Meet the Team

• Meet the Vets
• Meet the Nurses
• Meet the Support Staff
• Meet the Cats

The Vet Team 
 

The longest standing partner, Craig joined the practice in 1979 fresh from Glasgow University and entered the partnership in 1982. A very experienced surgeon with a special interest in orthopaedics, he also continues to enjoy his pet animal clinics, farm and horse rounds. Outside of work, Craig’s hobbies include playing football, drumming and breeding and showing Hereford cattle.

Ken followed Craig to the practice from Glasgow University in 1980, becoming a partner in 1983. While Ken enjoys all the aspects of a busy mixed practice, he holds special responsibility for the equine division and has a particular interest in the treatment of equine lameness.

Ken’s hobbies include skiing, running, photography, and gardening.

Joining the practice in 1990 was something of a homecoming for Steve originally hailing from Stoke. He had spent 6 years in mixed practice in Lincolnshire. Particularly interested in cattle health and preventative medicine, Steve joined the partnership in 1993.

A keen charity runner, Steve has completed the London Marathon five times (so far!) and also enjoys skiing and mountaineering in the Alps with his family.

Having joined the practice straight from Liverpool University in 2001, Mark took a 6 month sabbatical in New Zealand where he worked as a cattle vet. Mark returned to the practice and joined the partnership in 2006, bringing to the table keen interests in orthopaedics and fracture management alongside cattle health and production.

A keen rider and sportsman for many years Mark, along with his wife Natalie, continues to enjoy horse riding and skiing.

Dave, originally from Northern Ireland, studied at London University before joining the practice in 2003 and subsequently becoming a Junior Partner in 2008. A keen all-rounder enjoying farm, equine and pet animal practice. Dave has particular interests in small animal and equine medicine.

 
Dave and his wife Sophy enjoy travelling, cars, biking, walking and good food and drink.

Originally from Brewood, John was a foster student of the practice. Upon graduating from Bristol University in 2002 he joined the Straiton's team formally, becoming a Junior Partner in 2008. John’s particular interests lie in the fields of pet animal and horse medicine, and in wound repair.

 
John and his wife Jo enjoy horse riding, winter sports, sailing and travelling.

Born and bred in Stoke, Steve studied at Liverpool University where he was a housemate of Mark. Following graduation, Steve spent 5 years in mixed practice in the Staffordshire Moorlands before becoming a much-welcomed addition to the team in 2006. He continues to utilise his skill and experience, particularly in farm and pet animal fields and, alongside Dave Gowan and Dave Talbot, divides his time between the Penkridge and Rugeley practices.

Steve was a welcome addition to the Partnership in 2010. 

Steve is a keen all round sportsman (when not injured!) and a DIY enthusiast.

The longest serving vet in the practice, Dave joined E C Stration & Partners direct from London University in 1976. He went onto establish a long-standing partnership with his brother Alex and founder Eddie Straiton. For many years Dave has been the mainstay of the Rugeley practice, carrying out farm and horse work while building up his popular pet animal clinics.

2007 saw Dave leave the partnership allowing him to spend more time with his family while continuing to work as an associate of the practice.

Nick holds the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Certificate in Small Animal Surgery (CertSAS). After graduating from Bristol University with Honours Nick spent a short time working for a charity hospital in Romania. Nick then joined the practice full-time in 2005 and joined the partnership in 2011. 

Nick's particular interests lie in small animal surgery, especially the treatment of joint and bone disease. He also has experience in the management of complex cancer surgery, wound management, cruciate ligament injury using the TTA and TPLO techniques, dislocating knee-cap surgery, spinal surgery and fracture management amongst others. Nick is also interested in small animal medicine.  Nick has also written articles for veterinary periodicals.  
 

Nick and his wife Kate (who is also a vet) enjoy snowboarding and mountain biking together when they are not working.
Nick is often seen walking his Border Collie 'Lottie'.

Lewis joined the Practice in July 2010 having graduated from Liverpool University in the same year.  Lewis hails from Kent where he grew up surrounded by animals great and small on his grandfather's farm. He has a particular interest in equine medicine and completed a elective equine studies at the Philip Leverhulme Equine Hospital based at Leahurst.  Lewis is equally at ease treating small animals, particularly rabbit medicine and surgery. Out of work Lewis is a keen sportsman playing rugby and hockey, he also enjoys karaoke given the chance!

Ana joined the practice early this year as our full time TB tester. She has worked in the meat trade for 11 years through the MHS and FSA. A little change of life brought her to meet her wonderful dog' Ruby' here at penkridge.

Between her hobbies she enjoys opera , fashion , travelling and finding the best tasting restaurants around .  

Daisy graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in London in 2012 and joined the practice the same year. Daisy saw a lot of practice at Straiton's before joining the team. Although Daisy enjoys farm, equine and small animal practice, she has a particular interest in cattle, small animal medicine and anaesthesia.

Out of work Daisy enjoys swimming, cycling and playing netball. She also enjoys baking and travelling.

Daisy has a lovely cat called Martha.

Nursing Team
 

Nicky joined the team in 1997 and qualified in 2003, making her one of the longest serving nurses. She takes an active role in management of the nursing team and is heavily involved in assessing student veterinary nurses.

Outside of work, Nicky spends most of her time with her family and her two dogs 'Poppy' and the new member of the family 'Doyle'. 

Michelle joined the Practice as a trainee veterinary nurse in 2009 and qualified in January 2011. She has completed a degree in veterinary nursing and practice management from Harper Adams University. She is now the head nurse at the Rugeley surgery.
Outside of work Michelle is a member of Newport Young Farmers and is a keen horse rider.She also enjoys spending time with her cat ' Tiddles '.      

Nicky joined the team in May 1999 and qualified in 2002. She has had some time off to have a family and now works part time. She is involved in assessing student  veterinary nurses.  Outside work she enjoys spending time with her family.

Jenny joined the team in 1986, qualifying as a veterinary nurse in 1990. Having taken some time off to raise her family,  Jenny has returned to the Practice and now heads up reception, in addition to being responsible for small animal insurance queries.

Most of her free time is spent with her family and dog 'Scooby'.

Nikki joined the Practice in December 2007 and is currently studying towards a further qualification in animal physiotherapy.

Nikki has recently taken up horse riding and her keen interests at work are her diabetes clinics. 

Another long serving team member, Liz joined the Practice in 2002 and now undertakes the majority of the 24-hour night nurse care at the hospital.

Liz spends a lot of her spare time with her springer spaniel 'Roxy'. 

Congratulations to Liz who has recently gained her Advanced Diploma in Veterinary Nursing.  

Cassie is qualified veterinary nurse, having joined the team in 2006 as a student. She is also a Pet Health Counsellor who was named Pet Health Counsellor of the Month for her achievements with her weight clinics at the Practice .

She is now a clinical coach within the practice training one of our students towards their VN qualification. Cassie is also studying at Harper Adams University for her Advanced Diploma in Veterinary Nursing.

Her interests include horse riding and walking her many dogs.

Caroline Bromley RVN

Qualified Veterinary Nurse

 

Caroline joined the team in December 2006 as an NVQ II student nurse. In summer 2009 she became a qualified veterinary nurse. 

 
She is also now a clinical coach within the practice and currently has two students working towards their VN qualification. Alongside all that hard work,  she has recently enrolled at Harper Adams University to study for the Advanced Diploma in Veterinary Nursing.  

 

She enjoys spending time at home on the farm, riding her horse 'Magic' and walking her dogs 'Fly' and 'Cracker Jack'
 

 

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Lisa Ings RVN

Qualified Veterinary Nurse

 
 

Lisa joined the Practice in September 2008 and passed her final exams with Caroline in summer 2009.

 

Lisa is currently helping Donna undertake her veterinary care assistant course.  

 

Lisa also has her hands full at home with her 2 year old daughter!

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Lucy joined the Practice in 2004, starting out as an Animal Nursing Assistant. She is now one of our qualified nurses and is jointly responsible for the very successful weight clinics and runs regular puppy parties with Beshlie. She is also one of the practices 'Pet health councellors' 

Lucy is currently studying for a qualification in Companion Animal Behaviour, and enjoys raising funds for the charity ' Hearing dogs for the deaf' in her spare time.

She also has a cat called ' Pugsly' who she adopted from the hospital as a stray   

 Zoey joined the team in January 2011 after gaining her RVN qualification in September 2010. 

She enjoys socialising, going out to the cinema with her husband and spending time with her German Shepherd dog 'Sid'. 

Natalie joined the team in April 2010 while she was studying for her veterinary nursing foundation degree at Harper Adams University. This year she has gained her qualification Fdsc RVN.  She enjoys eventing her horse 'Edward'.
 

'Ellie' her German Pointer is a keen gun dog currently working towards her field test.  Natalie recently lost one of her chickens 'Penny' but has now returned with several new baby chicks to boost her chicken family.
Natalie also milks cows 3 times a week for a local farmer in her area.

Leah first worked at the Practice while undertaking her school work experience placement, before joining the team in July 2006 as a kennel assistant.  She has now achieved her Animal Nursing assistant qualification, her NVQ II and has this year completed her level 3 diploma in Veterinary Nursing.
 
Leah adopted 'Maddison', a dog  from the surgery and enjoys socialising with friends and shopping.

Jess is currently studying for BSc (Hons) degree in veterinary nursing and practice management at Harper Adams University.   

She has a keen interest in horses and has one of her own for several years, she loves all animals but would like to specialise in equine or exotics in the future.

Michaela is currently studying for a Fdsc degree in veterinary nursing at Harper Adams University. She has one black and white cat called Kiki and would like to move to Australia once she has qualified to continue her career   

Helen is currently studying for a BSc (Hons) degree in Veterinary Nursing and practice Management at Harper Adam University. She has 2 ginger cats and a little Tortie kitten called Tilly.

She has a particular interest in animal behaviour , and in her spare time enjoys horse riding and spending time with family and friends.   

Sarah joined the Practice as a kennel assistant in 2005. She is often seen out and about on the farms helping our vets.

She enjoys competing and spending her spare time with her horse 'Wilf'.

Support Staff
 

Penny joined the Practice as a nurse back in 1981.  After four and a half years she left to have a family. She rejoined the practice in 2000 and is now our office manager.

Becky Pinchin

Office Assistant

 

 

Becky started work in the large animal office in June 2009 and, along with Penny is responsible for co-oodinating the equine and large animal calls, as well as keeping the office running smoothly.

Beshlie joined the Practice in 2009 in the role of kennel assistant.  She has a passion for animals and in particular dogs, she owns three dogs including a Newfoundland Bernese Mountain Dog and Spaniel.

Hanna joined the team in 2013 and works along side beshlie in kennels. In her spare time she enjoys socialising, running, traveling and walking her two dogs ' Bella and Carly' over cannock chase. 

 Les has been our Practice handyman for many years.  Local to the area he is often seen with a paint brush in his hand singing as he works!

The first face you’ll see behind the reception desk at the Penkridge hospital, Suzanne has been a member of the team since 2000.

In her spare time she enjoys socialising and travelling.

Pat joined the reception team in 2002, with a City & Guilds part I+II under her belt.

Her interests include walking her dogs and outdoor wildlife.

Julie joined the team in February 2012. She enjoys walking, gardening and spending time at her caravan in Wales.
 

Donna Joined the reception team in 2013 after working in kennels for 2 years. She has a cat called 'Gizmo' and a mad Husky called 'Heidi'.

Belinda also joined the team in November 2009, she enjoys spending time with her two dogs 'Rosie' and 'Freddie'.   
 

Kezia joined our branch surgery at Rugeley in February 2011 as the receptionist.  When not at work she enjoys spending time with her three dogs.   

Cats
 

Struggling to find a new home, Richard came to us from the RSPCA 2002 years ago. He is often found lying on the printers around the practice or strutting his stuff around the waiting room.

Judy was brought to the practice as a stray in 2003. 
The staff immediately fell in love with her character and she has been with us ever since.

Fern grew up on a local horse yard where she developed an allergy to hay!
For her own health Fern was rehomed to us in 2004.