WILLIAMS Veterinary Surgeons, the
winner in the smaller practice category
of the Front-of-House Awards, is
unusual in a number of respects.
One of the few mixed practices to
be entered this time, this is a real family
business: the practice was founded in 1983 by Edward Williams, a farmer
who graduated from the Bristol
veterinary school in 1964 and who is
now in partnership with his daughter
Maggie (qualified from Liverpool in
2000) and son Hugh (a 2001 London
graduate).
After 25 years of working out of
the family home near Tywyn, Gwynedd,
the family decided to move to purpose-
built premises to accommodate the
facilities required to offer a better
service to its clients.
The practice now has five full-time
vets (a new graduate joined recently)
and runs two surgeries – at Machynlleth
in Powys and the new premises on the
Pendre Enterprise Park in Tywyn.
The new building (entered for the
award) has a spacious car park (still
being marked out and landscaped when
entries closed for the competition) with
easy access to the separate entrances for
large and small animal clients.
Spacious reception areas have
displays and wall-mounted flat-screen
TVs which, says Jude Evans, the practice manager,
allow maximum
comfort and the
provision of
further veterinary
information
while clients wait
to see one of the
vets.
Rooms
branch off the central
preparation area; these include the small animal facilities
along with a large animal room which
has been designed especially to cater for
the busy lambing season in this upland
area of Wales. The practice also deals
with beef cattle and horses.
The judges liked the large, airy
premises, one describing the facilities as
“fabulous”. The entrances have ramps
with big doors; there are separate
waiting areas for
dogs and cats
and also separate
merchandising
areas, which are
laid out very
neatly indeed.
This practice
was awarded the
highest marks of
all the entries.
n The photos
show (clockwise
from top left):
the front of the
new building,
with the two
entrances; staff
in the waiting
area (from left)
Rhian Davies
(assistant
veterinary
surgeon), Hugh
Williams
(partner), Jude
Evans (practice manager), Maggie Turner (nee Williams –
partner), Edward Williams (founder and
partner) and Tara Pugh (receptionist);
the small animal entrance; a close-up of
one of the well-kept noticeboards; the
brilliant, eye-catching solid stone sign at
the entrance; the welcoming two-level
reception desk in the small animal area;
and two of the merchandising displays,
also in the small animal section.
