Veterinary surgeons

Frances qualified from the Royal Veterinary College, London in 2011 and has been in small animal practice ever since. She joined Fern Cottage in January 2016, and took on the Clinical Director role later that year. Frances has a particular interest in imaging and soft tissue surgery.

In her spare time she likes to remain active with her collie, Molly, and as a member of a local hockey team. She also enjoys cake decorating – making special occasion cakes for friends and family.

Raquel qualified from the Universidad Complutense of Madrid in 1995. She moved to the UK in 1998 and has been working at Fern Cottage Veterinary Surgery since 2007. She is particularly interested in canine and feline behaviour and rabbit wellbeing.

At home Raquel looks after her small flock of sheep and chickens. In the summer she keeps busy taking care of her bee hives. Raquel likes the outdoors and travelling, spending most of her spare time hiking or kayaking.

Claudia qualified from the University of Naples Federico II in Italy in 2013 and she accomplished a second level master degree in anaesthesia and analgesia at the University of Pisa in 2016. She worked for three years in general practice and for two years in a referral centre as an anaesthetist in Italy, moving to the UK in 2016. Claudia has been a part of the Fern Cottage team since the beginning of 2017 and especially enjoys internal medicine and cardiology.

At home Claudia has two dogs, Zola who is a crossbreed and Masaniello, who is a Jack Russell X Schnauzer. In her spare time, she enjoys walking in nature with her dogs, photography and travelling.

Zhi Hao qualified from the University College Dublin in 2020 and joined the Fern Cottage team in 2021. He has a particular interest in feline medicine and ultrasound.

In his spare time Zhi Hao enjoys trying out different types of cuisines and learning how to cook them, and well as teaching the team about Malaysian and Asian foods!