Love animals? Can you our vets help pets by keeping our kennels and equipment clean and tidy and our animals comfortable?

PDSA is the UK’s leading veterinary charity treating the sick and injured pets of people in need. Our vision is A Lifetime of Wellbeing for Every Pet. Our Pet Hospitals are vital in helping us to deliver our mission carrying out over 2.7million treatments on more than 470,000 sick and injured pets each year.

Our busy Pet Hospital is looking for volunteers General Assistants to assist our vets and nurses keep our poorly pet clients clean, fed and looked after and the Hospital clean, tidy and welcoming.

General Assistants help out with lots of different tasks, such as laundering bedding and surgical clothes, calling clients in for their appointment, stocking up consumables and equipment and helping to feed the animals; no two shifts will be the same so you must like a challenge and be willing to get stuck into any task!

Volunteer Role: General Assistant

Purpose:  General Assistants are a great support to our vets and nurses helping to care for our pet patients. They also help to keep kennels and equipment clean so that everything is ready to make poorly pets comfortable during their stay with us.

Hours: Specific hours are arranged around your flexibility but a regular and reliable commitment will be needed.

Duties:

• Help the vet nurses to care for pet patients
• Feed, walk and groom the patients under direction from the vet nurse team
• Help the vet nurses to clean kits, top up consumable items and sterilise equipment
• Help the vets and vet nurses in consult, cleaning consult rooms between appointments, helping to restrain and weigh pets and stocking up consumables and instruments
• Keep the kennels, theatre, consults and laundry clean and safe ensuring the Pet Hospital’s housekeeping standards are maintained including clearing of any fouling.
• Help with laundering pet bedding, surgical clothes etc
• Act as a link between clients and the Pet Hospital team, calling clients in for their appointments.
• Collect equipment and information if needed by the veterinary team.
• Compliance with all our policies and procedures including Health and safety and data protection.

This list shows some but not all of the duties you may be involved with. 

Role-specific knowledge & Personal skills:

• Good team player with friendly and engaging personality
• Able to listen and take direction
• Reliable, conscientious and proactive
• Able to maintain confidentiality
• Desire to be the public face of PDSA
• Enjoy being in a fast paced environment
• Calm under pressure
• Willingness to handle the less glamorous side of pet care.

PDSA positively encourages volunteer applications regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, or pregnancy and maternity.

The organisation is committed to safeguarding and ensuring the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk and expects all volunteers to share this commitment.

Appropriate background checks will be carried out where necessary dependant on the role applied for.