About Veterinary Care in East Sussex
This guide to veterinary clinics in East Sussex, England helps pet owners compare county-wide veterinary options based on services, animal coverage, and availability. It summarises the overall clinic landscape and highlights the highest-rated options, so you can shortlist practices that match your needs. Use it to check emergency access, large-animal provision, and other practical differences before registering.
Top-rated veterinary clinics in East Sussex
There are 81 veterinary clinics in East Sussex, with an average Google rating of 4.6★. 68 clinics treat dogs and cats. 21 offer farm or large-animal services. 23 offer emergency or out-of-hours care. 24-hour veterinary cover is explicitly confirmed in the county via Fairfield House Veterinary Surgery (Uckfield), which states it provides a 24-hour out-of-hours emergency service on its own premises with its own veterinary staff.
East Sussex includes 23 towns; examples with clinic coverage include Eastbourne, Hastings, Lewes, Brighton, Hove, Uckfield, Rye, and Peacehaven. Availability and service mix can vary by town within the county, so it’s worth checking what is provided locally (particularly for emergency access and large-animal work).
Across vets in East Sussex, the dataset shows broad access to small-animal care alongside a meaningful specialist/exotics footprint (32 specialist/exotic clinics) and a smaller but present large-animal sector (11 farm clinics and 10 equine clinics). Demand and patient experience signals are strong at county level, with 14,172 total reviews recorded across all clinics and 81/81 clinics listed with websites. Workforce development is also a visible part of provision, with 42 clinics offering veterinary nurse (VN) training.
Emergency and out-of-hours clinics differ from routine-only providers in ways that affect how quickly you can be seen and what happens if your pet needs monitoring beyond normal opening hours. In this county, 23 clinics are marked as offering emergency services, which is important if you want a single practice to handle urgent assessment and immediate stabilisation rather than directing you elsewhere. Where 24-hour cover is explicitly confirmed (for example, Fairfield House Veterinary Surgery in Uckfield), it can support continuity for cases that need overnight observation, because care is described as being delivered on-site by that practice’s own staff.
VN training practices differ from non-training practices in day-to-day staffing and how clinical care is delivered as a team. East Sussex has 42 clinics offering VN training, meaning a substantial portion of the county’s practices are involved in developing veterinary nurses alongside routine clinical work. For pet owners, that can mean you may see a broader nursing team in consultations and inpatient care, and it can be useful to ask how supervision and handovers work if your pet has a complex or ongoing treatment plan.
Mid-ranked and routine-focused clinics make up the bulk of the county’s capacity and are central to day-to-day access for preventative and non-urgent care. With 68 dog-and-cat clinics, many owners will use a local practice primarily for ongoing registration, repeat prescriptions, and planned appointments, then rely on an emergency-capable site when urgent care is needed. This split is particularly relevant in towns where emergency provision is limited, because travel time can become part of your emergency plan.
Overall, East Sussex has strong clinic depth, with emergency provision, VN training, and specialist/exotic services distributed across many providers rather than concentrated in only one or two locations.
Based on the service distribution, the county is primarily companion-animal (dogs and cats) in focus, with additional mixed and large-animal provision (farm and equine) and a sizeable specialist/exotic segment.
In summary, East Sussex offers a large, review-rich veterinary market with identifiable differences in emergency access, training involvement, and animal coverage—use the ranked clinic list above to choose the most suitable option for your pet.
Freshness: January 2026 (publicly available review and service data)
Top Vets in East Sussex
Highly rated veterinary clinics across East Sussex, ranked by service quality and reviews
Vets2Home – Peaceful Pet Goodbyes focuses on at-home end-of-life visits for pets, with owners repeatedly describing a calm, unhurried process and detailed communication from first contact through aftercare. Reviews give concrete examples of how visits are handled: vets explain each step, check consent before proceeding after sedation, and adapt the environment to keep other pets and family members as settled as possible. Several owners also mention coordinated cremation/aftercare and clear updates about when ashes are ready.
Specific details mentioned by owners include
- •Home visits arranged quickly when pets deteriorated suddenly (including same-day “a few hours later” in one account).
- •A step-by-step process where a sedative injection is given first, then the vet asks whether the family wishes to proceed.
- •Practical touches during aftercare and transport (a large bed with pillow/blanket for a large dog; a candle left with the family in one case).
- •Ongoing coordination after the visit, including updates by text/email and arrangements for ashes (including hand-delivery to the pet’s usual vet, or switching plans to collect directly from a crematorium).
Vets2Home – Peaceful Pet Goodbyes focuses on at-home end-of-life visits for pets, with owners repeatedly describing a calm, unhurried process and detailed communication from first contact through aftercare. Reviews give concrete examples of how visits are handled: vets explain each step, check consent before proceeding after sedation, and adapt the environment to keep other pets and family members as settled as possible. Several owners also mention coordinated cremation/aftercare and clear updates about when ashes are ready.
Specific details mentioned by owners include
- •Home visits arranged quickly when pets deteriorated suddenly (including same-day “a few hours later” in one account).
- •A step-by-step process where a sedative injection is given first, then the vet asks whether the family wishes to proceed.
- •Practical touches during aftercare and transport (a large bed with pillow/blanket for a large dog; a candle left with the family in one case).
- •Ongoing coordination after the visit, including updates by text/email and arrangements for ashes (including hand-delivery to the pet’s usual vet, or switching plans to collect directly from a crematorium).
Fairfield House Veterinary Surgery is an independent practice (established 1953) that treats companion animals, farm animals, and exotic animals. The clinic states it provides a 24-hour out-of-hours emergency service on its own premises with its own veterinary staff, and recent reviews also mention the emergency service being in-house. Owners describe being talked through multiple treatment options (including acupuncture), and several reviews highlight rapid access for urgent cases (being “fit in” when emergencies happen) plus proactive updates during inpatient care (phone calls as promised and a full handover at collection).
Fairfield House Veterinary Surgery is an independent practice (established 1953) that treats companion animals, farm animals, and exotic animals. The clinic states it provides a 24-hour out-of-hours emergency service on its own premises with its own veterinary staff, and recent reviews also mention the emergency service being in-house. Owners describe being talked through multiple treatment options (including acupuncture), and several reviews highlight rapid access for urgent cases (being “fit in” when emergencies happen) plus proactive updates during inpatient care (phone calls as promised and a full handover at collection).
Happy Tails Vets is an independent, family-owned veterinary practice led by Dr. Jaimin Patel. Based on the website and recent reviews, the clinic appears set up for routine care plus surgical and diagnostic work, with owners describing everything from urgent accident cases to planned procedures.
Concrete details mentioned by clients include
- •Same-day/short-notice urgent appointments, including pets “seen straight away” after accidents.
- •Surgical care described in reviews (e.g., puppy eye surgery; a stomach growth removal) with clear explanations from the vet.
- •In-clinic diagnostics listed on the website: X-ray, ultrasound, and an in-house lab for urine and blood testing.
- •Extra support during difficult visits, including an end-of-life room set up with heating, a bed, and candles, and WhatsApp updates during the day while a pet was in for surgery.
Happy Tails Vets is an independent, family-owned veterinary practice led by Dr. Jaimin Patel. Based on the website and recent reviews, the clinic appears set up for routine care plus surgical and diagnostic work, with owners describing everything from urgent accident cases to planned procedures.
Concrete details mentioned by clients include
- •Same-day/short-notice urgent appointments, including pets “seen straight away” after accidents.
- •Surgical care described in reviews (e.g., puppy eye surgery; a stomach growth removal) with clear explanations from the vet.
- •In-clinic diagnostics listed on the website: X-ray, ultrasound, and an in-house lab for urine and blood testing.
- •Extra support during difficult visits, including an end-of-life room set up with heating, a bed, and candles, and WhatsApp updates during the day while a pet was in for surgery.
Our Score (88/100)
Cliffe Veterinary Group Ltd is an RCVS-accredited practice set up for a wide range of work: small animals as well as farm and equine care, with on-site laboratory testing, diagnostic imaging and surgical facilities. The clinic also operates as a veterinary nurse training facility (per the provided clinic data). Recent reviewers most often mention clear explanations of treatment plans and costs (including during emergency consultations), with one account describing the opposite experience at reception (not being acknowledged on arrival).
Concrete details owners mention include: emergency appointments for cats, step-by-step explanations of likely findings and “what depends on what,” and vets being patient with anxious owners and difficult-to-handle cats.
Cliffe Veterinary Group Ltd is an RCVS-accredited practice set up for a wide range of work: small animals as well as farm and equine care, with on-site laboratory testing, diagnostic imaging and surgical facilities. The clinic also operates as a veterinary nurse training facility (per the provided clinic data). Recent reviewers most often mention clear explanations of treatment plans and costs (including during emergency consultations), with one account describing the opposite experience at reception (not being acknowledged on arrival).
Concrete details owners mention include: emergency appointments for cats, step-by-step explanations of likely findings and “what depends on what,” and vets being patient with anxious owners and difficult-to-handle cats.
Our Score (87/100)
Badgers Oak Veterinary Clinic is a mixed practice treating small animals, horses, and farm animals, and it states it runs its own out-of-hours service (so clients aren’t referred to an unfamiliar surgery). It’s also listed as a veterinary nurse training facility. In the latest reviews, owners repeatedly describe prompt help in urgent situations—including an on-call vet coming in on Christmas Day to perform euthanasia for a cat in severe pain, and a walk-in injury being seen immediately with sedation used during treatment. Reviews also mention clear at-home care instructions after an emergency visit and “quick” appointment availability.
Badgers Oak Veterinary Clinic is a mixed practice treating small animals, horses, and farm animals, and it states it runs its own out-of-hours service (so clients aren’t referred to an unfamiliar surgery). It’s also listed as a veterinary nurse training facility. In the latest reviews, owners repeatedly describe prompt help in urgent situations—including an on-call vet coming in on Christmas Day to perform euthanasia for a cat in severe pain, and a walk-in injury being seen immediately with sedation used during treatment. Reviews also mention clear at-home care instructions after an emergency visit and “quick” appointment availability.
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Welcome to Our Veterinary Directory
Our comprehensive directory connects pet owners with trusted local veterinary practices across East Sussex, England.
Our geo-targeted network makes it easy to find quality veterinary care in your area, whether you're looking for routine check-ups, emergency services, or specialist treatment.
