June 14, 2023
June 14, 2023
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!
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.
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…
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.
In Bronze, Briar House Veterinary Surgery, with 682 4 and 5* reviews.
In Silver, Streatham Hill Veterinary Surgery, with 743
In Gold Place, the Best UK Vet 2023 is Weeley Veterinary Centre with a massive 776 top reviews!
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.
This award was divided by Regions, as there were so many good new startups this year!
Our Mobile Vet Awards this year go to two regions –
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
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:
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!
Susie Samuel MA VetMB MRCVS
Ashley Barron BVMS MRCVS