Meet the Team

Martin Hobbs is the Practice Principal and owner of The Meopham Hospital and The Swanscombe and Sevenoaks Veterinary Surgeries. Martin gained a first class degree in Animal Physiology and Nutrition from the University of Leeds.

He graduated from The Royal Veterinary College in 1992, with distinctions in anatomy and surgery. In 1996 he opened the Meopham Veterinary Surgery and subsequently The Swanscombe Veterinary Surgery in 2000, The Sevenoaks Veterinary Surgery in May 2010 and The Tonbridge Veterinary Surgery in August 2021.

Following postgraduate study and examination Martin has been awarded the RCVS Certificates in Small Animal Surgery in 2002 and Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging in 2004.

He has also gained a Certificate in Small Animal Ophthalmology. His main areas of interest are small animal surgery and diagnostic imaging. Martin is a Local Veterinary Inspector.

Charlotte graduated from the University of Surrey School of Veterinary Medicine in July 2020.  She spent her childhood in Kent where she returned to complete her final year of University.  During her training, she completed an elective rotation in diagnostic imaging and has gained a keen interest in ultrasonography which she hopes to explore further during her career.

Charlotte is the Head Veterinary Surgeon of our Sevenoaks branch.

Outside of work, her passions include keeping fit, enjoying good food (including the occasional bag of sweets!) and spending time with family and friends.

Penny graduated from The Royal Veterinary College in 2011 with a BSc(Hons) in Veterinary Science and a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine. She has a special interest in small animal surgery and diagnostic imaging.

In 2015 she passed the British Small Animal Veterinary Association Post Graduate Certificate in both Soft Tissue and Orthopaedic Surgery. She is now working toward an RCVS Post Graduate Certificate in Diagnostic Imaging.

Outside of work she enjoys snowboarding, horse riding and running.

Zoё graduated from the University of Surrey School of Veterinary Medicine in 2021.  Zoё has grown up in Kent where she returned after graduation to start her veterinary career here with us.

Whilst working with us she has developed a keen interest in diagnostic imaging and surgery.

Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her horse Nina and cat Tiggy, who she rescued from RSPCA.  Zoё also likes to grow her collection of tropical fish.

Eve graduated from the University of Surrey Vet school in 2023 with First Class Honours.

During her time at university, she completed an elective rotation in small animal surgery, and hopes to continue to explore this interest throughout her career.

Her main interests outside of work include horse riding, Pilates and spending time with friends and family!

Megan graduated from the  Cambridge Vet School in 2024.

Megan grew up in Shropshire and has now moved to Kent to start her career as a vet.

At university, Megan enjoyed all aspects of small animal medicine particularly neurology and ophthalmology and hopes to explore these interests throughout her career.

Her hobbies include running, cycling and spending time in the kitchen.

Eden joined the veterinary team in February 2022 as a Trainee Veterinary Nurse.

In 2021 she attended Greyfriars Rehabilitation and Hydrotherapy and achieved a Level 3 Certificate in Canine Hydrotherapy.

She has been working alongside Louise within our hydrotherapy suite for about a year, expanding her skills and knowledge and gaining confidence.  She has run her own appointments on a Tuesday evening since October 2023.

Eden will step in to cover Louise’s maternity position, she is really looking forward to this new role and the opportunity to further utilise her skills and knowledge.

Louise has a level 3 certificate in hydrotherapy and joined the team in April 2022.  She has been working as a hydrotherapist for 13 years and joined us from another busy centre.

Outside of the hydrotherapy suite Louise is also a canine merishia practitioner and does sports massage therapy for dogs.

In her spare time enjoys spending time with her family & friends.

Katie joined the Meopham Veterinary Hospital as a student in September 2012.

In July 2015 she qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse from the College of Animal welfare and was in charge of running our busy theatres before taking on the position of Head Nurse.

In her spare time Katie enjoys horse riding and playing tennis.

Gemma joined the practice in October 2007 after several years working in a small animal practice in Wales.  Gemma was appointed the position of Deputy Head Nurse in 2009.  She enjoys all aspects of nursing but can often be found in our busy theatres.

Gemma is responsible, alongside Vet Lauren, for maintaining our practice standards in order for us to retain our RCVS hospital status.

Ida joined the practice in February 2021.  She has completed her nursing qualification the following year and soon after took over the role of head nurse of Sevenoaks branch.  Ida likes surgical nursing and anaesthesia.  She also has keen interest in exotics, especially small rodents.

Ida is the branch Head Nurse of our Sevenoaks practice.

She owns mischievous Syrian hamsters who are her favourite animal.  In her spare time she enjoys music and film.

April joined the team in March 2025, after working in a small animal practice for several years.

April has a keen interest in Schedule 3 procedures and also enjoys dentistry.

In her spare time, April plays badminton and enjoys country walks.

April also has 2 rescue cats called Rosie and Jim.

Kaitlin joined our team in September 2021 and is enjoying expanding her knowledge in new areas every day.

Kaitlin first found her love of animals back in 2014 when adopting a German Shepherd puppy, Axl. This led to adopting a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Ozzy, and later a boxer Cross, Rosie. Kaitlin ambitiously began a dog walking/training business at the age of 20 with great success. After 2 years, she decided she needed to continue growing and building her knowledge of animals.

In her spare time, Kaitlin enjoys training her dogs, going for long walks and helping animals in any way possible.

Mia joined the Sevenoaks team as a trainee veterinary nurse in September 2022 after completing her A Levels.

She has always had a keen interest in working with animals and decided to pursue a career in veterinary nursing after work experience placements at other practices.

In her spare time, Mia enjoys listening to music, art and spending time with friends and family.

Ella started her training to become a dog groomer in 2015 having always had a passion for dogs.  She really enjoyed both the practical and theory parts of her course.  Ella joined the Pride and Groom team in 2016 whilst still going to college to train for her diploma, which she completed in 2018.

Since 2020 Ella has been salon manager, overseeing the running of the Meopham, Sevenoaks & Tonbridge salons.

Her favourite style to cut is a traditional Spaniel groom but she still enjoys all styles.

She has 2 guinea pigs of her own and in her spare time enjoys spending time with family and friends, country walks and eating out.

Eleanor joined our Pride & Groom team in February 2022. She became interested in dog

grooming when working at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home working as a

welfare assistant which is also where she fell in love the greyhound

breed. Eleanor started training to be a dog groomer in 2018 and while she

trained she worked at a dog grooming salon and  kennels gaining  a wide range of practical experience. After finishing her

training she then went on to work in a dog grooming salon for 2.5 years.

In her spare time Eleanor likes to be with her family and friends, going

out to eat, swimming and most important of all cuddling her cat Kiwi.

Eleanor joined our Pride and Groom team in June 2023.

She achieved a Level 3 Dog Grooming Diploma in March 2022 and has since worked in a grooming salon for over a year to gain more experience.

Eleanor  has always had a passion for animals and enjoys grooming all breeds, but especially Cocker Spaniels.

In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her horses, friends and family and going for walks with her  miniature schnuazer Marley.

Katie recently joined the Pride and Groom team in June 2023 to work between our Sevenoaks and Tonbridge salons.

She has recently completed her Level 3 Dog grooming diploma.

Katie has always dreamt of working with dogs and is looking forward to working with the other experienced groomers in the salon to develop her skills.

Outside of work she enjoys spending her spare time with family, friends and her two chihuahuas, Pinky and Perky.

Charlotte started back at Meopham Veterinary Hospital in Sept 2022, having previously qualified here in 2011.  Charlotte has a keen interest in orthopaedic surgery and came back as the theatre nurse, ensuring the day-to-day running of the theatres was as smooth as possible.  Charlotte changed roles within the hospital and became Practice Manager in December 2024.

Susan has been with the practice since it started in September 1996. She personally manages large account customers. Her other responsibilities include credit control and VAT. Outside work she enjoys the country life with her beloved Labrador Benson.

Jo joined the practice in May 2013 as a receptionist and was then promoted to our accounts team where she is enjoying her role (although she still manages to keep up to date with our patients downstairs!).  In her spare time she enjoys going to the theatre, painting and decorating and travelling. Jo has two cat’s called Zac and Bea and loves nothing more than cuddles with them when returning home from work.

Laura has joined the office team at The Meopham Veterinary Hospital in May 2022 after starting her career at our Sevenoaks branch in a receptionist role.

Laura is administrator and manages the Pet health club.

Laura has previously completed an Animal Management Diploma and has always had a passion for animal welfare.

Her main hobbies include caring for her 4 cats and crested gecko at home and she enjoys going to the gym, swimming and taking long dog walks when visiting her mum who has a beautiful rescue greyhound.

Emma joined our Sevenoaks team in October 2022 after being in the hospitality industry for many years.

She is a passionate animal lover, owning 5 chihuahuas, 3 chinchillas and a bunny rabbit. Having rescued some of her chihuahuas she is an avid believer in adopt don’t shop!

Emma enjoys crafting in her spare time, creating outfits for her chihuahuas, and showcasing them on their Instagram

Pippa joined the team in October 2024.

Pippa previously worked as a fashion administrator for various online brands and has always loved animals.

Outside of work Pippa enjoys spending time with family and friends, attending music festivals and taking regular dance classes.

Pippa adores her jack Russel Cookie and enjoys taking her out for long walks at the weekend.