Our Background

Westport Veterinary Clinic is a locally owned practice with a strong commitment to giving the best possible care to your pets.

We have been treating your pets for nearly 30 years, starting as a mixed practice with David Porteous as Head Vet. David worked hard to create a loyal client base and first class reputation and today we continue to develop these.

In 2013 ,the clinic became a dedicated “small animal” vets allowing us to significantly increase the level of care we give our patients. We used this opportunity to upgrade our clinic and equipment and are continuously re-investing in our practice.

In 2018, we had the opportunity to buy Capital Vets in South Queensferry and Drumbrae Vets in Edinburgh after Gerry, the original owner retired.  This meant we could move our South Queensferry branch into the purpose built practice in The Loan, increasing our capabilities for our clients in South Queensferry and Edinburgh.

Westport Veterinary Clinic boasts dedicated dog and cat wards, recovery kennels, digital x- ray (including dental), endoscope, ultrasound, full sterile theatre, laboratory, and a complete, advanced, soft tissue surgical and orthopaedic operating kit. However, our real strength lies in the brilliant and knowledgeable vets and nurses who bring a wealth of experience to Westport Veterinary Clinic.

Westport Vets is owned and run by Company Director and Veterinary Surgeon Stuart McMorrow

Team Westport Linlithgow consists of:

Our Veterinary Surgeons: Gina Henry, Liesbeth Grycuk, Carolyn Cairns, Emily Cope, Lisa Rasmussen, Yasmin Lester-Powell & Natalie Dunn

Our Head Nurse: Paula Murphy

Our Registered Veterinary Nurses:  Louise Forrester, Carena Smith, Abi Ross, Kelly Scott, Rachel Kirk & Paige Piper

Our Student Veterinary Nurses: Mari McDonagh 

Our Customer Care Specialists: Julie Flockhart, Leigh Daly, Hannah Reid & Jessica Douglas

Team Westport South Queensferry and Drumbrae consists of:

Our Veterinary Surgeons: Sam Hillier, Rachel Robb, Mair Tyler, Hannah Padley, Andrew Soutar  & Graham Leathers

Our Clinical Nurse Manager and Registered Veterinary Nurse: Fiona Leathers

Our Registered Veterinary Nurses: Nicola MacPhee, Gillian White, Chloe Egan, Lauren Wilson, Steph Fisher & Jessica Healey

Our Student Veterinary Nurse: Connor Dewar, Heather McKenzie, Tiffany Lema, Rachel Kirkwood, Cordelle Haslam & Robyn Donnelly

Our Customer Care Specialists: Gail Ainslie, Wendy Girling & Audrey Brown

Westport Veterinary Clinic invests significantly in all of the clinical team to continue their learning and development and ensuring your pets receive the most up to date care possible. Staff regularly attend continued professional development seminars and courses, complete daily ward rounds, participate in weekly clinical discussions, monthly journal clubs and regular in house training run by specialist veterinary surgeons. You can read about a small sample of the training courses we attend in our blog.

Our Premises & Equipment

Westport Veterinary Clinic has branches in Linlithgow, South Queensferry & Edinburgh, all of which provides a convenient location for  our clients to attend consultations, collect medications and food orders.  Clients can be seen at any of our branches, at a time which is convenient and can request the same vet to ensure continuity of care for their pets.

At the Linlithgow and South Queensferry surgeries we have:

  • 2 consulting rooms
  • Dedicated operating theatre with gaseous anaesthetic facilities and monitoring equipment
  • Spacious preparation room
  • Dental facilities including specialised tools and equipment for treating dogs, cats, rabbits and small furries
  • X-ray room with the latest digital x-ray technology and ultrasound scanner
  • In-house laboratory facilities enabling rapid diagnoses to be made
  • Warm and comfortable kennels suitable for dogs, cats and small mammals
  • Blood pressure monitoring equipment
  • A wide range of surgical equipment including surgical electrocautery and orthopaedic equipment.
  • Medical support equipment including oxygen kennel, blood transfusion facilities and intravenous fluid infusion pumps

At our Linlithgow and South Queensferry surgeries we perform both veterinary and nurse consultations, as well as the operations in our sterile theatre, diagnostic imaging and case investigations. We also have the facilities to hospitalise our non-surgical cases. Our patients are nursed attentively by our team of caring, qualified veterinary nurses, student veterinary nurses and nursing assistants.

We perform veterinary consultations at our Edinburgh clinic, any surgical procedures are undertaken at our South Queensferry branch which is only 15 minutes away. We are happy to arrange our ambulance to transport your pets between clinics if required.

Meet the Team

Stuart McMorrow BVM&S MRCVS

Stuart graduated from The Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies in 1999 and his first job was a mixed practice in Falkirk. He then spent a few years as a locum, working in a number of practices across the Central belt. This allowed Stuart to train with, and play for the Scotland National Hockey team. He then moved on to work at the PDSA (a veterinary charity) in Edinburgh where he became the Senior Vet in 2006. After twelve years at PDSA, gaining fantastic experience, Stuart decided to join Westport Veterinary Clinic where he is now the sole owner and senior vet.

Stuart loves all things surgical – especially wound management and reconstructive surgery and orthopaedics. Stuart has also developed a love of dentistry and has completed multiple dental continued education courses and is working towards further qualifications in this area. And, more recently Stuart has started learning more about minimally invasive surgery which will allow him to perform laparoscopic neutering.

Stuart and his family has one rescue cat – Jazz – and three Border Terriers – Barney and Larry and Bracken. Stuart can be found most weekends out with the dogs and kids up Witchcraig and Beecraigs, or out cycling to keep fit. Stuart lives locally in Torphichen.

Mair Tyler MVB PgC(SAM) MRCVS

Mair was brought up in Northern Ireland and graduated from University College Dublin in 2005. After a few years working in mixed (farm and small animal) practice in the beautiful wild west of Ireland, she decided to make Scotland her home. She worked in mixed practice in Perthshire where she was lucky enough to have the chance to do some work at Blair Drummond Safari park. Since 2014, Mair has worked in small animal practice in West Lothian before joining the team at Westport in 2021. Mair has a postgraduate certificate in small animal medicine and particularly enjoys working with diabetic patients, emergency cases and carrying out soft tissue surgery. Mair lives with her elderly Border collie Laika and 3 cats – Socks (who has at least 12 lives!), Harmony and Melody. When not working Mair sings in a choir, plays netball, loves to cook and has recently taken up Irish dancing!

Liesbeth Grycuk BVM&S Pg Cert (Feline Practice) MRCVS

Liesbeth graduated in 2007 from Edinburgh Dick Vet and spent several years working in mixed practice. Before joining Westport at the start of 2016 she spent five years working in emergency and critical care. Liesbeth completed a post graduate certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice in feline medicine in 2019.  Liesbeth is a marathon runner and travels the world competing in the world marathon series. She has two ragdoll cats “Princess Beatrice” and “Oscar”.

Sam Hillier BVSc PgCert (VBM) MRCVS

Sam is the lead vet for our South Queensferry and Drumbrae branches and has been at Westport since the start of 2018. Sam originally came from Yorkshire and started work there at a busy veterinary hospital before moving up to Edinburgh in 2016. He loves the variety of general practice and has a range of clinical interests, from diabetic management to laparoscopic (key hole) surgery. Outside of work, he is married and has a 21 month old daughter. He enjoys escaping to the hills either hiking or cycling when he gets the chance.

Rachel Robb BVM&S ECAS WVA&CPM MRCVS

Rachel qualified from The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh in 2008. After a year working in Leeds she moved to Glasgow where she worked for 8 years at a busy small animal practice before returning home to Edinburgh in summer 2018 to join the team at Westport Vets. She enjoys all aspects of medicine and dermatology and has a particular interest in chronic pain management, completing a certificate in Veterinary Western Acupuncture and Chronic Pain Management in 2022. She runs chronic pain and acupuncture clinics at Westport and has a particular soft spot for the golden oldies!
Outside of work Rachel enjoys photography and trying to control her garden and indoor jungle. She spends her spare time with her family and her two rather high maintenance cats!

Gina Henry BVMS MRCVS

Gina graduated from the University of Glasgow in 2016. She spent the first 3 years of her career working in a busy small animal practice in central Scotland, before joining the team at Westport in July 2019. She enjoys all aspect of first opinion practice, and the variety it brings every day! In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, travelling, and exploring the scenic countryside on hikes.

Carolyn Cairns BVM&S MRCVS

Carolyn graduated from Glasgow University Veterinary School in 1992, and went straight into mixed practice in Alnwick, Northumberland, where she met and soon married a local lad.  After three years she kicked off her wellies and joined a busy small animal hospital in Oxford.  She continued developing her skills as a small animal vet for several years in Belfast, then settled back to Edinburgh to raise her four children.  Practices in Livingston, Currie and more recently, the Cat Clinic in Edinburgh, have sustained her constant interest in keeping up to date as a GP Vet.
Her particular areas of interest are soft-tissue surgery and all things feline, but she adores dogs too, and has often uttered that she ‘should have stuck to four Labradors, instead of four kids’, when parenting has proved challenging!
When not working, Carolyn loves to keep fit by running, hill-walking and skiing with her family.  She also loves cooking and baking.  Tux, the family cat, is a legend and universally adored!

Emily Cope BVM&S MRCVS

Emily graduated from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Medicine in 2007. She worked for 1 year in Derbyshire, before moving back home and working in small animal and exotics practices in central Scotland. Emily is working towards a certificate in Small Animal Internal Medicine, and has an interest in diagnostic imaging and exotics.
Outside of work Emily looks after her two small children, and when she gets the chance enjoys running, sea kayaking and hill walking. The family also includes Pixel the cat, a cockatiel called Brandy and several newts.

Fiona Leathers RVN

Fiona qualified as an RVN in 2002 after studying full time at Edinburgh’s Telford College.

Before joining the Westport family in Feb 2018, she worked as Head Nurse in practices in Glasgow & Bonnybridge.  She is a qualified Clinical Coach which means she is responsible for the training of our Student Veterinary Nurses.  In 2017, Fiona won The Blue Cross Veterinary Nurse of the Year title and she is the Scottish “Bandaging Angel” for The Veterinary Wound Library which means she travels to other veterinary practices teaching them all aspects of wound care & bandaging techniques.  Fiona is also the first RVN to hold the position of Chairperson for Vet Trust Ltd, a Scottish charity.

 Prior to qualifying as an RVN, Fiona was a riding instructor & show jumping groom in London & Switzerland.  She is married to Graham, who is also a vet and they have a daughter called Hannah who is currently studying photography in Glasgow.  She currently has two dogs, Mavis & Bunty (both mongrels and a bit special), a cat called Tasmin (the brains of the household) and a pondful of goldfish.

Paula Murphy RVN

Paula began her nursing career a full time student in 1997. She then went on to train at Edinburgh Telford college qualifying in 2002. She began working in a first opinion and referral hospital in Stirling and enjoyed the variety of cases that a large hospital deals with. She became an orthopaedic nurse and deputy head before moving on to a different practice .

From 2002 to 2018 Paula worked at a small animal practice in East Lothian and then Edinburgh when that practice expanded. This practice helped to grow Paula skills and love for both animal and clients, with client care being a priority for Paula. Paula began working at Westport vets Linlithgow in September 2018 and is looking forward to getting to know all our clients and their pets.

She lives locally in Torphichen with husband David and kids Mathew and Kathryn. She has a cockapoo called Obi and a cat called Harry. She enjoys all aspects of nursing with anaesthesia and client care being her favourite areas. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family and socialising with her friends. She is also a member of her village galaday committee so can be found fund raising and event planning through out the year.

Louise Forrester RVN

Louise qualified in 2015 from SRUC barony campus. Louise completed her 2 years college placement at Westport and liked it so much she stayed!
Louise has recently completed the BVNA delving deeper into wounds course- looking at effective wound management within veterinary practices. Louise also has keen interest in anaesthesia.
Outside of work Louise enjoys horse riding and competes on her own horse Splash at Dressage. She also enjoys  long walks with her two dogs- Dude the Labradoodle and Chip who is a collie X kerry blue terrier and also has a house rabbit and guinea pig.

Carena Schmid RVN

Carena joined the team in November 2016 having spent the previous 2 years in a busy Vets4Pets practice working as a RVN after being there as a student. Before qualifying she was fortunate to gain varied experience at different practices including Glasgow Vet School. Interested in dental work she has completed BVNA Oral Care Nurse Certificate. Carena has a keen interest in canine behaviour, in particular with reactive dogs, and is a Training Assistant at weekly training and behaviour classes with Lothlorien Dog Services in Linlithgow. Carena has 2 Border Collies, both rescue dogs, (Mr) Flash and (Miss) Darcy!

Gillian White RVN

Gillian qualified as an RVN in November 2018 from SRUC Barony Campus. Before qualifying, Gillian studied Animal Care at SRUC Oatridge Campus and worked at Dogs Trust for a year and a half. She has a keen interest in lab-work, and is a Clinical Coach guiding student vet nurses in their training to become RVNs. Gillian has completed a further qualification in veterinary acupuncture and is assisting Vet Rachel with her pain clinics. In her spare time, Gillian enjoys archery and is a member of West Lothian Archers.

Abi Ross RVN

Abi studied Veterinary Nursing at Oatridge College and qualified as an RVN in 2019.
She enjoys all aspects of nursing, from surgery to nurse clinics, but has a particular interest in our feline patients, having grown up on a farm with lots of cats of her own!
In her spare time she volunteers with Streetvet in Glasgow and spends quality time with her little rescue dog (Mr) Douglas

Chloe Egan RVN

Chloe is one of our Registered Veterinary Nurses who graduated in November 2017 from SRUC Barony College. She has a great love for cats and is also an ISFM Certified Feline Nurse. At the weekends she likes to spend her time with her family, going out dancing and eating numerous packets of sweeties. At home she has 6 animals! 3 dogs – Bracken, Heather and Wallace, and 3 cats – Jasmine, Tigger and Splodge.

Nicola Macphee RVN

Started nursing with capital vets and stayed on when westport acquired the practice, she qualified with Scotlands rural college in 2021. She has interests in inpatient care, fear free veterinary visits, anaesthesia and radiography. She is also keen to work with wildlife so volunteers as a Marine Mammal Medic at British Divers Marine Life Rescue. During her days off, she enjoys: Sea & Loch swimming, Nature walks, Music, reading & films
and Playing with her rescue kitten Lionelle.

Kelly Scott RVN

Kelly is currently in her 2nd year of veterinary nursing training and is doing her placement at Westport Vets. Kelly has a keen interest in exotics and she hopes to go down the exotic nursing specialism route.

Rachel Kirk RVN

Outside of work, Laura can normally be found running, paddle boarding or taking my podenco Scout a good walk (sometimes involving a pub lunch along the way!).

Lauren Wilson RVN

Lauren graduated from Edinburgh Napier University in 2018. After graduating she went to work in 1st opinion practice before moving on to work in a busy referral hospital in Stirling. She joined the Westport team in July 2022.
During COVID, Lauren completed the ISFM Certificate in Feline Nursing and is looking forward to starting the diploma course next year. In practice, Lauren enjoys carrying out x-rays and getting involved with medicine cases.
Outside of work Lauren enjoys travelling and spending time with her friends, family and rescue ragdoll called Marty.

Mari Mcdonagh SVN

Mari is a third year student vet nurse who is hoping to graduate next year in 2023. She had started at the practice at the end of May 2022 and has so far enjoyed being here. She likes improving her skills in the practice and next year in June is going to Africa for 2 weeks as part of a wildlife and veterinary course where she will be working with much bigger patients than she sees here. In her free time, Mari likes to just relax and watch shows, especially musicals where she thinks she can hit the notes when she really can’t. She also can be found cuddled up under a blanket with her dog Ollie or keeping a close eye on her hamster when shes out and about exploring the room. Mari also likes getting out the house and exploring new places with her friends, walking for miles until her legs hurt.

Connor Dewar SVN

Connor is a student veterinary nurse with the SRUC, and is currently set to graduate in 2022. He enjoys all aspects of veterinary nursing and is keen to hone his skills to deliver the highest standards of patient care. Following graduation, he hopes to complete further study into canine behaviour in order to minimise stress and make each patient’s visit to the practice as comfortable as possible.

Outside of work Connor enjoys creative pursuits, dabbling in writing and using tabletop roleplay as a way to engage other people with his storytelling. On nicer days, he enjoys adventuring in the countryside with Poppy, his shetland sheepdog.

Gail Ainslie

Gail is the receptionist at our South Queensferry branch. Gail is incredibly friendly and outgoing and likes nothing better that a good natter with the clients in the waiting room! She is also very attached to all her South Queensferry patients and is always keen to take their photos to add to her album which she keeps at the reception desk. Gail loves her dogs, particularly little Louie the Chihuahua. In her spare time Gail is a bit of a “biker chick” and enjoys travelling around Scotland and Europe by motorcycle with her husband and their tent.

Wendy Girling

Wendy has been the receptionist at the Drumbrae branch for over 11 years! Wendy enjoys meeting and assisting clients old and new. She lives with her husband and 2 cats.

Julie Flockhart

Julie is a receptionist at our Linlithgow branch and has worked here since 2017 and enjoys all aspects of the job. Having previously been a client Julie understands how it feels to be on the other side of desk and how worrying and daunting it can be when your pet isn’t well. Coming to the Vets can be a very worrying time for owners and their pets alike. We understand this having our own animals and try our best to make each visit to Westport as enjoyable as possible!

Julie enjoys spending time with her family and two dogs and in her spare time trains and competes her horse.

Julie has obtained her Bronze BVRA award is currently working through her Silver award and hopes to complete all three levels in the future

Julie looks forward to welcoming at our Linlithgow branch soon!

Hannah Wilford

Hannah works at the Linlithgow practice. They have a HND in Computer Arts & Design and they are currently focusing on becoming a Veterinary Nurse.
Hannah enjoys meeting clients and their pets, as well as drawing, reading and exploring nature outside of work. They have a keen interest in animal and human relationships as well as exotic and wild animals. Hannah has a menajarie of animals including a ball python, bearded dragon, lesser hedgehog tenrec, a mouse, a cat called Enzo and a rescue mutt named Indigo.
Hannah feels very privileged to be part of the Westport Team and looks forward to meeting everyone and their pets!

Hannah Reid

Hannah is the receptionist in our Linlithgow branch. She loves working with people and helping them and their loved pets out. She joined the team in May 2022 and has loved every minute of it since! Hannah has recently completed her BVRA Bronze level award and is currently working through her Silver BVRA Award. Hannah loves learning so is always looking for opportunities to add to her qualifications and learn something new.

Hannah graduated from the University of the West of Scotland in 2021 with an Honours Degree in Photography and loves taking photos and working on projects outside of work in her own time. She also enjoys reading and playing games online with her friends, and you can mostly find her doing one of these at home in her spare time.

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