About us
Apply below after reading through all the details and supporting information regarding this job opportunity.
Wendy Lane Vets is an RCVS Tier II accredited practice in Lancashire, just north of Manchester. We are a thriving, proudly independent practice looking for a new member to join our eight vet team.
We are looking for a new vet as, after two years, one of our team, May, has decided to move on to new challenges. May joined us as a recent graduate and during her time has developed into a highly capable vet able to manage complex medical and surgical cases. Her shift pattern includes days at the branch surgery working alongside our new graduate and being the lead vet at the main surgery. She has been part of our mentoring programme for vet students and a GDP advisor for our new graduate. All of our team are encouraged and supported in areas of interest to them. In May’s case this has included helping to build the acupuncture service offered by the surgery, taking on the challenge of complex surgeries and developing her social media interests including the recent filming of a well known dog behaviour TV show at the surgery. Does this sound like the kind of career progression you are looking for? Are you looking for a practice that offers that little bit more? If so read on…..
The surgery opened in 1964 and takes its name from now retired partner, Wendy Lane. Phil joined the surgery in 2007 and took over from Wendy in 2013. In 2007 the surgery had three vets, and three nurses, that team has now grown to eight vets and eight nurses. Our main surgery is located in Rochdale with a branch surgery four miles away in Littleborough and a third branch four miles in the opposite direction in Heywood. The Rochdale surgery has four consulting rooms, separate cat and dog wards, separate cat and dog operating theatres and a dedicated dental room with dental xray facilities. Three years ago the Rochdale surgery achieved the ISFM Gold-level award for cat-friendly status. There’s an in house IDEXX lab, K Laser, orthopaedic kits, ultrasound and all the rest of the equipment you would expect in a busy first opinion practice. Our Littleborough surgery is also well kitted out with two consulting rooms, kennels, in house lab, operating theatre and dental facilities. The bespoke-build third surgery in Heywood is an exciting new venture. It’s a modern, fully air-conditioned building with three consulting rooms, operating facilities, in house lab and a soon to open separate Pet Well-being Centre offering complementary therapies including hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, acupuncture and K laser. The rehab centre is in the final development stage and should be ready in November 2025. We are very proud of this facility and the opportunity to add in house complementary therapies alongside our clinical services. A candidate with an interest in this would be ideally suited to help develop this facility in the way that they want. We provide the veterinary work for the local RSPCA centre which has just moved to a purpose built multimillion pound facility at Hollingworth Lake Country Park. This contract includes the provision of veterinary care to look after all of the animals in the shelter and we are helping to develop their wildlife rehabilitation facilities. Some of our most rewarding cases come for the care provided to these charity patients. The plan will be to to develop a wildlife hub for triage, rehabilitation and release within the country park. Again, this is an area that may be of interest for a successful candidate to develop.
"I have now been at Wendy Lane Vets for almost 10 years and would recommend it to any vet looking for a job. The team are friendly and supportive, I now regard them all as my friends. The caseload is varied and there are plenty of opportunities to work cases up completely. The other vets are all friendly and open to discussing cases if needed. The nurses are very proactive and helpful. It is also an independent practice, Phil and Judith are very approachable to discuss anything that you need.” Sarah, Vet
“Since starting at Wendy Lane Vets as a new graduate veterinary surgeon almost 3 years ago my confidence, skill- set and knowledge has grown immensely and continues to do so every day. A large part of that has been down to the support, encouragement and guidance of all my brilliant colleagues/work family. Each day brings a new challenge mostly extremely rewarding however sometimes upsetting but I know I can always count on the support of every member of the team – we laugh, smile, gorge on choccies, occasionally cry but always together. From day 1 I felt like a valued member of the team even if I didn’t quite believe in myself at that point, my team did and have continued to help me grow and develop- answering my many questions, teaching me new skills, running through cases, supporting my moments of self doubt and being the biggest cheerleaders for my achievements always with patience, kindness and a smile.” Becky, Vet
The team
The surgery is lucky to have a settled, stable team of twenty eight, many of whom have worked at Wendy Lanes for ten or more years. This team includes four very experienced vets of 15years + experience, three recent graduates of between three and six years experience and a recent graduate about to complete her GDP programme, eight RVNs and two student vet nurses, an SQP in dispensary, eight receptionists and a practice manager. We are also sponsoring a vet student through university who will join the team when she completes her degree. Our staff are passionate about providing friendly, approachable care to our clients and their pets. One of the best ways we have found to be able to do this is by supporting our staff in a similar friendly approachable way. Our mantra is that happy, motivated staff will flourish and provide the best care possible to our patients.
We have quarterly vet, nurse and practice meetings and an open culture to discuss and implement new ideas from all members of the team. Our vet meetings typically occur in an evening over pizza and provide an opportunity to share CPD and discuss cases.
Our vets are encouraged to work up their own cases with support from colleagues. If there’s a specific area of interest then this will also be encouraged. For example Phil likes his cruciate and other orthopaedic surgeries as well as managing canine osteoarthritis cases. Bethany has a certificate in anaesthesia and analgesia and enjoys a challenging general anaesthetic as well as keeping the team up to date with latest analgesia protocols. She has also been given the opportunity to take on a vet student teaching role at UCLAN Vet School alongside her position here at Wendy Lane Vets. Sarah has developed a following amongst ferret owners with regular ‘ferret Wednesdays’ for vasectomies. We try to share consulting and operating duties equally so typically each vet will have a day consulting, a day operating (with some consults in the afternoon), a split day of consults and ops and a day at the branch surgery. All of our staff work at both the main surgery and one of the branch surgeries so we’re all one big team. The vets work one late night each (until 7 or 8pm) and all have at least one day off during the week. There’s a shared rota for one in three Saturday morning clinics (9-12). Rotas are fixed so you’ll always have the same late night/early finish/day off during the week. We use an out of hours provider for evenings, weekends and bank holidays.
Further training and development is important to us at Wendy Lane Vets. We believe in empowering our staff to learn, develop and bring new skills to the surgery. We are keen to support vets wishing to study for a certificate. We are always keen on new ideas and will invest in new kit and training. This is reflected in our commitment to student vet and nurse training. We’ve always had strong links with Myerscough nursing college, there’s always at least one student nurse at the surgery. We’ve also agreed a partnership agreement with UCLAN to support the new veterinary school in Preston. Six of our team are trained vet student mentors to help with this programme. If you want to work at a surgery which is continually evolving with latest ideas and developments and where your ideas will be listened to and implemented then this is the place for you.
As we have been a long established practice with a very stable team of staff we genuinely feel part of the community. These strong bonds with our clients helps to create a friendly work environment. We are also proud to be an independent practice and intend to stay as such. To many of our staff this is a very important factor for their enjoyment of their job.
“Wendy Lane Vets is a great place to work. I’ve been here for 18 years, started as a receptionist/nurse auxiliary and they’ve paid for and put me through my nursing qualifications and I’m now branch manager at the Littleborough surgery. We have some lovely clients at both surgeries and our team is super friendly! We’re a small independent vets which is also important to me” Helen, Branch Manager/Nurse.
“I’ve been working at Wendy Lane Vets for 20years now. It’s a friendly practice with great opportunities to develop skills” Paula, Vet Nurse.
About the role
Ideally we are looking for a candidate for 3 or 4 days per week and to be part of our Saturday rota (1 in 3 Saturday mornings 9am to 12 noon). An experienced vet would be preferred as they could help shape the new branch surgery but a new or recent graduate would be considered. With lots of exciting developments happening at the surgery there is scope for our new vet to chose how they want to progress their role within the surgery; be it at the bespoke branch surgery with rehabilitation, hydrotherapy, physiotherapy and laser, helping with the operations and diagnostics at the main surgery, taking an active role in student education, helping with the wildlife rehabilitation at the rescue centre or simply being a good all-rounder! There will be some flexibility on days/hours to suit the right candidate. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all and welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds.
“With years of experience, I’ve come to appreciate that great care isn’t just about clinical skill—it’s about teamwork, trust, and continuous learning. At Wendy Lane, I’m surrounded by a supportive team that brings compassion and expertise to every case. We thrive on open clinical discussions, sharing insights and challenging each other to think critically and stay current to ensure our patients receive the very best care. If you're looking for a veterinary team that values excellence, empathy and cake, you've found it!” Bethany, Vet
“After 14 years as an RVN at Wendy Lane Vets, I took a 7 year detour into lecturing…. And then came straight back! There’s a reason for that. This independent, three branch practice is genuinely supportive and friendly, and everybody is a valued member of the team. The atmosphere is professional, yet relaxed and there is plenty of laughter. It’s this that reminds you why you joined the profession – it’s somewhere you can learn, grow and don’t mind getting up and coming to work.” Chantal, Vet Nurse
About the interview
Over the last few years we have noticed a trend towards increasingly sceptical candidates at interview who have been promised much but delivered little by previous employers. (You know the places I mean!). It’s upsetting to interview candidates who have had their love for the profession sucked out of them by previous negative experiences. It does not need to be like that. We genuinely believe that we are are great place to work and encourage all candidates to spend time with the team to get to know what it is like working at Wendy Lane Vets. After an interview with Phil (Practice Owner) and Judith (Practice Manager) ,and a look around the surgery, we’ll lay on a buffet lunch for you and our team to give you the opportunity to ask lots of questions away from management and get a genuine feel for the surgery. We strongly believe we help to foster a happy ‘work family’ and would like you to experience this first hand by meeting our fantastic team.
Location
The surgeries are located in Greater Manchester, at the foothills of the South Pennines and close to the M62. There are excellent transport links in the local area and there’s plenty to do be it outdoor pursuits and walking in the hills or jumping on the train to Manchester city centre.
The package
* Salary of £38,000 to £65,000, dependent upon experience
* Five weeks holiday + bank holidays
* One in three Saturday mornings (9-12)
* One week for CPD (or do the CPD in your own time and take 5 additional days holiday!)
* CPD budget of £1750
* VDS and RCVS membership
* Journal membership
* No out of hours
Wendy Lane Vets is a genuinely great place to work as paid testament by the fact that we have such a low staff turnover. If you want to find out more about how this role could be right for you please get in touch.