What is IVC Evidensia?
We are the UK’s largest veterinary network, employing thousands of vets, vet nurses and support staff across hundreds of practices, together caring for millions of animals every year, focused on our purpose of Healthy Animals, Happy Owners. We are part of IVC Evidensia Group, a global business based in the UK, with operations in 18 other countries.
We provide a comprehensive range of veterinary services at our practices, including routine check-ups, emergency care, surgery, diagnostics, and specialist treatments. Our clinics are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to ensure your pets receive the best possible care from our highly qualified vets, vet nurses, technicians and specialists, with the help of our dedicated support staff.
The health and welfare of the animals we treat is always our top priority. Our shared values help guide the every decision and action of all our people, every day:
We Care: Is at the heart of everything we do, demonstrating resilience and mindfulness for the well-being of others. We are committed to creating a culture of belonging by celebrating diversity and inclusion, fostering a positive and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.
We Dare: Embracing challenges with courage and a willingness to lead change. By stepping out of our comfort zones, exploring new possibilities, and driving innovation, we continuously strive for improvement and lead for the future.
We Share: Being collaborative, humble, and building trust. We share knowledge, resources, and time to help others, fostering open communication, mutual support, and a strong sense of community.
Veterinary medicine has advanced significantly in recent years, in line with the ongoing trend for the humanisation of pets and increased owner expectations around the long-term health of their animals. Significant improvements in technology, treatments, and diagnostics, have brought veterinary care close to the levels of human healthcare. These all allow higher standards of care but also come with increased costs to acquire and maintain modern equipment, provide specialised training, and ensure facilities meet the modern needs and expectations of our patients and clients.
Operating costs, as with many other industries, have also risen rapidly due to the inflationary global economy. Additionally, the veterinary industry is facing a global shortage of qualified veterinarians, which has led to necessary investments in competitive pay, enhanced benefits, and improved working conditions to attract and retain talent in the veterinary sector.
A First Opinion Practice (FOP) is your local veterinary clinic, where pets receive routine care, vaccinations, health checks, and treatment for common illnesses or minor injuries. These clinics are the first point of contact for most pet healthcare needs.
If your pet requires more advanced treatment, specialist expertise, or complex diagnostics, your vet may refer them to a Referral Hospital. Referral Hospitals are equipped with state-of-the-art technology and staffed by veterinary specialists in fields such as cardiology, neurology, oncology, and surgery. The referral team works closely with your first opinion vet to ensure the best possible care for your pet. Customers can choose which Referral Hospital their pet is sent to.
Practices that choose to join our network usually keep their existing identity, as it is important to their teams and well-known to their local clients. We state practice ownership on our website and in practices, and brand our marketing materials.
After choosing to join IVC Evidensia, clients continue to see the same practice team, with clinical decisions remaining with the vets and vet nurses in the practice, while the animals, the practice, and those who work there, get the benefits of being part of our larger network.
We make it clear that practices are joining our group in long-established ways, including through local communications, the individual practice website and signage in reception areas.
The veterinary landscape is evolving fast, driven by increasing owner expectations, significant advances in clinical solutions, innovation and technology, changes in the career expectations of veterinary professionals, and challenges such as the systemic global shortage of veterinarians and veterinary technicians.
Joining a network like IVC Evidensia offers concrete responses to these macro trends. Practices benefit from the extensive expertise, resources, and financial investment that come with being part of a larger network. That includes support with time-consuming back-end administration, investments in practice improvements, equipment and facilities, improvements in salaries and benefits including extensive family-friendly policies, while remaining part of a balanced veterinary ecosystem that includes independent practices, smaller networks, and other corporate organisations.
All IVC Evidensia vets and vet nurses have the clinical freedom to recommend and provide the care that is best suited to both a patient’s medical needs and an owner’s financial and personal circumstances.
Our vets and vet nurses are highly qualified, committed and caring professionals. They follow the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (“RCVS”) Principles of Practice and the RCVS Code. This means they have declared they will act with integrity, and ensure the health and welfare of animals in their care. IVC Evidensia supports this in every way.
We respect our animal patients and aim always to treat them with empathy, only performing examinations and treatments that are medically and ethically justified.
All our veterinary surgeons work in line with the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct which ensures the health and welfare of patients is always foremost in any treatments proposed to clients, as part of the contextualised care of their animals.
All assessments of any treatments potentially required are based on achieving the best possible outcome for the animal’s health and welfare, mindful of the owner’s financial position, with all options clearly discussed with the owner. Owners are able to make the final decision based on the options presented to them and the vet’s recommendation. IVC Evidensia does not offer incentives related to specifying particular treatments.
Pricing is agreed locally, and may vary from practice to practice reflecting multiple factors, including the qualifications or specialisations of the clinical team, the diagnostic and treatment facilities available, as well as overheads such as rents, energy and local costs.
We make every effort to ensure our pricing is appropriate, fair and competitive, and inform clients before any cost is incurred for any treatment. We’re aware that some clients may face financial challenges, and we take this into account when considering treatment options and, where possible, offer a range of treatment options.
Our vets and vet nurses follow the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Code of Professional Conduct, including on pricing clarity and transparency. It is IVC Evidensia’s policy to provide written estimates to help customers make informed decisions, unless in emergency situations, where treatment is needed immediately, before a written estimate can be provided.
With veterinary care, communicating pricing information can be an ongoing process, as our clinicians assess their animal patient’s condition. Our practices strive to provide greater certainty as diagnosis and treatment progress. For in-patient care, whether medical or surgical, our vets will initially provide a cost range and then give daily updates on accrued costs along with a more accurate estimate for the following 24 hours.
Animal health and welfare, and our customer’s circumstances – whether financial or otherwise - are our priority.
IVC Evidensia supports the ongoing review/analysis of patient and customer outcomes and the service provided within our practices. Learning is shared from practices that achieve high professional standards, high levels of customer satisfaction, positive patient outcomes, and working efficiencies - a completely normal process of refinement and improvement that takes place in all industries. As locations in all organisations, whatever their ownership structues, our practices need to remain financially sustainable, with standard appropriate financial reports shared with practice leadership as you would expect for any business. IVC Evidensia does not centrally set financial targets for individual vets or veterinary nurses.
Our vets and vet nurses are highly qualified, committed and caring professionals. They follow the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (“RCVS”) Principles of Practice and the RCVS Code. This means they have declared they will act with integrity, and ensure the health and welfare of animals in their care. IVC Evidensia supports this in every way.
The CMA is reviewing the functioning of the whole veterinary industry from a competition and customer perspective, and is not questioning the quality of animal care IVC Evidensia, or any other organisation, is providing.
Practices in the IVC Evidensia network face competition across the UK from both national and local chains, and independent practices. A significant portion of the market is still owned by independents. We believe there is space in the market for many types of operator and industry organisations such as the British Veterinary Association (BVA) agree.
Animal health is our priority, and we are committed to behaving responsibly. It is strongly in our interests to do so. We support all IVC Evidensia vets and vet nurses in having the clinical freedom to recommend and provide the care, following consultation, that is best suited to both a patient’s medical needs, as well asan owner’s personal and financial circumstances.
Like other mature sectors there are a variety of complementary businesses across the IVC Evidensia family including the Vets Now an out of hoursservice provider, Vet Speed a pet crematorium business and online pet store Pet Drugs Online.
When making referrals our vets provide impartial advice based on what is best for the animal and customer in question. Where it is in the interest of the patient/customer, our vets refer to specialists that are outside of the IVC Group.
Pet owners are informed that they always have a choice of referral services provider. It is an obligation under the RCVS code of conduct, which we fully support, for veterinary professionals to provide independent and impartial advice, and inform customers of any conflict of interest.
As a responsible business we continually invest in Facilities, Systems and People, to ensure that we are able to provide the services and standards expected by our clients and professional bodies both now and in the future
Facilities and Systems
Our people
Here are a few of the most common questions asked about IVC Evidensia, our practices and our people.