OVERDALE VETS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Charlotte Pearson RVN Veterinary Nurse
- Veterinary Nurse
Charlotte's one of the longest serving members of staff, and has been with the practice since 1995.She qualified in 1999 and retains a keen interest in animal welfare enjoying both large and small animal work.
She now works with us part time, as her two lovely boys keep her busy the rest of the week. She enjoys keeping fit and is a keen mountain biker enjoying rides in the beautiful Derbyshire countryside.
Job Titles:
- Cheryl Belfield RVN Veterinary Nurse
- Veterinary Nurse
Cheryl Belfield joined the practice in 2010 as a trainee veterinary nurse, becoming a registered qualified veterinary nurse in March 2013. Cheryl enjoys all aspects of nursing, but has a strong interest in farm animal practice, having grown up on the family run dairy and sheep farm near Buxton.
Outside of work Cheryl enjoys helping out on the farm at home, including milking the cows when she has time, socialising and been an active member of Waterhouses Young Farmers Club, and also spending time training her Bernese Mountain Dogs.
Job Titles:
- Chloe Williams RVN Veterinary Nurse
- RVN Veterinary Nurse
- Veterinary Nurse
Chris Wilkins joined our team in 2009 as a new graduate from the Royal Veterinary College in London. As a Norfolk boy the hills of Derbyshire came as a shock but proved an ideal place to develop his interest in farm animal medicine, particularly routine fertility work and dry cow management.
He has a black Labrador called Lottie and outside work pretends to be a fearsome fast bowler (!!) for Alstonefield Cricket Club.
Job Titles:
- Clare Barclay Veterinary Surgeon
- Veterinary Surgeon
Job Titles:
- Sci MRCVS Veterinary Surgeon
- Veterinary Surgeon
Job Titles:
- Emma Knowles RVN Veterinary Nurse
- Veterinary Nurse
Emma originally joined our team full time as our Administrative and Kennel Assistant , but has recently made the transition to training as a veterinary nurse. She enjoys all aspects of her job, but thoroughly enjoys looking after injured or orphaned wildlife and the re-homing process of the RSPCA animals.
Outside of work her artistic side comes to life as she loves drawing and painting local scenes, alongside baking, for which she is well known within the practice for her cupcakes! But she always makes time to slip on her wellies for countryside walks with her two Cocker Spaniels.
Job Titles:
- Emma Poole Nursing Assistant
- Nursing Assistant
Job Titles:
- Gillian Hepher RVN Veterinary Nurse
- Veterinary Nurse
Gillian joined in 2008, having spent 25years with the PDSA in Sheffield. Whilst there she completed her Veterinary Nurse Training, she moved to another mixed practice before joining Overdale.
In her spare time she enjoys walking her two Border Collies, running, cycling and horse riding. Along with 5 cats, she has a real interest in Hedgehogs, where she rehabilitates them.
Harriet joined the practice in 2013 having graduated from the University of Nottingham. Coming from a farming background she originally had a keen interest in the large animal side of the practice. However, she enjoyed the variation of small animal consults and surgery so much that she has since become one of our main small animal vets in Ashbourne. Having grown up in Ashbourne, Harriet is already familiar with the area and many of McMurtry and Harding's clients.
Outside of work she enjoys playing hockey, having joined the local Ashbourne team, as well as socialising with friends.
Jasmin Overton graduated from Bristol Vet School in 2010, and after a 2-year stint working in Herefordshire, joined our practice in 2012.
She enjoys all aspects of mixed practice, but has developed a keen interest in both small animal and equine medicine.
Outside of work she can be found either riding her horse, or jogging, around the hills of Derbyshire!
Job Titles:
- Head Veterinary Nurse
- Jess Hotchin RVN Head Veterinary Nurse
Jess joined our sister practice in Ashbourne in 2008 as a nursing care assistant where she trained to become a qualified veterinary nurse in April 2014. She continued to work from both our Ashbourne and Wirksworth practices until transferring full time to our Buxton team in 2016. In 2017 she was promoted to Deputy Head Nurse. Coming from a dairy farming background Jess has a keen interest in both small and large animals.
Outside of work Jess spends a lot of her time helping out on the farm, socialising and walking her dog Fergus.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Administrative Team
- Receptionist
- Jill Cook Receptionist
Jill is new to the world of the vet, but has had years of reception and office experience . She loves cats, having just lost 2 at the age of 19.
Outside of work she likes gardening, interior design, art and Playstation "shoot em ups!"
Job Titles:
- Member of the Administrative Team
- Receptionist
- Joanna Meir Receptionist
John qualified from Liverpool University in 2006 and immediately went into Mixed practice in South Wales. After 3 years in Wales he headed south to spend a year in New Zealand working with the large dairy herds of the southern island. He joined Derbyshire Veterinary services in 2010 and now mainly works out of the Buxton branch but can often be found at the Wirksworth clinic.
John is very interested in small animal internal medicine and has completed a General Practice certificate in Feline medicine.
When not at work John spends time making the most of what the Peak district has to offer and is a keen walker, climber, mountain biker and angler.
Kate originally graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2009, completing her degree in Bioveterinary Sciences. After this she went to vet school in Edinburgh and graduated in 2014. Kate began working with us straight away after coming to the practice on regular student placements beforehand.
She enjoys all aspects of mixed practice, particlarly small animal and equine work.
Outside of work Kate likes horse riding and plays in the hockey team for Ashbourne. She is also a keen baker!
Job Titles:
- Member of the Administrative Team
- Practice Manager
- Kerry Turner Practice Manager
Kerry joined the Derbyshire Veterinary Services administration team in 2016 bringing with her extensive experience in customer service and business administration. She became Practice Manager in 2019 and looks after our HR and recruitment, customer care, and the general operational side of our group of practices. She normally works from our McMurtry & Harding site in Ashbourne but also has regular weekly visits to Buxton. Her time outside of work is divided between her family, community projects and her desperate attempts to train her energetic Labrador/Collie cross, Lola, who she rehomed from Ashbourne Animal Welfare.
Job Titles:
- Kirsty Thompson RVN Veterinary Nurse
- Veterinary Nurse
Kirsty Thompson volunteered at Overdale after finishing her A-levels, before joining the practice in 2008. In 2010 she qualified as registered veterinary nurse, during her time here, Kirsty has developed a keen interest in the medical side of nursing, in particular endocrinology.
Outside work she enjoys walking, reading, has a keen interest in history and enjoys socialising with her friends and family. Kirsty has 2 cats at home, Roo who she helped hand rear from a few days old and a naughty Tortie named Swallow who used to be the practice cat here at Overdale.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Administrative Team
- Stock Assistant
Job Titles:
- Melissa Bell RVN Veterinary Nurse
- RVN Veterinary Nurse
- Veterinary Nurse
Job Titles:
- Mikala Gent RVN Veterinary Nurse
- Veterinary Nurse
Mikala qualified in 2023 with a BSc(Hons) in Veterinary Nursing from Middlesex University. Mikala spent most of her work placement at Overdale Veterinary Centre to then become an employee once she qualified as a nurse. In work, she has a keen interest in emergency and critical care and surgical nursing. She hopes to progress in these areas throughout her career.
Outside of work, Mikala enjoys downhill mountain biking and travelling in her campervan.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Administrative Team
- Practice Manager
- Shane Lees Practice Manager
Shane joined Derbyshire Veterinary Services in 2014 after spending most of his career working in sales and management within the financial services industry. Based at our McMurtry & Harding site in Ashbourne, Shane is our go to person for anything IT related (which usually means turning it off and on again), and loves problem solving and fixing things, plus he takes care of our payroll, finances, and practice management system. Shane has always had a love of animals and has rehomed many stray or rescue cats, dogs and rabbits over the years.
Stephen qualified from the Royal Veterinary College in 1995, and came to work for Mike McMurtry and Tony Harding in October that year. After four years the call of home (Cornwall NOT Devon) drew him away from the Peak District. But just 18 months later he came back to Ashbourne in 2002 and joined Dan and the team.
Steve has always enjoyed farm animal work and as the practice has grown and evolved, he now spends the vast majority of his time working on farms. He has a particular interests in cattle fertility and calf health.
Outside of work, he enjoys nothing more than shouting himself hoarse on the side-lines of a rugby pitch whilst watching his three boys play rugby for Ashbourne.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Administrative Team
- Receptionist
- Tracey Garner Receptionist
Tracey Garner originally worked for Overdale from 1990 - 1996 for John Hollands and later for David Hopkins. She then left to start a family. She has recently returned to Overdale as full-time receptionist. She is enjoying being back and seeing some of the clients from way back.
Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her family and two dogs, walking and spending time at her caravan in Wales.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Administrative Team
- Receptionist
- Yvonne Rouse Receptionist
Yvonne Rouse joined the practice in 2010 as a part-time receptionist. Yvonne is a local farmer's daughter and has come to us from Novartis Animal Health where she was a Farm Rep, this has given her excellent knowledge of the local farming community.