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.

Abi graduated in July 2017 and has moved back to Kent after 5 years of studying at the University of Bristol Veterinary School.  During her final year she completed an elective in small animal soft tissue and orthopaedic surgery, but also has a keen interest in both large and small animal medicine.

Abi is our Tonbridge branch Head Vet.

In her spare time Abi enjoys playing netball, going to the gym, travelling and country walks with her Golden Retriever Dudley.

Nisha graduated from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh in 2023, and moved to Kent soon after to start her career in veterinary medicine.  Prior to that, she also has a Bachelor of Science Honours in Animal Biology from the University of British Columbia in Canada.

Nisha is particularly interested in internal medicine and dermatology, as well as all things feline!  Her previous work in animal shelters and wildlife rehabilitation centres have also made her passionate about animal welfare and conservation.

Nisha’s spare time is almost entirely occupied by fussing over her two cats, Rumpus and Ginger.  She also enjoys fine arts, gardening, video games and going to metal concerts.

Eve graduated from the University of Surrey Vet school in 2023 with First Class Honours.

During her time at university, she completed an elective rotation in small animal surgery, and hopes to continue to explore this interest throughout her career.

Her main interests outside of work include horse riding, Pilates 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 acheived 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.

Sophie started working with us in September 2014, as a student, after completing a zoology degree at The University of Nottingham.  Sophie qualified as a Veterinary Nurse in 2016 from The College of Animal Welfare with a keen interest in medical nursing and behaviour.

Sophie is our Tonbridge branch head Nurse.

In her spare time Sophie loves to ski, go to music festivals and she also plays hockey for Gravesend Ladies hockey club.

Emily joined the team at Meopham Veterinary Hospital April of 2021 and is now based at our Tonbridge Veterinary Surgery.

She has a great interest in nursing and the welfare of animals, in her spare time she also enjoys horse riding and spending quality time with her border terrier Binkie, Leopard gecko Nessie and two bunnies Chillie and Nellie.

Ella started her training to become a dog groomer in 2015 having always had a passion for dogs.  She really enjoyed both the practical and theory parts of her course.  Ella joined the Pride and Groom team in 2016 whilst still going to college to train for her diploma, which she completed in 2018.

Since 2020 Ella has been salon manager, overseeing the running of the Meopham, Sevenoaks & Tonbridge salons.

Her favourite style to cut is a traditional Spaniel groom but she still enjoys all styles.

She has 2 guinea pigs of her own and in her spare time enjoys spending time with family and friends, country walks and eating out.

Eleanor joined our Pride & Groom team in February 2022. She became interested in dog

grooming when working at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home working as a

welfare assistant which is also where she fell in love the greyhound

breed. Eleanor started training to be a dog groomer in 2018 and while she

trained she worked at a dog grooming salon and  kennels gaining  a wide range of practical experience. After finishing her

training she then went on to work in a dog grooming salon for 2.5 years.

In her spare time Eleanor likes to be with her family and friends, going

out to eat, swimming and most important of all cuddling her cat

Kiwi.

Katie recently joined the Pride and Groom team in June 2023 to work between our Sevenoaks and Tonbridge salons.

She has recently completed her Level 3 Dog grooming diploma.

Katie has always dreamt of working with dogs and is looking forward to working with the other experienced groomers in the salon to develop her skills.

Outside of work she enjoys spending her spare time with family, friends and her two chihuahuas, Pinky and Perky.

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 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 recently joined the office team at Meopham Veterinary Hospital as administrator after starting her career at our Sevenoaks branch in a receptionist role.

Laura has previously completed an Animal Managment 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.

Angel joined the team as our Tonbridge branch receptionist in June 2022.

In her free time Angel loves spending time with family and friends and enjoys going out for food and walks.

At home she has a torti cat called Willow who adores cuddles.