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 and The Sevenoaks Veterinary Surgery in May 2010. 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.

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.

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.

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.

Rebecca joined the practice as a trainee nurse in March 2017 after graduating from the University of Reading with a Zoology degree.

In her spare time she enjoys socialising with friends and family. She also enjoys going for long walks in the countryside with her dog Monty.

Rebecca qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse at the beginning of 2020.

Vinny joined the practice in October 2016, having previously worked at a local boarding cattery which pushed her to pursue a career working with animals.

Vinny attended Greyfriars Rehabilitation and Hydrotherapy centre in June 2018 and obtained a Level 3 qualification in Canine Hydrotherapy. She has a special interest in both rehabilitation and surgical nursing.

In May of 2021, Vinny qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse from the College of Animal Welfare. She is keen to undertake certificates in the future such as ECC and Canine Massage.

In her spare time, Vinny enjoys cooking vegetarian meals, doing arts & crafts, and getting cuddles from her naughty, but much adored senior Dachshund, Ralfie.

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 looking forward to starting college and understanding all areas of veterinary nursing.

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 has recently changed roles to practice manager.  Kerry is now responsible for the day to day running of our 3 practices.

Outside of work Kerry enjoys running and is always kept busy with her two young sons.

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.

Hannah joined the team at Meopham as a receptionist in March 2020 and has since moved to an Administration role.  She has always had a career around animals  and so working at Meopham Veterinary Hospital seems like a perfect career choice for Hannah as it gives her the chance to help with the care of each client’s animals and she is able to watch them grow and improve thanks to the veterinary team whom she works with.  It’s a job she really enjoys.

Outside of work Hannah’s time is spent with her fiancé and young daughter.  Hannah owns a bearded dragon Rockie, two Romanian rescue dogs Loki and Caligo and her childhood pony, Pie.  Hannah’s hobbies mainly revolve around looking after her small zoo as they spend a lot of time taking long walks with the dogs.  After enjoying many years of her childhood competing at dressage with Pie, Hannah now spends time teaching her daughter to ride on him and enjoys long hacks and sponsored rides.