Family owned and run since 1954
Who We Are
There has been a veterinary practice at Heath Lodge since it was started in 1904 by George Elms, when the majority of patients were working horses from the local area.
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From the 1950s, Heath Lodge was owned and run by two veterinary surgeons; Arthur Shenton and Tom Dean - until Mr Shenton retired and Tom Dean was joined in 1983 by his son Stephen, who remains Managing Director of Heath Lodge today.
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Since 2001 the staff here at Heath Lodge have dedicated themselves solely to the care of companion animals, including cats, dogs, rabbits, and more.
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In 2021 Stephen's son Simon joined the team at Heath Lodge, taking over the responsibilities of managing the day-to-day running of the practice.
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OUR TEAM
Julie Turner
BSc BVetMed M.R.C.V.S
Veterinary Surgeon
Julie qualified from the Royal Veterinary College in 1994 and joined Heath Lodge the same year.
After five years she left the practice to work at an animal shelter in Jaipur,India, for the charity "Help In Suffering".
Julie rejoined Heath Lodge in 2003, where she remains today as Clinical Director.
Francesca Barker
BVM&S, MRCVS
Veterinary Surgeon
Francesca qualified from the Royal School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh, in 2018. After two years in general practice in London she joined Heath Lodge in January 2020.
In her spare time Francesca loves walking her two Bedlington cross Whippets - Betsy and Merlin.
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Jennifer Meeson
BVetMed MRCVS
Veterinary Surgeon
Jennifer qualified from the Royal Veterinary College in 2010 and worked at a number of local practices before joining Heath Lodge in 2021.
She enjoys all aspects of companion animal surgery but has a particular interest in soft tissue surgery and feline medicine.
Jennifer lives in St Albans with her young family and their two rescue cats, Theo and Eleanor.
Georgia Taylor
BVetMed MRCVS
Veterinary Surgeon
Georgia graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2022, and joined the team at Heath Lodge in the same year.
She is interested in all aspects of small animal work, and especially enjoys working with sighthounds after adopting her ex-racing greyhound, Mia.
Michaela Nee-Chambers
BVetMed BSc MRCVS
Veterinary Surgeon
Michaela qualified from the Royal Veterinary College in 2023, having previously completed a bachelors degree in Bioveterinary Sciences also at the RVC.
She joined Heath Lodge in January 2024 after working at a busy practice in London and is interested in all aspects of small animal medicine and surgery.
Simon Dean
BAHons
Practice Manager
Simon joined Heath Lodge in 2021, taking over the responsibilities of the day-to-day running of the practice from his father, Stephen.
When he's not at work, Simon has his hands full looking after the practice cat, Martin.
Our Nursing Team
We're incredibly proud of our hard-working, dedicated nurses here at Heath lodge, who have been delivering high quality professional care for our clients and their animals for many years.
Some of our senior nurses have been working with us over 20 years, and we've always been proud to support them through further education and qualifications.
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As a training practice, we've also been able to provide nurses in training with a place to hone their skills and learn invaluable experience from our team.
Marnie Goodfellow (Nursing Apprentice) Nadine Gumble DipAVN(Surgical)RVN
Veritie Moran RVN Scarlett Pattenden RVN Kelly Ransome RVN Isobel Rudlin RVN.