22 Nov 2024
It takes a certain kind of person to work as a vet on a small Scottish island. Charlotte Clough is that kind of person, however, and that kind of vet, as VBJ discovered when we caught up with her last month…
Vet Times
Job Title
Ten years ago, Charlotte Clough had reached a crossroads in life. Recently divorced and with both her children about to graduate from university, the RVC graduate decided the time was right to reassess her career options.
Up until that point she had worked exclusively in various small animal practices in Hampshire, while also helping to run a small family farm, but as Charlotte pondered her next move, a “postage stamp-sized” advert in Vet Times caught her eye and ultimately changed her life.
The advert was for the sale of a mixed animal practice on Arran – an island roughly 15 miles off the coast of western Scotland – and while it may have been small, it was big enough to pique Charlotte’s interest.
Living on an island that’s 20 miles long and 9 miles wide may not be for everyone, but for Charlotte, leaving the mainland rat race behind had been a long-held dream and the advert also promised the chance to fulfil her other ambition of becoming a practice owner.
Charlotte said: “I guess I’d always dreamed of living on an island off the west coast of Scotland ever since I was a teenager, and I’d always wanted to go and have my own business, but it didn’t happen for family reasons, really.
“But in 2015 both my children left university and I’d got divorced, so I was kind of free to go wherever I wanted to at that point.
“I remember the date, 14 November, when I saw Malcolm’s [Wheeler] – my predecessor’s – little advert, and said to my two fellow vets at work that evening ‘Oh that sounds interesting’.
“So, I came up to have a look, and initially said ‘no’, because I hadn’t done any mixed practice work recently. But Malcolm offered to help me for a year, and I decided on impulse to go for it.”
When Charlotte first arrived on the island, Arran Vets was two Portakabins that had been pushed together back in the 1970s, with facilities that looked as though they’d not been updated for at least as long.
But within two years Charlotte had transformed the business by buying a large, detached property that had previously served as a doctor’s surgery and converting it into the kind of modern veterinary clinic she was accustomed to.
The location was chosen because it had space for a car park and was close to the main A841 road that circles the island. The site was also less than a mile from Arran Vets’ old base in the centre of Brodick, where the main ferry terminal and the island’s only supermarket are located.
Most of the ground floor was transformed into a small, but perfectly formed veterinary practice with a good-sized reception area, one consult room, cat and dog wards, and a surgical theatre. What was left of the downstairs space was developed into a small living area with separate access to four bedrooms upstairs.
Charlotte said: “It’s a fully kitted practice and we’re set up for all emergencies – it’s a normal vet practice, just a small one.
“The rest of the building was developed into a spacious flat as accommodation is expensive on Arran and that is in large part due to the number of people who buy holiday homes, which drives prices up.
“Also, I was 52 when I arrived and the plan was to stay for 10 years and sell it on to someone younger, and it makes it much more attractive to potential buyers if they don’t have to worry about having somewhere to live, at least to begin with.”
When she first arrived on Arran, however, Charlotte worked with what she had and readily admits she needed her predecessor Malcolm’s help to find her feet during those first 12 months. Aside from having to adjust to a very different way of life, she also had to adjust to the demands of working as a true mixed animal vet.
While most of Arran Vets’ revenue comes from the small animal side of the business, the island supports several farms, which meant Charlotte suddenly found herself dealing with cattle, sheep, horses – and farmers – for the first time in her working career.
She said: “I think most of the farmers were very disappointed at first as I am not a man and I am not Scottish, but they took to me with time and I have good relationships with most of the farm clients now.
“But I would admit that at the start I found it slightly terrifying dealing with cattle and horses. I had Malcolm with me to help working part time and I soon picked it up and learned when to get out of the way and not get trodden on or crushed.
“Before I came and also during that early period, I also steered all of my CPD to practical farm animal and equine work, and that helped build my confidence.
“It was just like being a new grad again starting in a mixed practice for the first couple of years, but also an enjoyable and mentally stimulating challenge.”
As the sole vet practice on Arran, Charlotte also covers her own out-of-hours. She added: “A lot of nights I don’t get any calls, but sometimes the exciting event of the day is OOH – especially during lambing season. Those visits are often some of the most rewarding work I get to do.
“I think the biggest thing here is that you go out to see an animal in pain, distress or bleeding out and as the only vet on the island you know that if you can’t help, nobody else really can do, and it takes some courage and determination in often difficult circumstances.”
Not that Charlotte is alone; as well as experienced receptionist Shona Hume, who agreed to stay on when she bought the practice, veterinary care assistant Gemma Ferguson joined the team in 2015, with Ellis Mckelvie arriving five years later.
Ellis has just celebrated passing her final exams to become a registered veterinary nurse – and becoming the first person who has grown up on the island to achieve the qualification.
This core team has been supplemented over the years by other vets who have joined on a short-term basis, as well as students and locums.
In this respect, Arran Vets is well served by a group of “island-hopping locums” who enjoy working in remote places and can provide cover for Charlotte to get away from it all when needed.
Roughly 70% of the revenue at Arran Vets comes from small animals and it is this work that effectively subsidises the less profitable farm and equine side of the business.
Extra work is also generated through the large influx of visitors to the island each year, who double its population from 5,000 to 10,000 during the six months of spring and summer.
Many of the island’s permanent residents don’t welcome this tourist horde and the impact they can have on property prices by buying second homes on Arran, but for Charlotte these visitors – more specifically, their dogs – represent an important extra revenue stream.
Arran Vets treats around 200 visiting dogs a year, which helped the practice turn over more than £500,000 in 2023, providing Charlotte and her team with a good standard of living and a decent profit in the bank.
However, after 10 years on the island, Charlotte is looking to pass the baton on. With an ageing mother and a daughter with a young child living in England, and her son now living overseas, the time has come to cut ties and allow someone else to build on her legacy.
Charlotte added: “I have one child who lives in Australia, and one child lives in England, and I’ve got grandchildren in both places.
“I also have an elderly mother, who’s 90, who lives in Derbyshire, and I am getting to the stage where I want to spend more time with them and that is obviously a challenge as I can’t just shut the practice down and move on.
“The island needs a vet, so I need to find a replacement, but I’m not the only vet on an island who is struggling to recruit a mixed vet as it seems that being a mixed vet is a bit of a dying art, but it is absolutely essential to make a business like this viable.
“This practice would suit someone who is quite independent and wants to have their own practice, and would enjoy running their own business.
“But it is not just that – it is about being part of this community, which is a real sort of supportive community. And I know that sounds a bit of a cliché, but it really is – everybody does go out of their way to support each other.
“To be at the centre of such a close community is extremely rewarding and the practice is profitable, so if anyone reading fancies an exciting new challenge then get in touch, as opportunities like this don’t come along often.”
