The Eye Vet Team

Iona underwent her veterinary training at the University of Glasgow Veterinary School and graduated in 1997. After that she worked in a number of mixed and small animal practices throughout the UK, including her native Scottish Highlands, Nottingham and Bolton. Iona achieved her certificate in veterinary ophthalmology in September 2011 and she started working for Eye Vet soon after! In her spare time she is interested in ornithology, enjoys the opera, theatre shows, walking with her dog Elphaba, and is an avid fan of the Muppets!

Kirsty graduated from the University of West of England (UWE) in 2004 with a degree in Veterinary Nursing Science. She has worked in multidiscipline referral and first opinion small animal practices since 2001. Kirsty has worked alongside Peter McElroy for a number of years and has been Head Nurse with Eye Vet since it was established in Frodsham in 2006. In her spare time, Kirsty enjoys riding and training her horses and dogs.

Update August 2017 - Kirsty is on maternity leave for 12 months. We wish her all the best with her new arrival.

Kate qualified as a vet in 2000 from the University of Glasgow. She gained the certificate in ophthalmology in 2008 and since 2010 has been working in an eye referral practice in Herefordshire and then with eye referrals in Devon. In early 2015 she moved to join the team at Eye Vet. Kate is a member of the British Association of Veterinary Ophthalmology.

Kate has a loyal cute Spaniel called Tia and outside work enjoys boating, especially sailing.

She also enjoys drawing and painting. You can check out her amazing talent by clicking the following link http://www.artbykatebrooks.com

Bill qualified from Cambridge University in 1983. After 7 years in general practice he became Senior Veterinary Officer with the PDSA in Stoke on Trent where he acquired extensive experience in ophthalmology by providing an internal referral service for the PDSA centres in the Midlands.

Bill returned to Private practice in 1997 as the Principal of Weaver Veterinary Group and Weaver House Ophthalmic Referrals before concentrating solely on building his own referral practice in conjunction with Woodcroft Referrals. He joined ChesterGates Referral Services in March 2007 and then Rutland House Veterinary Referrals in October 2011. Bill joined the Eye Vet team in January 2017.

Bill lives in Dinorwic, Gwynedd with his wife Karen and youngest daughter Siobhan and so far have two grandchildren. When not wielding an ophthalmoscope he can usually be found walking the Snowdonia Mountains or torturing the ears of audiences in his capacity as a keen amateur violinist

Bill has held the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Certificate in Veterinary Ophthalmology since 1997 and is accredited as an Advanced Veterinary Practitioner. He is a member of the British Association of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (BrAVO), the European Society of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ESVO) and The UK and Ireland Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (UKISCRS).

​Kathryn graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2000. Having spent the five years of vet school in London she moved back to her home practice in St.Helens where she stayed until 2015.  Throughout this time she has always loved all things related to eyes and in 2015, with both her children now at school and having moved to a different practice she started working towards a post graduate qualification in ophthalmology. Kathryn passed her certificate in small animal ophthalmology in March 2018.

Kathryn is married to Doug, also a vet and they have two young daughters who keep most of their free time occupied. They also have Tilly, a very soft Jack Russell and two cats - Spike and Tig.  When she does have anytime to herself Kathryn enjoys spending some quality time with her family and friends.

Robert graduated from the University of Agriculture Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Cluj-Napoca, Romania in 2006. He moved to the UK in 2011 to continue small animal veterinary medicine in the North West of England. His passion for ophthalmology started early in his career and he began studying for the BSAVA certificate in Ophthalmology in 2016, which he is due to complete in 2019.

Robert has a 2 year old Labrador called Freddie, who he enjoys spending time with outside of work.  He also has a keen interest in aquascaping and is currently researching his next project.

Perrine graduated from the University of Liège in Belgium in 2007. After completing a small animal general internship at the University of Nantes in France, she decided to pursue her interest in anaesthesia by completing a small animal anaesthesia internship at the University of Liverpool. Following this, Perrine undertook a three-year residency in anaesthesia and analgesia, and a Master of Veterinary Sciences at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Canada, completing both in 2013. She gained her European Diploma in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia in 2014. Since finishing her residency, Perrine has worked in busy small animal specialist referral centres where she also provided workflow management and ran a pain management service.

Jenny started in veterinary practice at the age of 14 as a volunteer in her local veterinary practice becoming a permanent member of staff in 1998 and a qualified RVN in 2005. She remained in small animal practice, before moving to Eye Vet in 2011. In her spare time she is a dedicated mum to her 2 sons and has a keen interest in Volkswagen camper vans, and walking her dog Scamp.

 

 

Having always wanted to be a veterinary nurse Heather started work at 14 years of age at County Vets in Alsager. She moved to Willows Veterinary Hospital in 2003 to undertake her veterinary nursing training and qualified as a veterinary nurse in April 2006. Since then she has worked in the first opinion and referral practice in Hartford. Heather joined Eye Vet in March 2009. At home she has 2 dogs, 3 cats, lots of tropical fish, 2 corn snakes and a horse. In her spare time her hobbies include horse riding, walking with the dogs and going to the gym.

Heather has just qualified from the European School of Veterinary Postgraduate Studies (ESVPS) with a certificate in anaesthesia. She now gains the post-nominal title of NCert(Anaesth).

 

Lorraine started voluntary work at the Willows Veterinary Hospital in 1993 at the age of 13. She became a permanent member of staff in 1996 and qualified in 2001. Lorraine worked as a Registered Veterinary Nurse in small animal first opinion practice, then moved to a referral practice in 2005. Lorraine jointed Eye Vet in January 2012. At home Lorraine has 2 cats, 3 cold water fish a German Shepherd called Lily. In her spare time Lorraine is a devoted mum and enjoys baking with her 2 sons, quad biking, working on her parents farm and dog walking.

Lisa started at a veterinary assistant at the age of 17 in her home town of Runcorn. She moved to join Woodcroft Veterinary Group in Cheadle Hulme to undertake her veterinary nurse training and qualified as a veterinary nurse in 2008. Since qualifying she moved back to her home town of Runcorn and joined Ashcroft Veterinary Surgery in Frodsham before moving to Eye Vet in July 2013. In her spare time she enjoys baking brownies for all at Eye Vet (for which we are very thankful), reading and enjoys weekends away in Cumbria with her partner. At home she has a very lovely but ignorant cat called Vernon who regularly finds himself in trouble with neighbouring cats.

Abby graduated from the University of Wales Bangor with a degree in Marine Biology and Zoology. She then moved to the Island of Mull for 2 years and worked with a whale watching company where she monitored and identified individual whales, dolphins and sharks around the Hebridean islands - she was also involved with geo-tagging sharks to monitor their migration patterns.

Abby undertook her nursing training at a first opinion and referral hospital in Cheshire and completed the Diploma in veterinary nursing in 2012. She gained a further Diploma in Animal Health and Welfare before moving to Eye Vet in 2013. Abby has a crazy 5 year old Labrador-springer spaniel cross called Poppy and is obsessed with everything Disney! She is also a supporter of the Galactic Empire (Star Wars fans take note!).

Kerry graduated jointly from the Royal Veterinary College and Middlesex University in 2006 after a 4 year degree in Veterinary Nursing, which incorporated various practical placements including Battersea Dogs Home and the Queen Mother Hospital for Small Animals (as seen on BBC's Supervets). During her university life she had a a variety of summer jobs including Woburn Safari Park. She commenced permanent employment as a qualified veterinary nurse in a small animal practice on the Wirral in 2006 and worked at Eye Vet from 2007-2013. Her hobbies include mountain biking and whitewater kayaking.

Kerry is back joining us as a locum nurse after leaving the Eye Vet team in 2013 to explore new ventures. 

 

Keri has been nursing for over 14 years and qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse in 2008. Before joining Eye Vet in 2016 she worked in both first opinion and referral practices across the U.K. 

Keri has completed the Certificate in Emergency and Critical Care for nurses in 2014 and holds the post nominal intials of 'CertVNECC' for this reason. 

She has 2 rescue dogs: 1 Jack Russel called Sprout and a deaf French Bulldog called Twpsyn (Welsh for 'little idiot'). Outside of work you will find Keri at Shell Island in Wales with her campervan.

Eve has been nursing for 10 years and qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse in 2012. After qualifying as a veterinary nurse she spent 4 months working in a charity animal sanctuary in Sri Lanka where she was involved in treating domestic and wild animals. Eve has worked in both referral and first opinion practices in the U.K and has a keen interest in cytology and laboratory work. 

Outside of work, Eve's interests are going camping in her tiny campervan called 'Basil' and spending time with her cat Badger.

Jess qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse in 2012 and continued her nursing in small animal practices in the North West of England. She has a keen interest in surgical nursing and is currently studying for a Higher Education Diploma in Clinical Veterinary Nursing, which she aims to complete in 2018.

Jess has a 10 year old cross-breed called Caramel, who is incredibly accident prone! 

In her spare time, Jess enjoys travelling, movies and is training to be a magician. 

Melanie is a member of our reception team and joined Eye Vet in January 2012. She has 9 years of experience working on reception in a referral practice. Mel enjoys her role at Eye Vet very much and also undertakes completion of insurance forms and assists with insurance queries. She has 4 pets: 2 cats and 2 cavalier king charles spaniels.

Melanie is our Head Receptionist.

Katie joined the Eye Vet reception team in June 2013. She graduated from the University of Liverpool with a BA Hons degree in Business and Communication studies in 2008. Katie enjoys her role at Eye Vet and is currently studying for her AMTRA SQP qualification. She has got a collie cross Labrador puppy named Ronnie.

Lindsey joined the Eye Vet reception team in August 2016 from a previous managerial position in customer services. Lindsey has a huge passion for animals and has previously ridden racehorses. 

She owns a menagerie of animals including 3 English Springer Spaniels, 2 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and a Chihuahua named Walter.

Lindsey has completed numerous courses in canine psychology and regularly trains her own dogs in a display team around the U.K.

Colin has been the general caretaker of the Eye Vet building since the move to Sutton Weaver in 2011. He is in charge of security of the building and surrounding property as well as general maintenance jobs within the clinic.