your pets.