Medical Team

David Walker

Chief Medical Officer

David is an RCVS, American and European specialist in small animal internal medicine and joined Linnaeus as part of the acquisition of Anderson Moores, where he was Hospital Director.

Prior to that time, David had worked in primary care practice and as a clinician in both academia and private referral practice. In 2022, David took on a broader leadership role as Managing Director Referrals for the South and over the past 18 months he has worked with 11 of our 17 referral hospitals

David brings impressive clinical and leadership credentials and we look forward to him helping to deliver our business strategy. This includes driving the vision of medical quality for the benefit of our Associates, pets, and clients - recognising quality veterinary medicine is the key enabler of the delivery of Linnaeus’ strategy.

Veterinary leadership

Our veterinary leadership initiative is delivered by our team of medical directors, all of whom have a track record of successful careers in clinical veterinary practice. Experienced in both business management and leadership, the team are all vets who have managed or owned veterinary businesses and chose to work within Linnaeus central support to deliver our long-term strategic goals.

Terry Emmerson MA VetMB CertSAS DipECVS FRCVS

Referral Medical Director

After graduating from Cambridge University 1994, Terry completed an internship and a 3-year residency in small animal surgery at the Royal Veterinary College. After leaving the Royal Veterinary College, he co-founded and manged North Downs Specialist Referrals. He became the Referral Medical Director responsible for medical leadership and quality within the referral practices for Linnaeus in 2019.

Terry is a recognised RCVS and European Specialist in small animal surgery. He has extensive experience of all aspects of surgery but has particular interest in cancer surgery. He has been Examiner and Chief Examiner for the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Certificate in small animal surgery as well as a member of the RCVS Surgery Board and Trustee of the British College of Veterinary Specialists. Terry was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for Meritorious Contributions to Clinical Practice (MCCP) in 2016.

Outside of work Terry enjoys running, cooking and walking his dog.

The purpose of the Medical Director team is to help us thrive under outstanding veterinary leadership that drives a culture of delivering clinical excellence to our pets and clients through mutual collaboration and clear accountabilities and goals for our Associates.

We work with the leadership and clinical teams in practice along with our Central Support Team to bring the voice of the vet to the forefront, continually working to improve the service and support we provide to our front-line colleagues.

Clinical education

Our clinical education team supports the best standards of care for our clients and pets by delivering unrivalled access to top-class, innovative clinical education and training programmes.

Alongside our team-focused courses, we deliver tailored content to support all our Associates to reach their full potential and achieve fulfilled career journeys.

Visit our clinical education page for more on our education provision and specific training initiatives, both here at Linnaeus and worldwide in Mars Veterinary Health.

Specialist training

At Linnaeus we have the largest network of specialist-led referral practices in the UK, with over 120 interns and 90 residents working across the group. As a company that is part of Mars Veterinary Health we are committed to excellence and making A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.

Whether you would like to work your way up our specialist training pathway or develop your knowledge and skills to continue your career working to the highest clinical standards in one of our primary care practices, we can offer you a well-supported internship programme. The career opportunities are endless.

Visit our Careers section for more details.

Clinical standards and quality

At Linnaeus, we view providing high-quality clinical care as an ongoing process rather than a goal to be reached. We believe there is always room to improve and constantly ask what we can do better.

By constantly striving to improve clinical quality in an open culture, we can achieve better outcomes for our patients, provide a better service for our clients and make Linnaeus the best place to work.

Please visit our Clinical Quality page to find out more about our learning culture and our quest to continually improve our care.

Clinical research and excellence

Linnaeus aims to be world-recognised for our contribution to animal health and advancement of the veterinary profession.

We are committed to conducting - quality clinical research that produces reliable, relevant, and clinically applicable findings that directly impact animal health and welfare.

Our clinical research ideas stem from clinical practice and are focused on the needs of our patients and their owners; the results of our research are disseminated nationally and internationally to benefit the wider veterinary and scientific community and the general public.

You will find more details on our clinical research initiatives here.

The Linnaeus Clinical Board

Linnaeus aims to be recognised as the UK and Ireland’s leading veterinary group, committed to excellence in all we do, delivered through high-quality practices that share a common ethos.

The Linnaeus clinical board's establishment is a testament to Linnaeus’ commitment to support our practice teams, enabling them to offer the highest standards of client service and the highest quality of care to our patients across all our sites.

Several of the Medical Team are founder members of the board.