The practice was established in 1977 by Nigel and Frances Harcourt-Brown at 30 Crab Lane, Bilton, Harrogate. In July 2016, after almost 20years as an assistant here,  Allison Gleadhill took over the practice. In early 2026 the practice was then sold to Heather Eastham who has been a Veterinary Surgen here for approx 15years. We are currently a 5 vet, single centre, companion animal practice looking after pets from Harrogate and the surrounding area. In addition we see some referred orthopaedic cases from slightly further afield. 

We are an independent (non corporate) practice.

We are an RCVS tier 2 practice and well equipped to deal with anything that might walk through the door.

We have just reached the milestone of 10years of 'Cat Friendly Status' and have been awarded Silver Cat Friendly Satus by International Cat Care.

The practice is open from 8.30am to 6.30pm on weekdays and 9am to 3pm Saturdays. Same day appointments are always available for urgent cases.

Sundays and Bank Holidays 10-11am (Urgent cases only)

Outside of these hours an emergency service is provided by Bishopton Veterinary Group:

**PLEASE NOTE: TEMPORARY RELOCATION OF OUT-OF-HOURS CARE**

***FROM MON 5th OCTOBER UNTIL SAT 31st OCTOBER 2026***

Due to refurbishments of Bishopton Veterinary Group's Ripon Hospital, all out-of-hours services are being temporarily relocated to Bishoptons THIRSK branch:

BISHOPTON VETERINARY GROUP

CAXTON LODGE

INSPIRATION WAY

SOWERBY

THIRSK

YO7 1TS

TEL: 01845 405014 if you have an emergency outside of our normal opening hours. 

Once refurbishments are complete, our usual out-of-ours provision by Bishopton Veterinary Group, will return to their Hospital practice in Ripon: 

BISHOPTON VETERINARY GROUP,

MILL FARM,

STUDLEY ROAD,

RIPON

HG4 2QR.

Just phone our standard number 01423 508945 which provides details, or call Bishopton directly on 01765 602396.

Sunday/Bank Holidays surgery (10am -11am) is for urgent cases and there is an surcharge of £28.20 (incl. VAT) ontop of our normal consultation fee.

We are open 364 days a year. We do not open on Christmas Day.

APPOINTMENTS .

Booking an appointment minimises waiting time which some pets, and some owners, can find stressful. Phone 01423 508945 to book an appointment.

We have a range of nurse appointments for procedures such as nail clipping, identichipping, some injection appointments and post-operative checks/ suture removal.

Our vets tend to have the same timetabled consulting blocks/days from week to week which helps ensure continuity of care as you can then easily book follow up appointments with the vet who has been dealing with your pet.

We ask that all dogs brought into the surgery are under control on a short lead  and that all cats, rabbits, birds or other small pets are kept in secure baskets. This is for their and your safety.

If your pet is nervous (or hyperexitable..!) about a busy waiting room then you can call us from outside to let us know you have arrived and are welcome to wait in your car, or outside, where we can then bring you directly into your appointment when it is your turn. Just let us know where you are going to wait. 

HOME VISITS

Optimum care for a sick animal is carried out at the surgery where we have a wide range of equipment, medication and assistance to help treat your pet. Experience shows that the lighting level in many people's houses is inadequate to properly examine an animal. Any genuine emergency is better to be seen at the surgery as radiography /intravenous fluids /oxygen/ anaesthetic and surgical facilities etc may be needed.

We will always try to accommodate house visits when possible, especially if requested at the end of a pets life. But please remember that this removes a vet, and typically a Veterinary Nurse, from being able to care for pateints within the surgery for an extended period of time. Please give as much notice as possible if a visit is required as we may have to plan our day and staffing around it.

REFERRAL SERVICES

We offer a limited referral service for some, mainly elective/non-urgent, Orthopaedic Procedures with our RCVS Recognised Advanced Practitioner in Surgery, Heather Eastham BVMS PGcertSAS MRCVS. If you are a client of another veterinary surgeon who has suggested referral to us, they will contact us to request referral.  Once you have consented to your pets full clinical history and any radiographs etc being released to us, you can then phone to book an appointment. Our team will give you more details about what the referral process entails and you will be given an estimate for the referral consultation and the expected surgical option(s) in advance of your appointment. 

REPEAT PRESCRIPTION PROTOCOL

Animals on long term medication will need regular reassessment. The frequency of these check will depend on the animal's condition and state of health. For stable conditions in a otherwise well pet these may be up to every 6months and one check up can be aligned with their annual health check at Vaccination, meaning only one 'additonal' check up per calendar year.  For newly diagnosed conditions, unstable conditions, serious conditions (eg diabetes, congestive heart failure etc) or animals with multiple health issues or of geriatric age, we may insist on health checks at more frequent intervals. These check ups are for the benefit of your pet and are essential to make sure that we optimise their care by allowing us pick up on any subtle changes and can adjust medications appropriately. Remember a 6month period in 'our' life is the equivalent of years for your cat or dog.

Prescription Only Medications are subject to prescribing legislation and can only be dispensed on the authority of a veterinary surgeon who is in charge of and has knowledge of that animal's health.

We need minimum 24 hours notice for repeat prescriptions.

Click here to order your Repeat Medications online.

We aim to get any requests recieved online ready for the next day (excluding Sundays).

Unused/expired medications should be returned to the practice for safe disposal.

Written prescriptions:  Did you know you can ask for a written prescription rather than the physical medications when ordering your repeat prescriptions from us? You would then source the physical medications yourself, usually from an online veterinary pharmacy, submit the prescription by post or electronically, pay the pharmacy directly for the medications and await your medications to be delivered. For many situations (ie any patient requiring immediate medications or short courses of treatment) this may be more labour intensive for an owner and there may be negligible cost benefit. For long term medications for chronic conditions, or for sourcing human medications that we may not stock / wish to prescribe under the prescribing cascade (where no veterinary licenced product exists) then a written prescription may be issued . These can make some medications more cost effective .

Our current written prescription fee is £19.50 incl.VAT per item and we kindly currently request 24hours notice.

Please make sure medications are sourced from an accredited internet retailer, a list of which can be found here:

https://www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/ InternetRetailers/accredited-retailers.aspx 

PET INSURANCE

We feel our charges are fair - we are well equipped and provide 24 hour emergency cover - but a bill for an unforseen illness or accident can be a worry. Pet health insurance can deal with this for you and is recommended. It ensures that you do not have to compromise on any treatment that your pet needs. We will deal with all the insurance companies and stock leaflets of the insurance companies that we are the happiest with at reception. Read the details of any policy you take out as the level of cover can vary. Cover that will continue to cover a chronic condition for life rather than one that will introduce an exclusion after 12 months is recommended.

Pet Insurance should give 3rd party cover; this is important in case your animal causes an accident. Remember that if you change insurance company in an older animal the new insurance company will want a copy of the history and will exclude treatment for any condition that the pet has ever had before. We anticipate that you settle your bill with us and then you will be reimbursed by your insurance company.

Wea are able to offer you an opportunity to take out 4 weeks free cover at the time of puppy and kitten vaccinations to give you chance to assess the different policies on offer.

There is an administration fee of £10.83 + vat (£13) to complete claim forms as this can be quite time consuming.

A list of our terms and conditions can be found by clicking on this link.