Heathfield Vets - Meet the Team

Heathfield Vets have a dedicated, professional team to provide animal care

with a friendly face.

Veterinary Surgeons;

Janet Nuttall BVet Med MRCVS VetMFHom

Born in Middlesex but raised in Yorkshire, Jan always intended returning to the north after qualifying from the Royal Veterinary College, London in 1977. However, a position in a truly mixed practice was a rarity even in those days, and she soon found that she didn’t want to leave the East Sussex countryside and people. She became a partner in 1981 and although since then there have been many changes in the practice, the greatest asset remains the same: the varied mix of vets, nurses and office staff, all working together as a team to provide an excellent service. For over 20 years, she was heavily involved with English folk dance both locally and nationally, and served on the committee of Eastbourne International Folk Festival, latterly as Director. As the practice and the general pace of life became busier, a quieter location and lifestyle became more attractive, and she now lives in the East Sussex countryside taking care of a small herd of llamas. This interest led to becoming secretary of the British Camelid Society. With the aim of broadening treatment options, Jan has been involved with homeopathy for some years and in 2010 became a veterinary member of the Faculty of Homeopathy. She is happy to take any suitable referrals for companion animals, equine or farm.

Ian Killian BVSc MRCVS

Ian was born and raised on a game and livestock farm in the Eastern Province of South Africa. After the obligatory five and a half years of student life at the University of Pretoria Onderstepoort Veterinary Faculty, he qualified in 1989. The next move was 15 months' compulsory national service in the South African Defence Force. 12 months of that period was spent working as a vet in a rural tribal area, providing a service to the local farmers and pet owners. With that obligation completed, he returned to his hometown to work in a mixed practice for nine months before deciding to have a six-month working holiday in the UK. As the saying goes, the rest is history. He joined our practice in 1991 and became a partner in 1998. He is married to Rose-Ann and is the proud father of 2 daughters, Natalie & Jaime. They have 3 family cats, Nigel, Munchkin and Rosie. Natalie also has 2 guinea pigs, Dancer and Cuddles. In his spare time Ian enjoys cross-country jogging and is also a fair weather cyclist, though a full time profession and a young family don’t allow too much time for these activities.

Ian enjoys the variety of work that is encountered in a mixed veterinary practice. He does however spend most of his day treating and operating on family pets. He particularly enjoys and is interested in surgery and also practices acupuncture.

Philip Snyman BVSc MRCVS

Philip was born in South Africa. As part of his National Service, he spent two years in the Infantry Corps of the South African Defence Force, before enrolling as a Veterinary student at Onderstepoort, The University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Veterinary Science. He completed his studies in 1989 and joined a mixed rural practice in Harrismith, where he worked for three years. In 1992 he started his own practice in the Karoo, an agricultural region famous for its sheep. Most of his work was centred on sheep reproduction. This enabled him to make contact with many experts in the field.

He and his wife had the opportunity to the visit the UK for the first time in 1994. They enjoyed their experience so much that they decided to move here on a temporary basis in 1997. The temporary move became permanent and after spending seven years in another East Sussex practice, he joined the practice as a partner in 2004, after catching up with Ian Killian, his old classmate. Philip is married to Katrien, a nursery school teacher. They have recently expanded their family with a new cat named Leeutjie 'Little Lion'. Philip enjoys running and cycling in his spare time. He recently took up golfing as well, but with the lack of spare time available, the handicap will have to stay where it is for a while.

Donal O’Leary MVB Cert SCVA MRCVS

Donal joined the practice in early 2004, primarily to lead our equine work, but like all our vets he is an excellent all-rounder. He qualified as a vet in Dublin in 1995 and, after a spell with the PDSA in Birmingham, returned to the Dublin Vet School as a house physician. Since then he has worked in mixed practices in Wales, Alton and Guildford. He is very keen to maintain a strong and up to date knowledge of all things equine, and since graduating has studied on a number of specialist courses from wound management to donkey surgery and medicine. Donal has a special interest in equine dentistry and is able to carry out most procedures. He will happily assess your horse's teeth at the time of vaccination and advise if any work is required. Donal recently qualified in Veterinary Acupuncture and uses these skills to great effect with both small animals and equines. As you would expect, he is a keen rider himself, and whilst in Wales he rode dressage. Nowadays he only has time to ride out for pleasure.

Ellie Packer BVM&S MRCVS

Ellie has recently joined the practice after graduating from Edinburgh University in 2011. She grew up in Yorkshire, and inspired by the stories of James Herriot decided to pursue a career in Veterinary Medicine. Since graduating Ellie worked in an animal shelter in Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) for 3 months to practice her clinical skills. She hugely enjoyed the adventure and it was a great way to explore some of the Middle East.

Having decided to gain a broad experience in all species, Ellie was keen to take on a mixed animal job down here in beautiful East Sussex. Joining her in the move is Oscar, her miniature wirehaired dachshund, who is just as keen to explore the countryside as she is. Ellie is a keen horse rider and is looking forward to being able to take this up again in her free time.

Nurses:

Laura Walker - RVN

Laura joined the practice in July 2000 qualifying as a veterinary nurse in the summer of 2004, and has recently been promoted to Head Nurse.

Amongst her busy schedule, Laura is also very interested in dog training and behaviour and organises the puppy parties, an important part of training young dogs to be sociable pets. She has also trained as a Pet Health Counsellor so is able to give advice on nutrition for your pets. In her spare time Laura enjoys walking and training her three dogs, and going out with friends.

Anna Evans - RVN

Anna Joined the practice in November 2005, qualifying as a Veterinary Nurse in July 2008. Recently promoted to Deputy Head Nurse, Anna has a special interest in nurse clinics (especially thyroid and renal clinics) and helps to organise the puppy socialisation parties. Before starting her career as a veterinary nurse, Anna attended a 2 year National Diploma in Animal Management at Plumpton College and worked part time at her local racing greyhound kennels for 3 years. At home she has a lively black and white cat called Lola, who gets treated like the princess she is! In her free time, Anna likes to go to the cinema or enjoy a cosy night in with a film. She also enjoys spending time with her family.

Jessica Boniface

Jessica joined the practice as a trainee in September 2009, she has recently started a three year course at Plumpton to become a fully qualified veterinary nurse.

Jessica grew up on a farm in Chiddingly, so has always spent time surrounded by a variety of animals. She has two dogs at home and loves to ride her Mum's horse 'Steady Eddy' and her Aunt's mare, when whe wants a more challenging ride!

Jessica spent a year travelling in Thailand and Australia, working on a farm 5 hours away from Sydney for six months. Whilst she thought she would know what she was doing from her farm upbringing, she found things in Australia are done very differently - more laid back and relaxed!

Kelly Chapman

Kelly started working for the practice in August 2007. She completed the Animal Nursing Assistant course in 2008, being awarded student of the year for her efforts. She has recently passed her final exams this summer and is now a qualified nurse. At work Kelly enjoys most tasks, especially operating duties and nurse clinics. Kelly has a dog named Tammy who is a collie x, she is a sweet loving dog but very naughty! Kelly is interested in agility and enjoys training Tammy when she behaves. She has just got a new addition to the family, which is cat called Chester who is extremely spoilt. In her spare time Kelly likes to go to the cinema and go shopping with friends. She also enjoys being able to spend time with her family.

Vicki Farrant - RVN

Vicki comes from a local farming background, and married into another local farming family. Sadly, both had dairy herds which have now been sold, but she still enjoys working with the remaining stock on her husband’s farm.

Whilst working at a local nursing home, she bullied us into letting her start with us on a voluntary basis, was soon offered a job, began her training in 1995 and qualified as a veterinary nurse in 1997. She was soon promoted to head nurse, but took a break in late 2001 for the birth of her daughter Emily.

Vicki has now returned to work with us part time, using her qualification as a pet health counsellor, and running nurse clinics three times a week to give advice on all aspects of pet care.

Harriet Dabin

Harriet joined Heathfield Vets at the end of July 2010 as an Animal Assistant. She has aspirations of becoming a Veterinary Nurse. Harriet has two very lively cats; Teddy who’s very vocal and loves his cuddles and Tibbles, a very adventurous ginger and white cat who sometimes prefers the outdoors to his warm cosy bed at home! Born in Gloucester, Harriet lived in Carmarthenshire, Wales before moving to Heathfield at the age of 6. From a young age she walked her Aunts dog Leo who is a Collie cross Dalmatian and recently she has started looking after her chickens when needed. Another of her interests is music and discovering contemporary and late artists. Harriet attends piano lessons every Saturday and is currently working towards grade 8.

Administrative Team:

Danielle Head

Danielle was our reception team leader from March 2011 and has recently taken over Sally Clark's role of practice manager. She lives in Herstmonceux with her partner Mark, two budgies (Betty and Boris) and two fish. Danielle and Mark have recently rescued a kitten called Oddy who will soon be joining the household. She has always had animals and currently still has two dogs (Lola and Buddy), one cat (little Cat) and a tortoise named Terry who all live with her mum and two sisters in Herstmonceux. In her own time Danielle enjoys spending time with her friends and family as well as playing darts and going fishing.

Harriet Gay

Harriet joined the practice at the start of January 2012, as Reception Team Leader. Previously she has worked for the National Trust and in retail as a Team Leader as well.

Harriet (finally!) got married in August 2011 to her husband Matt, after 7 years of being together. They have also just bought and done-up their first house together in Hailsham, where they live very happily with their pug, Digby.

In her spare time Harriet loves watching films and going to the cinema, her and Matt are big fans of Korean films, but currently they have well over 200 DVDs at home! They also love taking Digby out for long walks in the woods and seeing their friends. Harriet’s degree was in Photography, so she still likes to play around with her cameras when she gets time. She is very lucky to have been on some fantastic holidays around the world, but would always love to go on more, and also enjoys designing and hand-coding websites (she can be a bit of a self-confessed geek!)

Jayne Scot-Jackson

Jayne joined the practice as a receptionist in September 2002 and has just stepped down from her role as Senior Receptionist to spend more time at home with her family. She previously worked in commercial export, food distribution and latterly as a trainee veterinary nurse with another practice. In her spare time, Jayne enjoys reading, cooking, needlework and spoiling her husband and two cats!

Jan Martin

Jan has been a receptionist here since October 2003. She has lived locally for a number of years, coming to the surgery with family pets long before working here! She has two grown-up children and nine grandchildren. Jan is married to Tony and now lives in Crowborough. She enjoys long walks, as well as gardening, crosswords and handicrafts.

Jan Hartwell

Jan has been our evening receptionist since 1999 and thoroughly enjoys the work. She lives in the heart of the countryside with her husband Rob (a television editor), and has two grown-up daughters (Becky and Elli), three horses, four dogs and one cat. She is a BHS Intermediate Instructor and a Riding Club National Trainer. She competes regularly in all disciplines with her own horses, and trains other competitive riders.

Sue Evans

Sue first met her husband Paul as a pen friend during the Gulf War. They married in 1992, and have two young sons. After a four year break while the boys were babies, Sue returned to work in 2002 as one of our receptionists.

Sue has a ginger tom cat called Otis. Even before joining the team Sue was a regular visitor to the practice, as her cat would often get into mischief.

Deborah Batkin

Deb comes from a farming background - her father has been a local herdsman for most of his working life, first in Dallington, then more recently in the Herstmonceux area.

At the age of 16, Deb asked to ‘see practice’ with us during her school holidays, little knowing that she was destined to become one of our longest serving staff members. Starting with a part-time evening position in 1988, she soon transferred to full time day receptionist.

After a further 6 years she became the practice book-keeper and is currently studying for a qualification with the Institute of Book-keepers.

Deb married in May 2000 and lives in Herstmonceux with husband Richard and her two sons Thomas and Samuel. Although they have no pets at the moment, they enjoy the countryside and are keen lovers of wildlife.

Sam Mason

Sam joined the practice in September 2007 as a part time receptionist, having spent time working as a hairdresser and a dog groomer. She loves her job especially meeting all the animals that come to see us.

She has her beloved Petit Bassett Griffon Vendeen called Basil and a tabby cat called Chester. In her own time she is busy with her own dog grooming business and performing home checks for Last Chance Rescue Centre. As if this did not keep her busy enough she also shows at dog show events.