Martin and Kerry Flamank

Martin & Kerry Flamank run Vets at Home Menorca, offering a mobile veterinary service covering the whole island. If you have a pet who does not like going in a car, visiting a vet, or is perhaps antisocial or too frail to travel then this can be an invaluable service. There can be additional benefits of carrying out routine check-ups in the home, such as more reliable blood pressure readings, or the opportunity to observe normal behaviour. Martin explains that if he sees that the cat has difficulty jumping up onto a chair, for example, it may be a sign it is suffering from arthritis, for which treatments are available to improve quality of life.

Martin and Kerry first moved to Cap d’en Font in Menorca in 2020 with their daughter Sennen, then aged 8, after enjoying many holidays on the island. It is a move they had been planning for many years as they wanted to enjoy more of the outdoor lifestyle that Menorca has to offer, including swimming, cycling and walking with their 3 dogs. Before moving here, they ran a small animal practice, in Bromyard, rural Herefordshire, with 3 vets, 16 support staff, full surgical facilities and separate wards for dogs, cats and prey species (rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, etc). They sold the practice and planned to get Vets at Home up and running as soon as possible but Brexit and the Pandemic led to an 18-month delay in getting Martin’s certificates accepted in Menorca. To give just one example, he needed a Letter of Good Standing from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, but there was no one working in the offices during COVID and digital copies were not accepted, only signed originals. Then by the time one document eventually arrived, another would be out of date, leading to much frustration. In the meantime, Martin continued to work as a locum in the UK, travelling, when possible, to carry out operations and also keeping up his CPD (Continuous Professional Development) training.

Vets at Home now provides routine and preventative health care in the home, including vaccinations, microchipping and passports, treatment for vomiting and diarrhoea, skin diseases, thyroid and diabetes management, to name a few. They have more time to give, with each visit lasting 30 to 40 minutes, and affording extra time is particularly important with the palliative care of older pets, and when it’s finally time to say goodbye. Unfortunately, unlike in the UK, it is not permitted in Spain to equip a van to carry out surgical procedures. However, many investigations such as skin scrapes, swabs, fine needle aspirates (to determine the cause of lumps and bumps) and blood samples, are routinely carried out. For tests that can’t be carried out in-house, samples are sent by courier to Barcelona for analysis with results back the following day. It costs 50 Euros for a home visit and consultation, and 30 Euros for an additional pet. Martin qualified from the Royal Veterinary College, London in 1986 (BVetMed MRCVS) and worked in mixed practice initially before setting up his own practice. He has a particular interest in soft tissue and orthopaedic surgery. Kerry was Practice Manager of the veterinary clinic, but she was always keen to assist the veterinary and nursing team. Her former career was as a Hospital Pharmacy Technician in the NHS where she particularly enjoyed working in the aseptic unit and also working directly with patients on the wards. Kerry has an Irish father and so she was able to obtain an Irish passport. Martin has a Dutch mother and he was born in Holland. However, his father is British and the name, Flamank, is an old Cornish name (Thomas Flamank a lawyer and MP, famously led the Cornish rebellion of 1497, which was a protest against taxes imposed by Henry VII of England). Martin’s father worked as a doctor for construction companies worldwide and so they lived around the world in countries such as Canada, Abu Dhabi, Indonesia as well as the UK. His father bought a plot of land in Son Vitamina, in 1967/8 and so they took many family holidays on the island, until the house was sold when Martin went to university. Martin and Kerry both have a love of cars and motorbikes, Kerry getting her first motocross bike for Christmas at the age of 4. Martin has a Triumph Speed Triple and Kerry a Suzuki SV650. In the UK, Martin used to take part in hill climbs at Shelsley Walsh in Worcestershire, and across the country. Kerry also had her own horse for 20 years in the UK and she is now helping out at Trebaluger Equine Rescue Centre and her daughter is learning to ride. Their favourite restaurants in Menorca are Pan y Vino, Moli d’Es Foc, Calamar and Café del Nord in Playa de Fornells. Contact: Vets at Home Menorca, Tel: 0034 623 562 896 info@vetsathomemenorca.com vetsathomemenorca.com