28 Sept 2020
Five colleagues have a combined 13-plus decade stint working at Ashworth Veterinary Group in Hampshire.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
From left: Sam Webb with Kobo, Jayne Fisher, Kerry Lambert with Rhea, Denise Tucker, and Lucia Laurie with Isla and Star.
Five colleagues have clocked up more than 130 years of caring for poorly pets at the same Hampshire practice.
Practice manager Lucie Laurie is the longest-serving team member, having been with Ashworth Veterinary Group for 33 years and working her way up to practice manager after joining as a VN.
Vet Jayne Fisher has 31 years behind her. Based at the group’s Sandhurst surgery, she has a GP certificate in small animal medicine, and is particularly fond of feline work and carrying out examinations.
Sam Webb, who works part time and handles admin at the Fleet surgery, joined as a trainee VN in 1991, while senior RVN Kerry Lambert this year celebrated her 21st anniversary at Ashworth. She is passionate about general nursing and runs the practice’s puppy training parties.
Vet Denise Tucker, based at Sandhurst, has been treating and caring for pets for 20 years.
Between them, the colleagues have a total of 134 years of service with Ashworth, which also has a surgery in Farnborough, and was established in the town as Burkitt and Hampshire in the 1950s.
Mrs Lambert said: “We are a long-serving team and a few more team members are not too far behind the five of us in the number of years they’ve worked here.
“We have a lovely team and there is a friendly feel to the practice. This is a lovely area to live in and we also feel happy in our jobs. We listen to the team as much as possible and try to ensure everyone contributes to the way we work.
Mrs Lambert added: “We make sure team members feel rewarded and challenged, and there is a variety of work to suit everyone’s skills. We do a lot in the community and we are all very sociable.
“We also have an extremely loyal client base as some have been bringing their pets to the practice for 40 years, and we pride ourselves on our word of mouth reputation. We have some clients who were children accompanying their parents to the practice with their pets, and they are now adults with a family and pets of their own.”
The practice employs 16 receptionists, 15 nurses, 10 vets, a practice manager and a finance manager.
