HALIFAX VET CENTRE - Key Persons

We are pleased and proud as punch to welcome Dr Phillipa Bagnall to the Halifax Vet team. In a previous life Phillipa worked as a Vet Nurse in Australia then took the plunge and came back to NZ to go to vet school. Since her graduation in 2009 she has amassed a great amount of experience working in companion animal clinics in Auckland, Christchurch and Nelson, with a stint at an emergency clinic in Melbourne. Here Phillipa gained incredible skills in Emergency & Critical Care but found that she missed General Practice, especially the bonds developed with clients and their pets over the years. Ever modest, Phillipa says she ‘quite likes dentistry and is pretty [very!] good at it'. She also enjoys soft tissue surgery, emergency medicine and oncology. ‘In reality though I actually enjoy all aspects of the job. Halifax Vet has an amazing reputation, not just in Nelson but throughout NZ, of high quality veterinary care, looking after clients, patients and staff. I did work experience at HVC when I was training to be a vet nurse over 20 years ago and it has been a dream to work here ever since.' Phillipa loves to travel, though Covid has made this tricky in recent years. She also loves spending time with family and friends and will never say no to a good cup of coffee! Dr Bagnall lives with her husband, James, and daughters Paige and Quinn, Nugget, the pocket-rocket border terrier and 2 cats, Zeb (short for Zebra) and Daisy.'.

More than 44 years in the job and Hans is still enthusiastic about the working day. "There is never a day when I am not challenged, not learning something new, not getting great pleasure from my clients and their pets." Hans was the first veterinarian in New Zealand to qualify as a Member of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in both cat and dog internal medicine. Although his post-graduate training is in medicine it is his surgical repertoire that is most in demand from referring veterinary practices. Hans now works part-time, splitting his time between clinical work and practice management. For many years Hans edited the magazine for pet owners PAWS for thought. Hans also gives time to the BESTPRACTICE™ committee of the NZ Veterinary Association, the committee tasked with improving the quality of clinical veterinary practice and which oversees the BESTPRACTICE™ quality assurance program for vet practices. In 2016 he received the Outstanding Service Award from the New Zealand Veterinary Association. Hans finds Nelson is perfect for outdoor activities. Walking on the beach and in the hills with Hungarian Viszla Jack, sea swimming, biking and tramping, passions he shares with his wife Susan Stokes. He enjoys singing with the Nelson Male Voice Choir for something completely different. He always makes time for reading! Hans and Susan have two sons, Jens and Thomas. With both overseas that's a powerful reason to travel!

Kim graduated from Massey University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science. She also completed additional qualifications in Emergency Medicine with the University of Sydney and a Marine Mammal Medic course to help stranded whales! She worked in Wellington for 2 years following graduation from vet school before locuming all over Australia and the UK for 9 years, returning to NZ in 2009. Clinically, Kim is ‘super passionate about doing the best I can for every pet in every way to ensure they are healthy, happy and pain free.' She loves helping all pets and their people and has a special soft spot for small furries like guinea pigs, rabbits and rats. This has brought her something of a loyal following among our owners of exotic pets and her extra gentle feline handling techniques also make her a favourite with owners of nervous cats (and our nurses!). Outside of work Kim loves enjoying the sunshine, beaches and many outdoor activities that Nelson offers as well as Ceroc dancing and spending time with friends and family. She lives with her husband and an extremely spoiled cat.

Todd joined the team at Halifax in 2003. Focus is one of Todd's strong points, in fact, Todd began to focus on his career in veterinary science at age 5. After watching several episodes of "All Creatures Great and Small" this was to be his life's ambition. Luckily lots of hard work (and perhaps a little too much socialising) paid off and this ambition became a reality. A Massey graduate of 1994 Todd spent his first years in practice in South Australia then returned to Massey University in 1996 to undertake a post-graduate training program in small animal internal medicine. He gained a Masters of Veterinary Science in 2000 after studying and researching critical care nutrition in dogs. A member of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists by examination in small animal medicine, Todd has acted as both examiner and mentor for prospective candidates. Currently, Todd is involved in referral medicine cases and diagnostic imaging and is pursuing an interest in diagnostic cytology and more recently dentistry. In June of 2007 Todd attended a PennHip® training program and is now one of an increasing number of PennHip veterinarians in New Zealand certified to perform this method for early detection of hip dysplasia in dogs. Todd enjoys spending his spare time with wife Lucy and their three children Emma, Sam and Charlotte. Mountain biking, fishing and golf are some of his favourite activities.