Harrison Family Vets, an independent, family-owned veterinary group that launched in the UK last year, has expanded into the West Midlands and launched a state-of-the-art practice in Kingswinford near Dudley, as part of a £330,000 investment that has initially created six jobs in the town.
Harrison Family Vets opened its doors earlier this week at Gatehouse Retail Park on Dudley Road and the practice has been completely designed around the pets it will treat.
Its innovative waiting area features bespoke pods which are all spaced at least two metres apart, giving clients their own space and shielding pets from the stresses of facing other pets in a traditional waiting room. Each pod has its own screen displaying pet jokes and facts through to information about pet welfare and nutrition.
There are also four high-tech consulting rooms, an on-site laboratory, full x-ray suite, operating theatre and ultrasonography. The practice has separate dog and cat wards that have been designed with mood lighting, aromas and music to create a calming atmosphere.
The Kingswinford practice will be headed up by well-known West Midlands vet, Rosie Levene-Barry, who brings more than 15 years experience to the role. Most recently she worked for a Wolverhampton practice and has appeared in an ITV documentary about her innovative corrective surgery on a litter of Labradors that were born with cleft palates. In 2012, she co-founded successful pet rescue charity Raven’s Rescue UK.
This latest opening is the second practice for Harrison Family Vets, after it launched in Woodley, near Reading, last summer. The practice has immediately proved to be a huge success and a third site will open in the North West later this year.
Tim Harrison, managing director at Harrison Family Vets, said: “With a pioneering practice, and as the only independent, family-run veterinary business in the area, our proposition and ethos will really stand out.
“We’re striving to push the boundaries of pet care, customer service and employee well-being, in an environment that is a long way from a traditional veterinary practice. There are very few practices of this standard in the UK and there’s no doubt that our innovations will translate into the quality of care that our clients and their pets receive.
“We also offer a customer experience that’s more akin to an Apple store. We don’t have a reception desk, so our front of house team can interact with our clients and their pets more easily and crucially, only pet owners can join our team, because you can’t fully understand our culture unless a pet is an integral member of your family.
“This area [the West Midlands] is densely populated and full of pet lovers, and every other local practice is owned by a large corporate company, which made it the ideal location for our second practice. We’ve already been inundated with enquiries and we’re looking forward to meeting many more pet owners and their furry friends over the coming weeks and months.”
David Charlton, asset manager of national commercial property and investment company LCP, which owns the Pensnett Estate and Gatehouse Retail Park, said: “We have invested significantly in our improvements to the Pensnett Estate over recent months and look forward to welcoming Harrison Family Vets to our new, prominently located Gatehouse retail parade we developed. It will join Papa Johns, which occupies the neighbouring unit.”
Harrison Family Vets is currently offering a £15 vaccination promotion which includes a full health check at the time of the vaccination, as well as a six-month follow-up health check. Even if a pet isn’t due their vaccination yet, new clients can register now and the £15 offer will be honoured when the vaccination is due.
For further information about Harrison Family Vets in Kingswinford and its £15 vaccination promotion, visit their website or call 01384 319447.