Colleague Support

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We have a wide support network for all colleagues.
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CVS offers an extensive support network for its colleagues, ensuring they are never alone when dealing with difficult cases, career challenges, or wellbeing concerns.
We have a wide support network for all colleagues.

A practitioner is never alone when dealing with a case.

  • Regional Clinical Leads  support practices in achieving the highest standards and help them implement quality improvements
  • An  Advanced Clinical Services Network  of 30 peripatetic practitioners (vets and nurses) supports primary care colleagues to make advanced treatments widely available.
  • Our  vet-to-vet telemedical service  Vet Oracle offers Specialist interpretation of results and practical virtual assistance to vets. It has six specialisms: cardiology, dermatology, medicine, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology. We also offer a Teleradiology image interpretation service to support colleagues with, CT/MRI, radiographic and ultrasound interpretation 24/7 365 days a year.
  • A  network of Pastoral Support Vets,  mentors  and  Wellbeing Champions help colleagues look after their career and mental health.
We prioritise the wellbeing of our people.

We’ve introduced a range of initiatives to promote mental wellbeing, work-life balance and healthy lifestyles, and to reduce work-based stress.

Our wellbeing initiatives include:

  • All colleagues having regular  monthly line-manager check-ins  to support their wellbeing and work.
  • Over 400  Wellbeing Champions  and  First Aiders for Mental Health, trained to support team wellbeing.
  • A  Wellbeing Hub  housing 12 wellbeing courses, articles, resources, and a Wellbeing Calendar.
  • A  CVS Distance Challenge where colleagues compete to walk, run, cycle and row furthest over a month.

Our benefits and policies include:

  • A  flexible working  policy.
  • Enhanced  parental leave  (maternity 10 weeks full pay, 10 weeks half-pay).
  • Five days paid leave for  fertility investigations.
  • One week extra compassionate leave for  pregnancy loss.
  • Up to eight weeks pay to support with  exceptional health related events.
  • An  Employee Assistance Programme and confidential helpline.
Feeling included and being able to be yourself is vital.

We want to foster an inclusive and equitable workplace environment where everyone feels welcome and nurtured.

We have an EDI Committee and colleague groups, focusing on: ability & neurodiversity; ethnicity; gender; LGBTQIA+; and social mobility. They create strategy, launch initiatives, form peer support networks and monitor progression.

  • Our  Equity, Diversity and Inclusion policy  sets out how we prevent discrimination.
  • Our values include a  “just culture”, where diverse perspectives are invited and people feel safe to speak up.
  • We produce consultation room posters and colleague guidance on  handling discriminatory comments.
  • Our  microaggressions training  outlines their harmfulness to minority groups and offers advice.
  • A  menopause support forum  peer support group and resources have been introduced.
  • We provide  free menstrual products  to all colleagues at work via dispensing machines.
  • We support  Neurodiversity Month, including discussions on supporting autism in the workplace.
  • We are  Disability Confident Committed, supporting the recruitment and development of people with disabilities