Meet the Team

Martin Hobbs is the Practice Principal and owner of The Meopham Hospital and The Swanscombe and Sevenoaks Veterinary Surgeries. Martin gained a first class degree in Animal Physiology and Nutrition from the University of Leeds.

He graduated from The Royal Veterinary College in 1992, with distinctions in anatomy and surgery. In 1996 he opened the Meopham Veterinary Surgery and subsequently The Swanscombe Veterinary Surgery in 2000, The Sevenoaks Veterinary Surgery in May 2010 and The Tonbridge Veterinary Surgery in August 2021.

Following postgraduate study and examination Martin has been awarded the RCVS Certificates in Small Animal Surgery in 2002 and Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging in 2004.

He has also gained a Certificate in Small Animal Ophthalmology. His main areas of interest are small animal surgery and diagnostic imaging. Martin is a Local Veterinary Inspector.

Practice Head Vet

Lauren graduated from the University of Bristol in 2011.  Between graduation and starting work she travelled to Greece where she had a fantastic time doing charity work neutering stray animals.  In 2017 she completed an advanced qualification in emergency medicine and critical care, which she finds an incredibly rewarding area of her job.

Lauren is the branch Head Vet of our Swanscombe Surgery.

In Lauren’s spare time she is a keen gym-goer, swimmer and golfer.

Lauryn graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2020 and has moved down south of the river from Herts to start her new vet life! At university, she enjoyed all aspects of small animal medicine, particularly cardiology and dermatology, taking tracking rotations in these areas.

In her spare time, Lauryn loves to dance, especially tap and jazz, which she has done since 3 years old. She also likes to crochet colourful blankets and clothes to brighten up her house and wardrobe!

Alex graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2020 and has moved from West Sussex to start her vet career.  At University she developed a keen interest in surgery as well as critical care and ophthalmology, which she took tracking rotations in.

In her spare time Alex is a keen hockey player both on the pitch and in goal.  She also enjoys playing the piano and spending time with friends and family.

Louise has a level 3 certificate in hydrotherapy and joined the team in April 2022.  She has been working as a hydrotherapist for 13 years and joined us from another busy centre.

Outside of the hydrotherapy suite Louise is also a canine merishia practitioner and does sports massage therapy for dogs.

In her spare time enjoys spending time with her family & friends.

Eden joined the veterinary team in February 2022 as a Trainee Veterinary Nurse.

In 2021 she attended Greyfriars Rehabilitation and Hydrotherapy and achieved a Level 3 Certificate in Canine Hydrotherapy.

She has been working alongside Louise within our hydrotherapy suite for about a year, expanding her skills and knowledge and gaining confidence.  She has run her own appointments on a Tuesday evening since October 2023.

Eden will step in to cover Louise’s maternity position, she is really looking forward to this new role and the opportunity to further utilise her skills and knowledge.

Katie joined the Meopham Veterinary Hospital as a student in September 2012.

In July 2015 she qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse from the College of Animal welfare and was in charge of running our busy theatres before taking on the position of Head Nurse.

In her spare time Katie enjoys horse riding and playing tennis.

Gemma joined the practice in October 2007 after several years working in a small animal practice in Wales.  Gemma was appointed the position of Deputy Head Nurse in 2009.  She enjoys all aspects of nursing but can often be found in our busy theatres.

Gemma is responsible, alongside Vet Lauren, for maintaining our practice standards in order for us to retain our RCVS hospital status.

Sarah started as a trainee veterinary nurse at The Meopham Hospital in 2013 and passed her nursing exams to become a qualified veterinary nurse in 2017. She has a keen interest in medical nursing.

Before working at the Meopham Veterinary Hospital Sarah worked at The RSPCA Leybourne Centre which works closely with the hospital. She is the branch head nurse of the Swanscombe Surgery.

Tracey joined the team in March 2007. She is a qualified nurse assessor. Tracey can frequently be seen running nurse clinics. Outside of the hospital, Tracey is busy raising a young family but loves to dance in her spare moments.

Amelia first spent time at the practice as a work experience student in 2015 and in September 2018 she joined the team as a trainee veterinary nurse.

She is currently in her 2nd and last year of college.

Her favourite area of nursing is caring for inpatients.

Lilly joined our Swanscombe team as a trainee veterinary nurse in March 2022 after completing a level 3 Animal Management course at Canterbury College.

Lilly has always wanted to work within the Veterinary industry after growing up with many family pets, she has previously completed work experience at a doggy day care and a farm working with a mixture of animals & breeds.

Lilly is excited to start college and start learning all aspects of animal nursing!

Outside of work Lilly likes to spend her free time with her friends and family going out for meals and the cinema.  She also enjoys spending time taking her two dogs Dolly and Pablo to the beach and countryside for long walks!

Poppy joined the Meopham team as a Receptionist in July 2023 after working in the retail industry for almost 10 years.

She has always had a huge passion for animals, so in August 2024 she took the leap and joined the nursing team at our Swanscombe branch.

At the end of the day she loves going home to her two cats, Wilma and Betty.

Kerry has worked at the surgery since October 2000. She has spent time working as a Veterinary Nurse at both an out of hours emergency service and at the Royal Veterinary College to gain further specialist knowledge.

In 2014 Kerry moved into the office as our business manager and then in 2019 changed roles to Practice Manager.  Kerry is now responsible for the day to day running of our 4 practices.

Outside of work Kerry enjoys running, long dog walks and spending time with her family.

Susan has been with the practice since it started in September 1996. She personally manages large account customers. Her other responsibilities include credit control and VAT. Outside work she enjoys the country life with her beloved Labrador Benson.

Jo joined the practice in May 2013 as a receptionist and was then promoted to our accounts team where she is enjoying her role (although she still manages to keep up to date with our patients downstairs!).  In her spare time she enjoys going to the theatre, painting and decorating and travelling. Jo has two cat’s called Zac and Bea and loves nothing more than cuddles with them when returning home from work.

Laura has joined the office team at The Meopham Veterinary Hospital in May 2022 after starting her career at our Sevenoaks branch in a receptionist role.

Laura is administrator and manages the Pet health club.

Laura has previously completed an Animal Management Diploma and has always had a passion for animal welfare.

Her main hobbies include caring for her 4 cats and crested gecko at home and she enjoys going to the gym, swimming and taking long dog walks when visiting her mum who has a beautiful rescue greyhound.

Becs joined the team in 2024 after a long career break to raise a family.

In her spare time she loves to watch her family play rugby.  She also has her own gym, plays golf and is an aerialist.

Becs loves a rescue animal of which she has cats and chickens.

Katie joined us as our Swanscombe receptionist in June 2022 after 13 years of working within the beauty industry.  After deciding she wanted a career change, Katie looked at her strong love for animals in deciding on her new position within the veterinary industry.

Katie really enjoys meeting new people and their pets within her role.

Outside of work she enjoys going for dog walks in the countryside.