Small Animal Veterinary Surgeon

Looking for an independent practice where you can build a long-term career, develop your interests and have the stunning Lake District on your doorstep?

At Paragon Veterinary Group, we're proud to be independent, locally owned and home to a genuinely long-standing team. Several of our vets have been with us for more than 10 years, with some having spent much of their careers here.

I started at Paragon in 2012 and fell in love with the area and the job. Paragon has always had a culture of promoting self-improvement and has supported me in developing my clinical skills through a medicine certificate and my non-clinical skills by becoming involved in practice management and leadership. Outside of work, I love fell running and walking, and having the Lake District on our doorstep is a huge plus to working here. Graham Lewis, Veterinary Surgeon

I’ve been working at Paragon for seven years now, and I think that says a lot! Over the years, Paragon has truly become like a family to me. Everyone is friendly, supportive, and approachable, creating a warm and welcoming environment to work in. I’m proud to be part of the Paragon team and grateful for the experiences and relationships I’ve built along the way. Eve, RVN

We're now looking for an experienced Small Animal Veterinary Surgeon to join our friendly team. You'll be based primarily at our main small animal site in Dalston, just south of Carlisle, with some time spent at our Newbiggin branch near Penrith.

We're looking for a Small Animal Veterinary Surgeon who has completed their VetGDP and is confident managing a varied first-opinion caseload, including routine consultations and surgery. You'll become an established part of our experienced team, with the opportunity to support our newer graduates as they develop and, if teaching is something you enjoy, get involved in mentoring too.

A little about us

Paragon has been part of the Cumbrian veterinary community in one form or another for generations. Today, we're a large, multidisciplinary independent veterinary group, but we've never lost sight of the relationships that matter – with our clients, their animals and the people we work alongside every day.

Our small animal team currently includes 10 vets, with our main site at Dalston and a branch surgery at Newbiggin, near Penrith. You'll spend most of your time at Dalston, while also providing some cover at Newbiggin. It's an experienced team with a wide range of clinical interests, and there's always someone around to discuss a case or lend a hand.

Our Dalston practice was extensively redeveloped to create a spacious, modern working environment, with facilities including digital and dental X-ray, ultrasound, endoscopy, an in-house laboratory and separate cat and dog wards.

But for us, a good working environment is about much more than the equipment.

We want our vets to have the time and support to do their jobs well. Standard consultations are 15 minutes and are lengthened where needed, and we build breaks into the working day for admin, phone calls and all the other things that inevitably crop up in practice.

You’ll also have at least one dedicated operating day each week.

Develop in the direction that interests you

Clinical development is actively encouraged at Paragon.

Within the team, we have vets with further qualifications and interests across medicine, emergency and critical care, anaesthesia and orthopaedics. We also regularly welcome visiting specialists, including an orthopaedic surgeon and cardiologist, giving interested team members the opportunity to get involved and learn from more advanced cases.

If there's an area you'd like to develop further, we'll support and encourage you, including undertaking a certificate.

We're also a veterinary teaching practice for the University of Surrey and regularly welcome final-year veterinary students. Several of our vets particularly enjoy the teaching and mentoring side of practice, and we'll support you to develop those skills too if that's something that interests you.

A rota designed to give you time away from work

Our standard working week is 4.5 days, with typical days running from 8:30am–5:30pm.

We choose to provide our own out-of-hours service because we value continuity of care and want to be there for our clients and patients when they need us most. It’s an important part of the way we practise and the relationships we build with our clients.

You’ll share the on‑call rota with the rest of the team. Weekends are currently around 1 in 6 (maximum 1 in 5), with the intention for this to reduce further as newer members of the team become established. Weekend on‑call runs from Friday evening to Monday morning, including Saturday and Sunday morning consultations, with time off in lieu following your weekend on call.

Weeknight on‑call is currently shared at 1 in 7, with calls taken from home and inpatient care shared between our vets and nursing team.

Life outside the practice

One of the biggest benefits of working here is where we are.

The Lake District is on our doorstep, and many of our team make the most of it. There's a group who regularly head out walking together, several keen runners and even a vet who has been known to take members of the nursing team sailing.

We organise practice‑wide social events too, including our annual Christmas party and group walks, but there's no pressure to join everything. Whether you want colleagues to explore the Lakes with or simply want to finish work and head out into some of the UK's most beautiful countryside, Cumbria is a pretty special place to call home.

For Graham, our Small Animal Lead, it's one of the reasons he came to Paragon – and stayed.

What we can offer

• Salary £39,000 - £55,000, depending on experience
• 4.5-day working week (8:30am–5:30pm)
• At least one dedicated operating day each week
• 15‑minute consultations, extended where needed
• Shared OOH rota, currently 1 in 6 weekends and 1 in 7 weeknights
• Time off in lieu following weekends and bank holidays worked
• 25 days' annual leave plus bank holidays
• Private medical insurance
• RCVS, VDS and BVA memberships plus one additional professional membership
• Certificate study actively encouraged and supported
• Opportunities to develop your teaching and mentoring skills
• A modern, spacious working environment
• An experienced, supportive and genuinely long-standing team

We're proud of the fact that people build careers at Paragon. Our aim is to give our team the freedom and support to develop, take responsibility and find the areas of veterinary practice that they really enjoy.

If you're an experienced small animal vet looking for an independent practice where you can become part of the team for the long term, we'd love to hear from you.

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