veterinary surgeon

veterinary nurse

veterinary practice manager

veterinary receptionist

veterinarian

Animal-Trust

When I first secured the role at Animal Trust I couldn't tell you how happy I was, absolutely elated to be helping animals and their owners. This quickly soured however. 

The workload, (pre lockdown 3) was manageabe, I'd meet targets nicely, still have time for a chit chat with workers who I got on with etc. However the point of no return was when they sent us home expecting the same targets as we were getting in the office. Management failed to take into consideration that we didn't have unbelievably stable internet, that we couldnt be 100% focussed on work, for example, living at home with children needing to be home schooled and being single parents or just even a knock at the door.  God forbid you look away from your laptop for more than the alloted, measly 30 mins of lunch that you get a day in a 10 hour shift. If pushed apparently we are allowed 2 15 minute breaks but they kept that all hush hush until a few colleagues pushed to find out. We then start doing 4x the amount we were going in the office and still had to meet our daily targets 15 calls an hour, they wanted 150 calls by the end of the day, but the genius' that run this place clearly can't count as 15 x 10 is 150 and we have half an hour off for lunch out them 10 hours so it's mathematically impossible to do 15 calls an hour at their suggested rate anyway. Obviously you've got to apply yourself!! Apply ourselves, those that preach haven't the foggiest how hard the job is, they think it's a doddle, ask the nurses who work there (they have a torrid time also bless them, they are saints) they even say the CSA's have it rough but the mighty management can't grasp a concept that industry professionals have come up with. 

There is a rancid, sycophantic obsession with a few 'select' employees and management which causes a small team to often be passive agressively at eachothers throats. The sickly I LOVE YOU GUYS, POSITIVE POWERS! that is jammed down your throat morning noon and night is also unbelievably tiresome. They expect so much and you get so little, no wiggle room, no understanding, if they don't like you, unlucky. 

They seem to be bleeding staff also at theu minuite and although they are a call centre I know they don't plan on high turn overs so that screams where this place is at. 

I also tried and tried and tried with management to succeed, I implored them to see mine and other colleagues sides but those that spoke up were outnumbered by either the LOVE YOU warriors or those that would say yeah great thanks whilst secretly despising their job.

Don't get me started on the pay, it was fine when we had one job, we quickly turned into debt collectors, pharmaceutical experts, insurance agents, triage nurses, vets, councilors. 

Not paid for your performance, also the only progression you'll have is if management like you, we were struggling with call volumes at one point and management had the great idea of taking our most consistent performer at the time to be a new team leader meaning they then did ZERO calls because they had other responsibilities. Great that isn't it, saddle an already dwindling team with another 200 calls a day when they already can't cope, it is unfathomable. 

Gets 2 stars because of an office dog, he was that good but In short - AVOID. 



I have never worked for an organisation that cares so little for its staff. 
The management literally do not care about your welfare, safety, progression or work life balance. 
You are not paid for your skill level, everyone is paid differently and it's all kept hush hush. You really have to fight with management to get anywhere. 
You are frequently expected to stay later. If your consults overun because clients just walse in whenever they like  you are just expected to see them - even if they miss thier entire consult and sometimes can be 45 minutes late!! with non urgent things!!. Surgery wise they just pile on more and more ops expecting you to stay because everyone else does. 1 hour for lunch? hardly! Do you want to eat or do you not want to stay 3 hours later?
The clients are awful - rude, arrogant, aggressive. Several times I have been witness to physical abusive, voilence, profanity withwith clients going at staff. Police have been called. Property has even been damaged by clients. Do management care? Not one bit. These foul, sometimes truly awful clients can do no wrong as far as managament are concerned. It will always be your fault. 
You are a number - dispensible. They don't care if you are happy or supported. 
You only have to look at the fact the entire vet team is young and new - they don't retain any staff. People leave because they get sick of being super stressed, overworked and underpaid.
The caseload is incredible to learn from but theres too much for the staff they have and they will never change.
2 (somestimes 1!) RVN to assist you at nights with 24 inpatients??
Emergency consult days that are full with stupid prebooked online non urgent consults that you have to see and then when actual emergencies come in you are still expected to see them. 
If you aren't already skilled in surgery say goodbye to any chance of higher exposure to ortho or advanced soft tissue. People have been there severeal years still can't get a look in so you will have no chance!!
Dentals every week!! All day every day - maybe some neuters if you are lucky!

I seriously cannot advise people enough to AVOID the animal trust as a company to work for. 
You will have no support, no mentor. You will not be able to develop properly. Your pay will be poor. 

The management is so two faced and they just don't know how to deal with anything. Some of the staff there will smile to your face and happily stab you in the back. 

AVOID!!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time working at Animal Trust.

The breadth of cases you get to see as a vet is great, especially if studying for further qualifications, and being surrounded by a team with different interests means there is always someone to bounce ideas off for the trickier cases.

The difference in the ethos is noticeable as well, as a not for profit there was never any pressure to sell or do more than was necessary but I was encouraged to work up cases as fully as client's finances would allow, and as prices are generally cheaper than usual this means most patients can get at least some workup. The clinical standards and quality of care were high and the staff were very motivated to do a good a clinical job as possible. 

The practice was very well equipped with a lovely ultrasound scanner, CT and in house water walker and the building was modern and pleasant to work in (as were some of the other clinics I visited occasionally) although it did get quite hot in summer.

I do not really recognise the experience of management referenced in other reviews. No management structure I have ever worked under has been perfect but Animal Trust was far from the worst, I found them approachable and any issues were sorted out in a  reasonable timeframe.

As for disadvantages - the practice could be busy/hectic at times, I personally found this preferable to some places where nothing much is happening but I doubt it would suit someone who prefers a quiet practice.

All in all I would recommend a vet job at Animal Trust for any vet (or nurse) who likes to be busy and feel they are making a difference. I feel I am a much better vet now after working there.

20 Vets to 10 nurses (6 of which all leaving in one month)
Busy fast paced day surgery - approx up to 22 ops a day with additional inpatients. Good varied caseload. Yet let down by not being able to give the patients 'gold standard care' that they say they are,, patients recoveries being rushed to do this amount of ops in a day with the equipment and staff available.
The team are absolutely amazing yet i have never been so mentally drained in my life since working here. I love a busy fast paced environment with good case work load yet not one where the animals needs aren't being able to be met and the  is not enough staff to facilitate their 'goal'.
More experienced vets and nurses needed within the team; in order to build up level of knowledge, quicker diagnosis and treatment for patient care. 
Higher management does not acknowledge existing team members, communication is poor and feel undervalued as an employer. There is no loyalty here even when 6 nurses handed in their notice in 4 weeks they did not deem this as an issue (including 2 leaders).
Keep opening more branches and employing more vets when they need to focus on their care for their nurses and the branches they already own. Ensuring they are up to high level standards with building, equipment, staff etc before opening more... very money driven yet seem to use the ''not for profit'' label and their aims to shadow this.


The actual vet team are awesome and good hard working people. But everyone is stressed and overworked. Management will.make unreasonable demands constantly. Training is next to nothing and you'll be expected to pick it up on the job whether you have previous experience or not and when that has loves on the line if you ask too many questions you'll get reprimanded. Your contract will change and you won't get a choice in the matter. They'll say there's a choice but it'll never work out. You'll probably end up doing something completely different your initial job as well and constantly reprimanded for any tiny mistake even if you have fixed the issue. Systems are illogical and break down regularly.  Its stressful and you will not be looked after by management at all. You might be shouted at if the head of the business if they're having a bad day and told do something different to what you've been preciously told there's also a high chance your manager won't actually know how to do your job but will still make demands....that make no sense. 
On top of that the clients will be abusive. Even though its a well priced surgery you'll end up in tough situations and when you're stressed from what else is getting thrown at you this can really really get you down. 
Managers will lie rather then admit there's a fault in the system and if things aren't going well they will target staff and leave them having break downs rather then trying to fix the issues that may have caused this. 
Seriously just avoid this place its not worth all of the stress. I've been in tears I've comforted enough people in tears from this place. 


Firstly I Would like to say I loved the animal interaction with the animals and I admire the veterinary surgeons with their expertise and the saving o f many sick animals but for the rest of my job as client care advisor I can only say it was a experience not for the good unfortunately. Training was none existent as there was no time for it you were chucked into the deep end and left to your own devices as everybody was too busy to help you. 

The job was very complex with a massive workload on top of reception duties. A lot of the tasks you were set were ridiculous to do on a busy reception desk these tasks should have been dealt with by the management staff in their office not shoved on the reception staff to do.  

A lot of the reception staff were very stressed the majority of the time and didn’t want to be bothered with helping new members of staff if    there was a issue . Basically it was dog eat dog very appropriate for a vets

Not a place you are likely to stay long but an emotional experience never to forget .  However it has not put me off working in a vet as I know they are truly not all the same .
: 
. 

I would definitely recommend working at Animal Trust if you are a veterinary surgeon eager to learn and develop your knowledge and skills. If you are wanting to work as part of a focused, supportive team the Bolton branch offers an absolute amazing opportunity to become a part of the real animal trust community. You do need to be a person who likes to be busy, but as a vet wanting to progress this is the best environment to thrive. Due to reduced costs/vet fees they are very busy and have a very good varied medical and surgical case load. Great for vets attempting to complete certificates.  There are senior vets on shift, both surgical and medical who can always give you a second opinion or a word of advice. The vet management are incredible both on site and off site. They do take feedback constructively and understand that nowhere is perfect, which includes themselves. I really do recommend to work here and wouldn’t hesitate to go back given the right opportunity. 

I worked at the Blackburn branch, it started out as a fantastic job, great colleagues, everyone getting on, looked forward to going in. They then got a new head nurse in, who made the culture the toxic and stressful, turning team members against eachother and dividing the team then blaming the people on the floor for being in cliques. They push you out of a job if they don't want you in anymore( which they have done 4 times now) the head nurse has shouted at staff members when they questioned about doing something, which just isn't managerial or nice to work with. The head nurse is just being a general bully which the other managers never took seriously as they just look after one another. You can't trust anyone bar a handful of staff members working at the blackburn branch, it's toxic and mental health suffers because of it (which they then punish you for) I would think twice about applying here.

A very busy practice and can be tough dealing with clients but there was not much of that involved in my own role. 
Great team to work with and the Practice Manager is the best ever. 
My own role involved a lot of autonomy. Responsible for the maintenance of stock rotation, ordering stock, dispensing medication and preparing medication orders for clients on longer term treatment. 
You need to be prepared to muck in elsewhere in the practice at times though such as on reception, cleaning or helping the nurses restraining a patient for placement of a line or to take blood, for example. 
I loved this job. Only left as it was quite a long way from home and only pays National living wage so it became hard financially for me. 

Truly awful management both in branch and higher, very unprofessional. Any concerns voiced were dismissed, whistleblowing bullying was never taken seriously. Minimal training, no advancement or professional development offered, even when requested several times. What was expected of you was much more than stated in the job role, much of it without proper training. No support when dealing with abusive and temperamental clients. Management lack people skills, only interested in money making and client numbers rather satisfaction and returning clients. Poor pay, huge separation between clinical and support/admin staff, never appreciated despite practically being PA to vets. This place made me very ill after trying so hard to make a difference, I'm glad I got out when I did. Sinking ship.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Veterinary surgeon 18 salaries reported	£52,169 per year
Veterinary nurse 31 salaries reported	£29,915 per year
Veterinary practice manager 7 salaries reported	£32,000 per year
Veterinary receptionist 55 salaries reported	£12.63 per hour
Veterinarian 1 salary reported	£37,000 per year

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