Small Animal Veterinary Surgeon in London

About Us

Acorn House is a 12 Vet RCVS Accredited Small Animal Hospital in the beautiful county town of Bedford. We are an experienced and knowledgeable team with a busy and varied caseload and excellent facilities, including laparoscopic and orthopaedic kits, gastroscopy, bronchoscopy, a dental suite with digital radiography, and ultrasound. We have dedicated dog, cat and exotic wards and have recently completed our extension, increasing our space to three theatres, two dental suites, a new dog ward, and a surgical supplies room.

Acorn House runs as an independent practice but since 2018 has been owned by the Royal Veterinary College, operating as a flagship practice modelling high-quality first opinion care to their veterinary students. We are an ISFM Gold Standard Cat friendly Clinic, Dogs Trust Dog Friendly Clinic and currently undergoing our reaccreditation to maintain our RWAF Gold Rabbit Friendly Practice status. We are proud to be an RCVS-approved Graduate Development and Veterinary Nurse Training Practice and to have achieved Bronze Investors in the Environment accreditation.

Our team includes many experienced clinicians, including Advanced Practitioners in Dentistry and Zoological medicine and vets working towards certificates in Small Animal Medicine, Small Animal Surgery and Diagnostic Imaging. We are extremely fortunate to have a fantastic nursing team, led by our Head Nurse who holds an RCVS diploma in Advanced Veterinary Nursing (surgical) and an ECC certificate. Amongst our nursing team are certificate holders in anaesthesia, exotics, feline nursing and veterinary education. We are proud to be a VN training provider and our SVN’s are well supported by several clinical coaches.

Each team has regular meetings with representatives from other areas of the practice involved and there are quarterly practice meetings where everyone can share their ideas, celebrate successes and discuss challenges over lunch. We then have in-house CPD or a team-building activity.

The role involves looking for an experienced veterinary surgeon with a passion for operating and the confidence to take on a varied surgical caseload. This role is ideal for someone with a strong surgical bias who is comfortable with a full range of first-opinion procedures and capable of managing emergency surgeries such as GDVs. An interest in more advanced soft-tissue work, including BOAS, would fit brilliantly with our current caseload and the support we can offer.

Career progression is a focus at our practice. We absolutely encourage our vets to follow their interests and further develop their skills. If you want to take on a certificate, we have the facilities and caseload to support this. If you already have a certificate, we will help you achieve and maintain Advanced Practitioner status. Vets with AVP’s have the opportunity to join our Senior Vet team with additional management responsibilities.

As a teaching hospital, the RVC provides all our vets free online CPD including courses to help mentor and support veterinary students and new graduates. Two RVC 4th or final year veterinary students are on placement with us for a fortnight for most of the year. Their placement is structured to expose them to all areas of practice with dedicated named time with clinicians allowing students to gain varied experience and allowing vets sufficient time to carry out their clinical duties, paperwork and client calls.

Acorn House is happy to support a PGCert in Veterinary Education for staff who are keen to develop in this area.

Our rota is designed to have set days and shifts, meaning you’ll always know in advance what you’re working so you can easily make plans outside of work. Our vets work a 4-day week with a fixed day off and just one Saturday shift (8-4.30) every month. Each week will include consulting, operating, and a late shift, with a support shift every two weeks. The support vet role has been invaluable in ensuring that the day runs smoothly for everyone with no extras squeezed in, so we all get to leave on time. The support shift runs from 8.30-7 with no appointments scheduled.

We provide our own out-of-hours service and have a dedicated ECC RVN on-site to provide 24-hour inpatient care. Our on-call rota is minimal, with just one weeknight every two weeks and one weekend on-call every two months. The ECC nurse takes calls in the first instance, so the vet can easily be on call from home, or if you’d prefer to stay on-site, we have a room available at the practice. The RVC takes the phones between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m., so from 11 p.m., the on-call is inpatient only, which means you usually get a good night's sleep during your shift.

It’s reassuring to know if you have a tricky case, you can pick up the phone and chat with the specialists at the RVC, and any patients requiring advanced care can be transferred to the RVC Queen Mother Hospital. We have also implemented a buddy system where two vets work the same weeknight on-call, alternating the on-call shift weekly, making it easy to swap if you have plans.

Location: Bedford is a lovely market town surrounded by beautiful countryside, including the nearby Marston Vales and Chiltern Hills. Whether you fancy a boat ride along the River Ouse, a country walk, mountain biking or a trip to the weekly market, escape rooms or cinema trips, there’s lots to do on our doorstep. Milton Keynes with its large shopping centre, Snow Dome and Theatre is a 20 minute drive away. There are also excellent transport links, with Luton Airport and London 30-50 minutes away by train. Bedford sits between the A1 and M1 providing excellent road links to the rest of the country.

The Package includes a salary of £46,000 - £68,000 based on experience, plus out-of-hours bonus scheme and additional supplements for Certificate holders and AVP’s. Transparent salary banding with clear career progression and five weeks holiday.