Our Team
The Vets
Dr Will Gartrell
Dr Isabella Gartrell
Isabella graduated from Melbourne University in 1999 and after 5 years of large animal work in Leongatha, she left for the UK with new husband Will. After several years working as a small-animal locum in England, she returned to Australia with Will and their growing family, settling on the Mornington Peninsula.
Isabella joined the Frankston Heights team in 2009, before successfully completing a year of postgraduate study in Internal medicine in 2010. Isabella continued her studies and was awarded Membership of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists in Small Animal Medicine in 2012, an honour achieved by a relatively small number of general practitioners. Among other interests, she had devoted particular study to the management of diabetes.
Isabella is our lead clinician and clinical manager. She is a natural detective and problem-solver, loving the challenge of unpicking the knot of a puzzling diagnosis, crossword, sudoku, or whodunnit. Vets tend to be split into two groups, favouring either deep study into one subject, or shallower study into a wide range of subjects. Isabella sits between those groups, searching for both a breadth and depth of knowledge. She shares the responsibility for keeping us at the forefront of whatever medication, technique, tool or thought is considered the best available.
Dr Amanda Fischmann
Graduating from the University of Melbourne in 2005, Amanda has been part of the Frankston Heights family since 2008. She likes to remind Will that she started here a month before he did.
Amanda lives locally with her husband, two daughters, two cats (a Russian Blue and a Burmese), and two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. She is very arty; singing, dancing, sewing and painting.
Over the years, Amanda has contributed to multiple areas in the practice, including general surgery and dentistry. Her current area of interest is first-opinion consulting and she is part-way through a year of postgraduate study into internal medicine.
Dr Simone Gruca
Simone began her veterinary career in mixed practice on the peninsula. After a sojurn of 5 years in the UK working as a small animal veterinarian she returned to Australia and joined our team at Frankston Heights.
Simone shares her life with menagerie of rescue cats and dogs and throughout the years has developed an interest in internal medicine particularly of the feline variety.
Simone is currently enrolled in Sydney University’s Centre for Veterinary Education’s year long course in Feline Medicine.
Dr Scott Roberts
Scott graduated from the University of Melbourne 2016, and worked in the northern suburbs before joining Frankston Heights.
He has a particular interest in ophthalmology, soft tissue surgery and medicine.
Outside of work, Scott is a keen hockey player in winter, and heads to the beach in summer. He owns a beloved cat Mara and 3 chickens.
Dr Veena Kendaragama
Veena graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2010. Her career has seen her work as a small animal veterinarian from Gippsland to Singapore. We’re lucky that she chose to settle locally, coming to work at Frankston Heights at the start of 2020. Veena joined us immediately before lock-down, but even split-teams and carpark consulting couldn’t dent her kindness and enthusiasm for caring.
Veena is a generalist, meaning that she is skilled in both surgery and medicine – however, it is in the consulting room with a complex medical case where she really shines. She completed her Master of Veterinary Studies post-graduate degree in 2017.
Dr Erin Britton
Dr Tara Jadwani-Bungar
Nurses
Adriana
Laura C
Claire
Claire has been nursing at Frankston Heights for nearly 10 years.
She has recently returned from maternity leave to help run our Puppy School classes.
It’s great to have her back!
Emily K
Jodie
Jodie is our longest standing veterinary nurse, having started at Frankston Heights in 2003. Jodie is the senior nurse in our out-patient team at reception and in team consultations and also works as a surgical nurse.
She will often be the one welcoming our clients, and performing nurse consultations and has a special interest in dermatology and cytology.
Lauren
Lauren began veterinary nursing in 2003 and has worked in both small animal and emergency clinics.
She joined the FHVC team in 2018,
enjoys all aspects of nursing and currently is responsible for the maintenance and running of our in-house laboratory.
She is currently raising a puppy for Dogs for Kids.
Meagan
Meagan is a cert IV qualified veterinary nurse and our head surgical nurse.
Having worked in the industry for the past 12 years she has extensive experience in general practice, emergency nursing and surgery.
With a love for animals great and small, you will find her in our treatment room where she holds a special interest in anaesthesia and dentistry.
Taylor
Molly
Stephanie
Trainee Nurses
Emily S
Marley
Receptionists
Chanel
Chloe
Emily F
The Practice Manager
Donna
Practice manager
Get In Touch
(03) 5971 4888
Mon – Fri: 8am – 6pm
Sat: 8am – 4pm
Sun: Closed
Anytime
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