Meet the team
The staff at Christchurch Veterinary SurgeryDirectors
Charlotte Morrison
RVN
Charlotte is the practice manager and a director at Christchurch Street after acquiring the practice with husband Shane in 2001.
She is a registered veterinary nurse, but as the business grew over the years, her role evolved from the nursing side to practice management.
Now, Charlotte works closely with all the teams at Christchurch Street and the Tuddenham Road Christchurch Referral Centre, ensuring everything runs smoothly and that you and your pets get the best possible care.
If a busy job and looking after three children isn’t enough, Charlotte enjoys baking bread and has three cats, a naughty border terrier and a spoilt Cavalier King Charles spaniel.
Shane Morrison
BVSc CertSAS MRCVS RCVS Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal Surgery
Shane graduated with First Class honours from the University of Melbourne in 1991. After working primarily in small animal practices in both Australia and England, he achieved the Royal College of Veterinary surgeons certificate in Small Animal Surgery by examination in 1997. He went on to establish Christchurch Veterinary Referrals in 2001. The referral practice burgeoned under Shane's direction and moved to its current state-of-the-art premises with CT and MRI in 2011. In 2015 Shane was in the first cohort of vets to be awarded the distinction of Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal Surgery by the RCVS.
By weight of case numbers, Shane is one of the most experienced small animal surgeons currently practising in the UK. His prowess in advanced techniques including total hip replacement in dogs and cats, spinal surgery and complicated fracture management is second to none. The success of Christchurch Veterinary Referrals is underpinned by Shane's desire to constantly improve the clinical outcomes and quality of care of his patients. Shane also regularly gives lectures to vets throughout East Anglia and presents a monthly column in the EADT Suffolk Magazine.
Vets
Tracy Smith
Tracy qualified from Glasgow University in 1993 and worked in mixed practice in Scotland before concentrating on small animals. She moved to Ipswich in 2010 and has been at Christchurch Street ever since.
Last year, she and her partner adopted a dog from the Blue Cross, a gorgeous boy who has taken over their lives - and the sofa!
Bernardo Galriça
Bernardo was born in Madeira island, Portugal and graduated from Porto University in 2018. Since then he has worked with a few practices in East Anglia and has joined our team in 2023. His main areas of interest are surgery and orthopaedics and he is looking forward to developing his skills in these areas even further.
In his free time Bernardo enjoys spending time with his wife and newborn baby and their cat Apollo and dog Snickers.
Being from an island in the Atlantic, he has always enjoyed any sea related activities. He is an experienced sailor and has recently become a certified scuba-diver and is always very keen on travelling to new places for it.
Veterinary nurses
Abby Westley-Lawes
Head Veterinary Nurse
Abby is our Head Veterinary Nurse. She has been working in the veterinary industry for 5 years and joined us back in March 2022. Abby has a certificate in Feline Nursing. She uses the knowledge she has gained from this to provide a high standard of care to all cats that come in to see us. She loves making small alterations in the care of her patients and seeing big changes in their comfort and wellbeing.
Abby has a cheeky Poodle X called Max. She enjoys weightlifting in her free time and is currently learning Level 1 British Sign Language via evening classes.
Emma Knights
RVN
Emma has been nursing for 16 years, qualifying 13 years ago. She began at a Suffolk training practice, doing college and on-the-job training, staying for a further six years after qualification.
Next, Emma joined an out-of-hours emergency service, working nights for a year before arriving at Christchurch Street. She has a shy ginger tabby cat, whom she rescued from her first practice, and a cheeky fox red Labrador called Watson.
Naomi Holzer
RVN
Naomi has worked in practice since 2015 and qualified as a nurse in 2018.
She has a particular interest in nurse clinics as well as exotic nursing, and is currently completing her certificate in avian nursing. Once finished she hopes to study small mammal nursing and ornamental fish keeping.
Naomi lives at home with her partner David and their menagerie consisting of: Dennis the Labrador, NJ, Daisy, and Ross the cats, Emma the rabbit, Susan and Carol the guinea pigs, Kevin the puffer fish, James the Betta fish, and a tank of tropical fish!
Emma Robertson
RVN
Emma has been nursing for over 20 years and qualified for 16 years. She has a particular interest in inpatient care and loves to help nervous and anxious patients feel more relaxed in practice.
At home Emma has an 8 year old rescue dog called Hettie and one year old kitty called Pickle that keeps her on her toes at home.
Megan Hallett
SVN
After spending 5 years as a ward assistant within the company, Megan has made the move to her new role as a Student Veterinary Nurse. At home Megan has a hand reared cat called Fozzie and a cheeky cocker spaniel called Milo. Outside of work a lot of Megan's time is taken up watching her partner whilst he's taking part in motocross races.
Receptionists
Bev Wooltorton
Lead Receptionist
After working as a receptionist for most of her working life, Bev has settled with us at Christchurch and works as a receptionist at both the first opinion practice and Referrals. She enjoys building a relationship with customers and their pets. She enjoys her three granddaughters and gardening.
Donna Ainsworth
Donna is also a long-serving member of the team, having joined in 2004, working at Christchurch Street and the Referrals centre. She has a Staffie called Rio and enjoys country walks and spending time with her grandchildren.
Mary Kemp
Mary works in Christchurch Street and enjoys building a rapport with customers and their animals (customers also appreciate the continuity offered by the team). She has a beautiful German Shepherd called Millie, rescued from South Wales, and Mary enjoys League Tenpin Bowling, gardening, long walks and looking after her two grandchildren.
Julie Eley
Julie joined the practice in 2005 as a receptionist. It’s all go at home with three dogs, a rabbit, an African grey parrot and budgies. And she has an interest in keeping tropical fish. Spare time involves looking after her granddaughter and walking the dogs.
Jane Hawes
Jane lives at home with her two daughters and her partner, their boxer dog Roxy and hamster Dumbledore.
In her spare time, Jane enjoys going on long walks with Roxy and going to a few exercise classes.
She loves meeting the clients and all of the animals that come into the surgery.
Ward Assistants
Administration
Jackie Gillard
Jackie has worked in administration for over 30 years and joins the team with a wealth of experience and a keen eye for detail. At home, she has a cat called Betsie and a garden full of wild birds who never go hungry! Aside from her passion for all things furry or feathery, her spare time is spent singing in a duo with her partner and creating glass art in her home studio.