Meet the Estcourt Vets team

Born in Scotland, he attended Edinburgh University and graduated in 1989. Originally working in Malmesbury, Scott relocated to Devizes in 1999. Under his direction the practice has undergone two extensions, expanding both the main building and hospital, and during his tenure it has developed from a mixed practice with a significant proportion of large animal and meat hygiene work, to the modern, dynamic well equipped small animal practice that it is today. Scott has special interests in small animal medicine and practice management. He is married to Trish and they have two daughters; Georgia and Olivia. They have two cats – Tigi and Twinkle and two horses – Lexi and Rita.

James qualified from Bristol University in 2000 and after working in several practices in the UK, Australia and New Zealand he joined the practice in 2012 – fifteen years after first seeing practice at Estcourt Vets as a vet student.  Along with Scott, James has been instrumental in helping to develop Estcourt Vets from a local mixed practice into a thriving small animal practice with first rate facilities and a high standard of care. James has a keen interest in all aspects of small animal general practice and in particular soft tissue surgery, ultrasonography and business development.

Emma graduated from Liverpool University in 2014 and has worked at Estcourt Vets ever since. Emma is a hugely valued member of the team both in the operating theatre and consulting room and she is constantly helping to develop and improve the clinical proficiency of the practice. On her ‘relaxing’ breaks away from the practice Emma likes endurance holidays with minimal creature comforts so that when she returns she can really appreciate how much she loves being at work.

Jodie graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2016 and has been with us ever since. She has a particular interest in internal medicine cases, and has recently passed her RCVS advanced certificate in this area, she hopes to take her exam to become a recognised Advanced Practitioner in internal medicine in the near future. Her enthusiasm for working up the most complex of medical cases is a huge asset for the practice and we are very lucky to have her at Estcourt Vets. Along with Emma, Jodie has helped develop the clinical capabilities within the surgery to an extremely high standard. Before parenthood Jodie enjoyed cooking, drinking lots of tea, kayaking and cycling when the weather permitted, now if she’s lucky she might get time for the odd cup of tea.

Manon grew up in Cardiff and is Welsh speaking. She graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, London in 2015 and has worked in both farm and companion animal practice before joining us in September 2019.  Manon now lives in Devizes with her husband and their black labrador Monty. In her spare time Manon likes running and looking after her plants!

George grew up on  a family farm and has been working with animals from a young age. After graduating with a degree in biological sciences from Imperial College London, he studied veterinary medicine and surgery at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. Having qualified in 2015, he worked in small animal practice in West Sussex and Buckinghamshire as well as in Cyprus, where he volunteered with an animal welfare charity. He enjoys all aspects of general practice and feels privileged to learn about the human-animal bonds that are an important part of many people’s lives. Outside of work he enjoys cycling and camping and soon hopes to combine the two on a bike packing adventure!

Alexandra graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2019. She started her veterinary career in a busy small animal hospital in West Sussex, followed by further small animal work in a Devon practice. Alexandra has now decided to settle with us at Estcourt Vets. Se enjoys all aspects of general practice but has a particular interest in ophthalmology and surgery. In her spare time you can find Alexandra training Thicket, her working cocker spaniel, and enjoying the wonderful walks that Wiltshire countryside offers.

Jackie has been working here since 1989 and is the longest serving member of the practice by far. Having worked her way up from trainee nurse to head nurse she is now practice manager. She knows the practice inside out and is always the person to ask about everything, she works with a calm efficiency, keeping everyone else sane in the process. Jackie is a Devizes girl who lives with her partner Darren, dogs Seth and Ivy, cat Bradley and 2 tortoises! Her only known vice these days is an addiction to buying Emma Bridgewater pottery in bulk.

Ceri has been a Registered Veterinary Nurse since 2019 and has a particular interest in surgical nursing. Before qualifying Ceri worked as an animal care assistant in a referral practice and as a receptionist for an emergency out of hours service. She also had her own dog walking business for 4 years and managed a boarding and stray dog kennels for 4 years before that. Ceri has recently moved to Devizes with her family and her two labradors a German Shepherd and 2 guinea pigs.

Gemma graduated from The Royal Veterinary College with a BSc (Hons) in Veterinary Nursing in July 2016. Throughout her degree she developed a strong passion for wildlife and exotics nursing, which led to undertaking a master’s degree in Wild Animal Biology and Health at ZSL London Zoo, during which she spent a number of months working with the big five in South Africa. After her masters she spent some time as a locum before travelling and volunteering across South East Asia, Indonesia, Australia, Fiji and New Zealand, working with both small animal and wildlife charities. Most recently Gemma worked at Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital caring for sick, injured and orphaned British wildlife. Gemma enjoys all aspects of nursing in practice but has a strong affinity towards emergency critical care and medical nursing, having previous experience working in out of hours veterinary services and referral hospitals. When not in work she enjoys spending time in the countryside with her fiancé, walking their rescue cocker spaniel Mabel, and riding her Welsh cob Tom.

Having worked with animals in many aspects from boarding kennels to grooming. Sara qualified in 2015 and has a passion for dentistry, radiography, phlebotomy and nurse consults. She enjoys spending time with her tow children who are forever keeping her on her toes, and enjoys exploring different parts of the UK hiking with friends. Sara has a border collie who is the heart of the family.

Lucy graduated from MYF training college of Veterinary Nursing in February 2022 and joined us soon after qualifying. Lucy grew up on a farm which is where her love of animals grew. Lucy enjoys all areas of nursing but particularly enjoys anaesthesia, emergency care and inpatient care and she looks forward to expanding her knowledge in these areas. Lucy enjoys spending time with family, walking her cocker spaniel Maisy in the Wiltshire countryside and looking after her two cheeky guinea pigs Percy and Maple.

After a twelve year break from nursing, Aly returned to the profession in September 2022. Aly enjoys being face to face with clients and their animals in nurse and vet consults, as well as inpatient care. In her spare time Aly enjoys teaching her daughter about animals, and spending time with her cocker spaniel India, and her two cats Phoenix and Tuxley.

Charlotte has been working in veterinary practice for a number of years, initially as a receptionist before progressing to become an animal care assistant. We are so pleased that she has now realised her ambition of becoming an RVN.

Heather graduated from Plymouth University with a degree in Animal Behaviour and Welfare in 2017. This was followed by her working as a zookeeper at Longleat Safari Park for four years. She particularly lover working with the meekat, anteaters and penguins! Having originally joined as an animal nursing assistant, Heather is now in the second year of her veterinary nursing course. When she is not at work she enjoys hanging out with her friends, paddle boarding wiht her fiance and playing with her cats, Captain and Susie.

Fern had previously worked as a receptionist for 3 years and move on to become a kennel assistant for 1 year. Fern is now in her second year of studying to be a veterinary nurse. Out of work, she enjoys baking, is an indoor plant enthusiast and enjoys taking her dog Hugo for long countryside walks.

Lara started out as an animal nursing assistant and later became a student veterinary nurse, Lara is currently in her first year of training which she is thoroughly enjoying. When not working Lara enjoys spending time with her horse, Jilly out hacking in the countryside, and spending time with her cat Willow, both of whom keep her very busy.

Di moved to Devizes four years ago to be with her partner Simon. Di has four lovely rescue cats, Winston, Angus, Sheldon and Rupert. She also has a lovebird Frankie. Di’s veterinary journey started in 1993, when she worked as a receptionist and nursing assistant; she has been fortunate enough to work in several practices over the years and a referral hospital, where she qualified as a ANA. In between working in practice, Di enjoyed gaining experience in a cattery/kennel environment, and running her own pet sitting service. In her time off she loves spending time in the garden, walking and catching up with family and friends.

Georgina has lived in Devizes all her life and has worked with animals for her entire career, ranging from kennel staff to being a groom. she has worked at several equine hospitals but has joined Estcourt Vets to complete her dream of becoming a Veterinary Nurse.

Georgina has four horses and three dogs that keep her very busy outside of work. She enjoys walking the dogs and fun rides and exploring the countryside with her friends and their horses.

Tilly is currently studying to be a veterinary care assistant at Bath College and hopes to becomes a veterinary nurse. Tilly has a love for all animals and has grown up with them all her life. Tilly keeps sheep, horses, dogs, and cats. In her spare time she enjoys eventing and competing with her horses Freddie and Blaze.

Originally Emma joined our nursing team but now heads up our reception team and is also our insurance administrator. However because she also has a keen interest in anything technical she is also responsible for all our in house IT management!  She lives with her husband, their golden retriever Tia and cats Harry and Ollie. In her spare time she enjoys cooking, shopping and socialising and playing Badminton!

Julie is an integral part of our busy reception team. When she isn’t working Julie enjoys spending time with her family and her wonderful rescue dogs, she also shares a house with a tortoise and a corn snake.

Diane works part time on our busy reception. When not at work she lives with her husband and 2 cats, she also has a tortoise called Derek. In her spare time Di enjoys escaping to her allotment!

Daniella started as a veterinary receptionist in 2019 in a practice in her home town, Swindon. In July 2023, Daniella made the move to Devizes to join our team as a receptionist and administrator and to be with her partner who is from Devizes. In her spare time she enjoys walking, going to the gym, spending time with family and friends and renovating her first house!

Georgia is proving a huge help to our reception and ANA team. Having been immersed in veterinary life since birth Georgia has now started her own journey to becoming a veterinary surgeon and is currently in her second year at the University of Surrey Veterinary School.