Independent Small Animal Practice in Grays, Essex
Meet the Team
Veterinary Surgeons
Marta DVM PgCSAS GPCert (Ophthal) MRCVS
Veterinary Surgeon & Practice Principal
Marta graduated from Warsaw University of Sciences in 2006 and moved to the UK in the same year. She has worked for various small animal clinics over the years including a busy charity hospital in London where she spent 7 years. She also dedicated some of her time to be a volunteer at charity hospitals in India & Sri Lanka where she was involved in neutering projects. Marta is a holder of a General Practitioner Certificate in Ophthalmology and a Postgraduate Certificate in Surgery.
Currently she is studying for a Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice. Marta's main interests are surgery, ophthalmology and feline medicine.
She has 4 cats: Gustaw, Bella, Mini G & Antonio. In her spare time Marta enjoys travelling, yoga and vegan baking.
Marta joined the Riverside Veterinary Surgery in September 2017 & took over the running of the practice in 2019.
Sinead MRCVS
Veterinary Surgeon
Sinead joined our Vet team in June 2021.
Sinèad qualified from University College Dublin in 2007 and has worked both as permanent and locum vet all over the UK. She locumed for Riverside several times before joining permanently in 2021. She has a particular interest in dentistry and enjoys travelling, reading and watching rugby in her free time.
Veterinary Nurses
Zoe RVN
Registered Veterinary Nurse & Head Nurse
Zoë Williams Registered Veterinary Nurse is our head nurse. She qualified in 2003 and started work with the practice in 2009. She is the practice Clinical Coach and is involved in the supervision of trainee nurses in the practice and, in particular, the development of their clinical skills. She has an interest in diabetes management and is happy to help owners of diabetic animals with any questions they may have. When not at work, she enjoys going to the gym and socialising at weekends and going on holidays.
Emma RVN
Registered Veterinary Nurse
Emma has worked with animals since the age of fifteen where she started at a veterinary practice as a weekend kennel girl to gain insight into the field. She always knew she wanted to go into the veterinary profession and started this career by working for a large veterinary charity as a Veterinary Care Assistant and then leaving to pursue her dream of qualifying as a nurse.
She became a Registered Veterinary Nurse in January 2019 after a lot of hard work, dedication and support from her clinical coach Janice.
Emma's love of animals has continued.
She has a German Shepard named Keila and enjoys going for walks.
Emma joined our team in May 2021 and is really proud to be part of an amazing and supportive team.
Kali RVN
Registered Veterinary Nurse
Kali joined our team in March 2021.
Kali started at Riverside in March 2021 and then graduated and became registered in November 2021.
Since then she has developed her skills further and has a passion for medical nursing - looking after the patients on the wards and also diagnostic imaging.
Janice RVN
Registered Veterinary Nurse
Janice joined our team in July 2022.
Janice qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse in March 2015. Since a child, it was always the career path that Janice wanted to pursue and join the Veterinary Profession. Janice particularly enjoys nurse consultations and being able to educate clients on the best health and welfare needs for their pets. Janice also has a passion for medical nursing. It is very rewarding to see patients that come in feeling under the weather, progress and recover from their illness and by being a part of that care before returning them home to their owners. Previously, Janice had experience of being a clinical coach, in which, one of our other nurses, Emma, was her student before qualifiying as a Registered Veterinary Nurse herself in 2019; and although, Janice's clinical coach status has lapsed, Janice still experiences grwat pride in observing other student's progress and seeing them thrive to meet their goals.
Outside of work, Janice enjoys spending valuable time at home with her collie cross dog Sable, Hershey the Pug & tilly the three-legged cat.
Courtney
Student Veterinary Nurse
Courtney has always had an interest in animals since a young age. She has completed her level 3 animal management and in November 2022 she progressed onto a full time VCA position at the practice and has been enjoying learning new skills, taking care of the inpatients and observing different surgeries. She has since started her Veterinary Nurse training at the beginning of 2024.
Courtney has an interest in exotics and wildlife and her dream is to become a qualified exotic veterinary nurse.
When Courtney is not in work, she is busy looking after her 5 cats, snake and a pygmy hedgehog!
In her spare time she enjoys spending time with family, cooking and going out.
Lucy
Veterinary Care Assistant
Lucy joined our team in December 2022.
Lucy has always had a passion for animals since a young age. Having previously completed several qualifications in animal care, canine first aid and dog grroming level 2 & 3. Lucy enjoys being part of a team who trive everyday to achieve the highest standard of veterinary care.
She loves that everyday is different and loves being able to assist the veterinary team while learning new skills along the way.
Lucy's ambition is to become a Qualifed Veterinary Nurse in the future.
In her spare time she goes to dog shows and grooming her own dogs along with friends and famiy pets. She currently has 3 dogs and a rabbit.
Client Care Assistants & Admin
Michelle
Head Client Care Assistant
Michelle has been at Grays since 1988 and is well known by all of our clients. Michelle was one of the first in this Area to achieve a Gold Award in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. When not at work, Michelle operates a taxi service for her son and daughter and is a Beaver Leader. She has three lively dogs, Cooper, Winnie and Walt to look after and enjoys walking them. She sees herself as the “Riverside Eco-warrior” and her ambition is to save the environment, albeit, one sheet of paper at a time.
Karen
Client Care Assistant
Karen has been with the Grays branch forever - in fact, she was here two months before the boss! Karen has spent a lot of time ferrying her three children around as they have all turned out to be extremely good at sports and, in particular, athletics gymnastics and swimming and she can give good advice on how to pack and transport poles for vaulting. She is a swimming instructor which takes up a lot of her free time and any time that she has left, she dedicates to her two cats Lola and Blossom and her two Miniature Dachshunds Beryl and Eadie.
Karen
Client Care Assistant & Practice Admin
Karen started with us in July 2013 but has been involved with Riverside Veterinary Group as an administrator for almost 30 years.
One of her favourite hobbies is reading. Karen has been involved with Border Collies for years and is interested in both obedience training and has judged a few shows. She also has a good reputation as a breeder and her pups are keenly sought after.
Chris VN
Practice Manager
Chris first came to work at the Grays branch in 2003 and has been with us since then, save for a couple of years out spent working in IT. He qualified as a Veterinary Nurse in 2003 and is now Practice Manager for the Surgery.
Outside of work, he is kept busy looking after his two daughters, Zoe and Hannah, and his three cats Daisy, Sophie & Dennis. He is a Scout Leader in Basildon. His hobbies include photography and running and he has completed the London Marathon three times, Snowdonia Marathon five times and the South Downs Marathon once and has the Three Peaks Challenge under his belt. Any other spare time is spent raising money for charity with his large retro gaming collection.