We are that rare mixture of an independently-owned and locally-loved practice: not too small and quiet, but not too big and crazy busy either!

This allows us to really know each other and our clients, and focus on enjoying the veterinary experience at its best.

Over the past 20+ years, we have had a rewarding journey developing a fantastic team while understanding the importance of leadership skills. The practice and team have steadily grown but still embrace those values of care.

Our growth has included adopting new technology for both clinical care and client care, thereby easing pressure on the team. We have always been interested in new ideas.

Organisational background

Elston Veterinary Clinic is an independent veterinary practice in the village of Shrewton, Wiltshire. It was created in 1999 by Enid Frantilla based on genuine care and attention to detail. We care for the pet, the owner, and the team providing that service.

We enjoy serving our rural Wiltshire community and are proud of our well-established position and independence. We are in the privileged place of working with generations of families and their pets, sharing their joys and disappointments, from the trust and bonds we’ve developed over the years.

Organisation aims & mission

We believe that the team must be cared for to be sustainable and allow a safe space to do our work.

Our work culture is extremely important to all of us, we live the ethos of honestly caring about and supporting each other; this helps us work together to finish work on time!

We think that we can serve pets and their owners best simply by listening to their concerns, and treating them as fellow human beings while being as thorough and as thoughtful as possible with their pets in our examination room. We do set our boundaries and expect our clients to treat us the same way.

The team decided the best words to describe our vision are:

Through our compassion and professional excellence, we give both patients and clients the BEST standard of care.

We foster a positive and innovative environment, and our team continually expands their expertise to improve the lives of all our patients, clients, and team members.

The most important values at Elston Vets, chosen by the team, are:

• Compassion, thoughtfulness, honesty
• Excellence, professionalism
• Respect, positivity
• Innovation

The team are the real heart of Elston Vets. We focus on communicating clearly and appropriately, showing respect for each other and clients, and supporting each other.

The strength that comes from natural compassion for our patients and each other, helps us also find compassion for our clients.

We have regular practice and team meetings, and ideas from the team are what drives the practice forward.

Honesty is manifested in our understanding of individual accountability, and helps sustain a safe environment for us all to work in. Exchanging and sharing ideas in team meetings is how we develop and continually improve our clinical standards.

We are RCVS accredited, provide top end quality of care for poorly animals, and have a strong focus on preventing illness and keeping pets happy and healthy. Our striving for excellence means that we have invested in DR equipment and iM3 dental x-ray, great ultrasound, surgical cautery, and lab equipment.

We use referral telemedicine when we have questions on complex cases, and encourage (relevant) CPD and training including towards a certificate, for both vets and nurses.

We love finding useful technology and use Petsapp, which streamlines and makes our communication with clients much easier.
The whole team has embraced FearFree training, and we take the time to make our patients as happy and comfortable as possible. We have found that we can usually retrain many of our patients to be less fearful and actually be delighted to see us!

• Elston Vets is that rare mixture of an independently owned and loved practice and is not too small and quiet but not too big and crazy busy! This allows you to really know your colleagues and clients and focus on enjoying the veterinary experience. It allows a great environment to practice Veterinary medicine at its best.
• Elston Vets is positioned in a beautiful village surrounded by the space to enjoy nature and the outdoor world and be part of village life. This is balanced with easy access to Salisbury, the south coast, and London.