Introducing our practice team

Ashley has been the practice manager at Abbey Veterinary Group since 2016. He loves a round of golf and enjoys skiing trips with this family. What he doesn’t love is the sight of blood so he’s mainly based upstairs in the office.

Vicky joined Abbey in 2007 as a senior receptionist and is now our assistant practice manager. Vicky keeps us all ship shape and does all the behind the scenes wizardry that keeps the practice going. She is also our qualified pet bereavement councillor and will help our clients when it’s time to say goodbye. She has a gorgeous Labradoodle called Ted and we love it when she brings him to work with her.

Catherine qualified in 2014 and being a small animal surgery certificate holder, she loves nothing more than being in theatre and carries out much of our orthopaedic and advanced soft tissue surgery, but we just think she likes the power tools! She’s outdoorsy and climbs mountains and walks and walks with her black lab called Molly- who must be exhausted!

Nick qualified in 2012 and along with Catherine, keeps all things clinical running smoothly and buys us biscuits. His main interests are ultrasound and dentistry, and carries out the majority of our scans as well as following up with tests and investigations that these pets often need. He owns a greyhound called Amber who keeps him on his toes as she’s nuts! Outside of work he likes to play hockey and loves the cricket.

Alex qualified in 2017 and has completed her post graduate certificate in cardiology. She loves nothing more than scanning and investigating heart issues and conditions. She has rescue dog called Bandit and a spaniel call Sheriff. 

David qualified in 1981 and has brought a wealth of knowledge to the clinic, even though he started during the first Covid lockdown, which threw him right in at the deep end! He’s keen on orthopaedic and soft tissue surgery. David is a bit accident prone but counts DIY and gardening as his hobbies- so always has some good stories to tell on a Monday! He owns two cheeky rabbits called Blossom and Scooby.

Tamsin qualified in 2020 and really enjoys our more exotic patients as well as ultrasound and surgery. She is our star baker and keeps us well supplied with cakes and treats (staff only we are afraid). When she isn’t baking for us, she enjoys horse riding and trying to wear out her crazy cat called Reggie.

Dorin qualified in Romania in 2013, and is completing a post graduate certificate in ophthalmology. Many of you will know his wife Andrada who used to work for us and we are wondering if their little girl will be a vet too! He has a cat who was brought to us as a stray (and has really landed on her feet at their home).

Matteo qualified in 2013 from the university of Milan and is completing a post graduate certificate in small animal surgery. In his spare time he enjoys travelling. Matteo is actually allergic to most pets so we are very lucky to have him!

Hannah joined us in 2022, and she fitted in straight away. She has a keen interest in surgery and has travelled to Thailand to neuter street dogs for The Dogs Trust charity. Hannah loves sport and spends summers at Trent Bridge and winter on the terrace watching Forest!

Elaine qualified in 1994 and leads a team of nurses across both branches. There’s not a lot she doesn’t know about nursing and has trained many students over the years, and they all have good things to say! Keen to make sure we provide gold standard care, she has implemented many new protocols and equipment to keep our patients safe and happy. Elaine runs our diabetic consults to help owners with animals newly diagnosed. She’s partial to a horror movie (especially those with Zombies in) and has a very waggy lab called Buddy.

Jelisa qualified in 2019, holds a BSAVA merit award in nutrition and has a keen interest in exotics. In her spare time she takes care of her four rabbits and her cat. She keeps fit by playing rugby for the Derby Women's Team which the practice has supported with sponsorship.

Shelley qualified in 2004 but has worked at Abbey since 1998. Super organised and a big cat lover, she is our ‘cat advocate’ and has put many things in place to help us be more cat friendly. She really has the magic touch and the cats seem to know it! At home Shelley has two cats called Poppy and Charlie and she enjoys spending time with her family.

Amy has been with us since she was a teenager, first as an animal care assistant and then going on to qualify. She helps to provide some of our weekend cover so you will mostly see her consulting on a Sunday. She enjoys days out with her family (her two children keep her busy!) and exercise.

Beth qualified as an RVN in 2023.

Alice qualified in October 2019 and is now one of our clinical coaches. She also has an interest in In-patient care. Outside of work she enjoys socialising, going for walks, cooking and spending time with her three rescue cats.

Sara qualified in February 2021, she enjoys all aspects of her role but especially likes caring for inpatients. In her spare time her hobbies include reading, hiking and travelling. 

Isobel qualified in 2021. She has a rescue cat called Crookshanks.

Naomi started her career at Abbey behind reception and has made the move to train to be a veterinary nurse. She enjoys helping with nurse consults and is the most organised person in the nursing team, loves a label and stationary! Outside of work she is kept busy by her young son, and enjoys days out with family.

Chloe joined us as an animal care assistant and has now made the move to train to be a veterinary nurse. She is enjoying college and being face to face with clients in the practice. At home she takes care of Rocco, a very bouncy Dobermann who loves coming to see us at work, although he’s not too keen when we need to examine him!.

Megan joined the practice in 2022 as a receptionist, then moved to the ACA team and has now started her training to become a registered veterinary nurse. In her spare time she takes care of her cat Charlotte.

Holly has worked here since 2007, she leads the rest of the team and is qualified Veterinary Care assistant Alongside her responsibilities at the practice she also runs our puppy classes and has a qualification in dog training. Holly has taken on the role of trying to make our practice a bit greener and has implemented many changes to make a difference. Holly has two guinea pigs called PJ and Duncan. She makes us all feel bad by being a fitness fanatic and spends her weekends keeping active!

Kelly joined the practice in February 2022. In her spare time she enjoys exploring nature and caring for reptiles.

Jemma joined the practice in 2022 as a receptionist. In 2023 she decided to move departments and is now an animal care assistant. At home she is kept busy by caring for her five dogs.

Alix joined the practice in 2023, before this she studied marine biology at university. In her spare time she cares for her many pets which include fish, tarantulas and a scorpion!

Lauren started here in 2014 and works at our Chaddesden branch. She helps with coordinating our admissions in the morning and managing appointments throughout the day. Lauren has a rescue dog called Ralph who is best friends with her little boy. She enjoys days out with her family and long walks with Ralph.

Gina has been with us since 2010 and is based at our Chaddesden branch. Gina is chief of arts and crafts and all our beautiful display boards are her work. She loves chatting to our clients and helping them feel at ease. Gina owns Freya, a Labrador and a cat called Rex. She enjoys baking in her spare time.

Kirsten has been with us since 2018 and is the most positive person, she’s always happy and bright, even at 8 am! She has a dog called Bailey who is not a big fan of the vets. When she isn’t at work, Kirsten enjoys going out with her friends and taking Bailey for long walks.

Nicola works at both our branches and joined us in 2018. She has three cats called Pearl, Crystal and Misty. In her spare time she is a serious runner, she goes for miles! And she enjoys a hobby of painting garden ornaments.

Denise used to be a doctors receptionist so Abbey must a be a breeze compared to that! She joined us in 2020 and works at both branches. Outside of work she enjoys holidays with her family.

Courtney joined the practice in 2022. She owns two beautiful rabbits called Jumba And Winnie

Chelsie joined the reception team in 2023. She has a beautiful dog called Gypsy.

Shabba joined the reception team in 2022. Her hobbies include caring for her three dogs, two cats, ferrets and numerous birds of prey.