Here at VetHelpDirect, we’re all about helping veterinary practices to give the very best care to their patients, and the very best support to all the pet parents, owners and guardians out there. 

And the BestUKVets Awards are exactly what they say on the tin – we run these awards because we want to reward the very best in client care and customer service within the UK’s veterinary sector. This year, we have some big news – and a full list of winners!

Big changes in 2023

There are a few changes to the awards this year. The most exciting of which is that this year sees the awards hosted in a face to face ceremony for the first time. Thanks to our sponsors Digital Practice, Provet Cloud, Shires Insurance, Colourful CPD, Vet Dynamics and SPVS, the BestUKVets Awards Party took place on 14th June at the beautiful riverside setting of the Thames Rowing Club in London. More than 160 people from the veterinary industry came to this sell-out event to celebrate the fantastic achievements of so many practices from across the UK. 

However, the way the awards are calculated haven’t changed – no judges, no bigwigs deciding, no dodgy backroom deals: just the reviews of all the practice’s clients over the previous year.

How the Awards Work

Every client of every practice in the UK is able to access the free Directory on VetHelpDirect.com and Any-UK-Vet.co.uk to leave a review of their practice – good or bad. These reviews are all verified by our staff – providing excellent feedback to the practices, too! – and then at the end of the year we count up how many 4 and 5 star ratings there are for every practice. 

The highest number of reviews wins the coveted Gold Award, with Silver and Bronze awards too.

However, we know that many of the best practices out there are smaller set-ups, or more specialised in the service they offer, which is why we also have the…

Special Category and Best in County Awards

The Special Category Awards have been running for some years, and include Best Small Practice, Best Referral Practice, Best New Start-up, Best Equine Practice, Best Cat Only Clinic and Best Mobile Vets. This year for the first time the Special Categories can be awarded by region if there are multiple practices in contention, in order to make it more relevant for pet parents to find outstanding vets near to them.

We have also launched a new website for the awards – https://bestukvet.co.uk/ – for any practices that would like to learn more about the awards. 

So, the Awards for 2023…

In Bronze, Briar House Veterinary Surgery, with 682 4 and 5* reviews.

In Silver, Streatham Hill Veterinary Surgery, with 743

And the winners are…

In Gold Place, the Best UK Vet 2023 is Weeley Veterinary Centre with a massive 776 top reviews!

The Elite Club Award

This year, we have also launched The Elite Club Award. This award is for practices that have previously won the Gold BestUKVets Award and have continued to receive over 250 reviews/year, demonstrating excellent ongoing customer service. Cockburn Vets, the winners of The Elite Club this year, won the Gold BUKV Award in both 2021 and 2022.

Best in Wales

• The highest scoring Welsh practice is Ystwyth Veterinary Practice Ltd.

Best in England

• The best English practice is Weely Veterinary Centre, also of course our overall Gold winner.

Best in Northern Ireland

• The best Northern Irish practice in 2023 is Ashwood Veterinary Clinic.

Best Small Practice

• In North-West Region, this goes to The Vet Whitehaven

Best Referral Practice

• This year, only the West Midlands Region had an Award, going to Willows Veterinary Centre & Referral Service 24/7

Best New Start-up

This award was divided by Regions, as there were so many good new startups this year!

• In the East of England, it goes to Weeley Veterinary Centre – the first time a New Start-up has been the Gold award winner!
• In the North West, The Vet Whitehaven
• In the West Midlands, to James Horner Vets
• In the South East, to The Urban Vet

Best Equine Practice

• Only one Award in 2023, going to GVG Brooks Equine Veterinary Practice from the South East.

Best Cat Only Clinic

• In the East of England, this goes to the Cambridge Cat Clinic
• And in the West Midlands, to the eponymous West Midlands Cat Clinic

Best Mobile Vets

Our Mobile Vet Awards this year go to two regions – 

• Paws in Peace in the South West Region
• Vets2Home in the South East

Best in County

County Antrim – Ashwood Veterinary Clinic

Bristol – Avenue Veterinary Centre Ltd

Buckinghamshire – Windmill Veterinary Centre – Winslow

Cambridgeshir – Cambridge Cat Clinic

Cardiganshire – Ystwyth Veterinary Practice Ltd

Cornwall – City Road Veterinary Centre

Cumbria – The Vet Whitehaven

Derbyshire – Bright Side Vets

Devon – Paws in Peace

Dorset – The Pet Health Partnership – Upton Veterinary Centre

East Sussex – Heathfield Vets

Essex – Weeley Veterinary Centre

Greater London – Abingdon Veterinary Clinic

Greater Manchester – Timperley Veterinary Centre

Gwynedd – Cambrian Vets – Tywyn

Hampshire – The Village Veterinary Centre

Kent – Briar House Veterinary Surgery

Lancashire – Medivet Bamber Bridge – Withy Grove Vets

Leicestershire – Cockburn Vets

London – Streatham Hill Veterinary Surgery

Merseyside – Hoylake Veterinary Surgery

Monmouthshire – Riverside Vet Care – Abergavenny

Norfolk – Vets 1 Group

Northamptonshire – Swanspool Veterinary Clinic

Oxfordshire – Bicester Vets

Powys – Cambrian Vets – Machynlleth

Shropshire – Bridgnorth Veterinary Centre

Somerset – Watkins & Tasker Vets – Portishead

Suffolk – Bury St Edmunds Veterinary Centre

Surrey – Priory Veterinary Surgeons, Reigate

West Midlands – Willows Veterinary Centre & Referral Service 24/7

West Sussex – Oathall Veterinary Group

Wiltshire – Drove Veterinary Hospital

Top 25

These are the practices who score in the Top 25 for numbers of positive reviews, but were just pipped by another practice for a named Award. Don’t worry, we’ve got you:

• Avenue Veterinary Centre Ltd
• Briar House Veterinary Surgery
• City Road Veterinary Centre
• Cockburn Vets
• Croydon Veterinary Surgery
• Drove Veterinary Hospital
• Heath Veterinary Clinic
• Heathfield Vets
• James Horner Vets
• Langford Vets Small Animal Practice
• Manor Veterinary Surgery
• Medivet Bamber Bridge – Withy Grove Vets
• Oathall Veterinary Group
• Parkside Veterinary Centre
• Priory Veterinary Surgeons, Reigate
• Streatham Hill Veterinary Surgery
• The Mewes Veterinary Clinic
• The Vet Whitehaven
• Watkins & Tasker Veterinary Group – Nailsea
• Watkins & Tasker Veterinary Group – Yatton
• Watkins & Tasker Vets – Portishead
• Weeley Veterinary Centre
• Willows Veterinary Centre & Referral Service 24/7
• Windmill Veterinary Centre – Winslow
• Ystwyth Veterinary Practice Ltd

Well done to every practice listed above, displaying the very best customer service in difficult times!
Want your practice to get involved in future? Take a look at https://bestukvet.co.uk/to see how we can support you!