Heath Vets shortlisted for Sussex Women in Business Awards

Veterinary clinic Heath Vets, in Burgess Hill and Hurstpierpoint, has been shortlisted in the 2016 Sussex Women in Business Awards. The awards aim to highlight the best women in business or the best businesses owned or co-owned by women in Sussex. Heath Vets has been shortlisted for the contribution to the community award. It acknowledges dedicated hard work and community events which are at both local and wider community level. Heath Vets' projects in 2016 have included: A “Vet of the Future” campaign with local schools. Heath Vets spoke to students about the various potential career paths in veterinary care and invited submissions from students. The winner was Emily Appaya from St Paul’s Catholic College who spent the day shadowing senior vets working in all areas of the practice. As part of a Women in Business initiative, several of the staff attended Manor Field School to encourage the children to think about women working in science based fields. Heath Vets support the “enrichment dog” Bertie Button at Manor Field School, encouraging the children to be involved in his care, booking his appointments and inviting them into the clinic to attend his health checks. Heath Vets hosted a free “Be Dog Smart” event in partnership with Dogs Trust. They gave talks to people from the area on how to interpret dog behaviour, gave training tips and advice on introducing dogs and children. An attendee commented on Facebook “Thank you Heath Vets for hosting the excellent Be Dog Smart event this evening. It was an engaging and extremely informative session on an important topic”. They regularly look after the injured wildlife, before rehabilitation, which is brought in by the community. Heath Vets took part this year in the Burgess Hill Festival, organising, as part of their tenth birthday celebrations, a mass dog walk. The walk was attended by the Burgess Hill Town Mayor. Over 50 dogs took part. A local pet photographer took action shots of the event. A percentage of the proceeds of the photographs she took went to Shoreham Dogs Trust. The St Lawrence Fair in Hurstpierpoint is one of the old fairs held in the country. Heath Vets organise and sponsor the popular annual Pet Show which is growing year on year. Sarah Solomon, practice manager of Heath Veterinary Clinic in Burgess Hill and Hurstpierpoint, says: “The whole team is thrilled to have been shortlisted for these prestigious awards. "I nominated the practice in celebration of my staff’s exceptional work and dedication to our clients. They all go above and beyond the call of duty and I’m very proud of them all. We are looking forward to the award evening on Friday.” For information and advice on pet care please visit www.heathvets.com or call Burgess Hill on 01444 242500 or Hurstpierpoint on 01273 832968.