Staff at 387 Veterinary Centre in Great Wyrley were the buzz of last weekend’s veterinary congress in Birmingham after achieving an unprecedented first: the West Midlands practice scooped three of the five awards at the prestigious Petplan Vet Awards evening on Thursday 6^th April, and became the first veterinary practice ever to do so in the history of the event.

The Awards, now in their 18^th year, celebrate the nation’s most outstanding vets, vet nurses, practices, practice managers and support staff who had been nominated by clients and colleagues for going that extra mile to really make a difference to pets and their owners. 

Isabella von Mesterhazy, Head of Marketing at Petplan, commented: “Visiting the vets can be a stressful experience for anxious owners but when local staff are as committed and attentive as these winners, owners are reassured that their pets are in safe hands. The annual Petplan Veterinary Awards allow us to honour the remarkable work carried out by some of the best and brightest veterinary professionals in the country. We're delighted to be able to announce the deserving winners, and congratulate them on such a fantastic achievement!”

This year, the independent judging panels of leading professionals and past Petplan winners read through over 17,000 nominations in support of veterinary staff across the UK to whittle each category down to three (in the case of Vet Nurse, four) finalists. Winners were announced at the Awards night hosted in Birmingham’s iconic Town Hall.

Joanne Civil, the receptionist at 387 Vets, and Head Nurse Nicky Smith were winners of Support Staff and Vet Nurse of the Year respectively. And the 387 team were overwhelmed to be announced as Petplan Practice of the Year 2017.

Whilst judges particularly celebrated Jo’s contribution to team and client well-being, Nicky was praised especially for her instrumental contribution to the growth and development of the practice which celebrates its 10^th birthday this year.

387 Veterinary Centre was recognised for the practice's focus on patient care beyond the purely clinical.  Recent initiatives include bereavement and end of life training, Gold Cat-Friendly Clinic status, running pet first aid courses and various education initiatives in the community.

Clinical Director of 387 Vets, Hamish Duncan, said “We’re all just over the moon. 387 is an amazing place, and we couldn't be prouder of our team. The past ten years in the surgery have been amazing, but there are no words for winning this prize.”

For further information on the awards and to learn more about the winners, please visit https://www.petplanvet.co.uk/veterinary-practice-insurance/veterinary-awards/veterinary-awards-finalist-videos/