SAMSoc Travel Scholarship 2011

• The scholarship, worth £500, can be awarded to ANY SAMSoc member undertaking international CPD in 2011.
• Applicants should describe how they would intend to use the award in no more than 400 words. Recipients of the award are required to undertake the CPD within a 12 month time period.
• Following completion of their trip the recipient is required to write a short summary article (approx. 1000 words) which will be submitted to the Veterinary press for publication.
• The award is ONLY open to SAMSoc members.
• Last year the travel scholarship was not awarded as nobody applied! Applications should be sent to David Walker (dwalker@ndsr.co.uk) to arrive no later than 31st December 2010; the successful applicant will be notified within 8 weeks of this date. 

 The award will be presented at the pre-BSAVA SAMSoc meeting on 30th March 2011. The award is kindly sponsored by Pfizer.

Efficacy of masitinib in dogs with steroid-resistant inflammatory bowel disease

Fabio Procoli DMV MRCVS, Senior Clinical Training Scholar in Small Animal Internal Medicine

Karin Allenspach Dr.med.vet. PhD DECVIM-CA MRCVS, Senior Lecturer in Small Animal Internal Medicine

Masitinib is a protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor licensed for the use in dogs with mast cell tumours, where it has proven efficacy. There also reports that this drug can decrease inflammation in people with several immune mediated disorders, including IBD.

The Veterinary Clinical Sciences at the Royal Veterinary College is performing a clinical trial to evaluate the clinical efficacy of masitinib as a sole treatment for canine IBD in steroid-refractory cases over a period of 8 weeks.

Further details can be found in the SAMSOC wiki.

Other projects listed

Free plasma metanephrines – a novel diagnostic approach for the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma in dogs

The Royal Veterinary College

Genetic Basis of Endocrine Disease in Dogs

As part of the LUPA initiative ( http://www.eurolupa.org ), the Royal Veterinary College, University of London and the Universities of Manchester and Uppsala are collaborating to investigate the genetic...

Exocrine Pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) Treatment Study

Exocrine Pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) Treatment Study Aran Mas DVM MRCVS P-J.M.Noble BSc BVM&S PhD MRCVS, A.J.German BVSc PhD CertSAM DipECVIM-CA MRCVS

Congenital PSS in Birman Cats - DNA Project

We are currently looking at the predisposition of Birman cats to congenital portosystemic shunts. The project is being run by Angie Hibbert  and Professor Tim Gruffydd-Jones at the Feline Centre Bristol

Diabetes Treatment Survey for vets, nurses and owners

Stijn Neissen RVC

Dear Members,

The 2011 SAMSOC satellite meeting programme is soon to be completed.

Please do yourself a favour and keep your diaries free on:

WEDNESDAY 30th MARCH 2011.

Controversy will be at the very heart of this exhilerating day. Join us and be consumed by one of the talks called:

"Pathologists are from Mars and Clinicians are from Venus – will they ever really understand one another?"

More programme information to follow; one guarantee we can give you at this stage: you will feel seriously left out if you miss it.

SAMSoc Programme Committee 2011

Petplan Charitable Trust PhD Study
to Investigate Feline Infectious Peritonitis-Specific Nucleotide Motifs

A three-year study, leading to a PhD, is being funded by the Petplan Charitable Trust and is available to commence on 1^st February 2011 in the School of Veterinary Sciences, Langford at the University of Bristol.  The aim of the project is to define nucleotide sequence motifs in feline coronaviruses (FCoVs) associated with feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) and to then develop a diagnostic test for the confirmation of FIP.  The applicant will gain extensive experience in molecular-based techniques and bioinformatic analysis.  Furthermore, the applicant will receive training in the design, conduct and presentation of research. Practical work will be done in the School of Veterinary Sciences, Langford and the School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Bristol. The work will be jointly supervised by Professor Stuart Siddell and Drs Chris Helps and Séverine Tasker, supported by collaborators both within the University of Bristol and in other Universities.  Good computer skills are essential, and some experience of molecular research and feline medicine is desirable.  The successful applicant will have a high level of literacy and numeracy, good organisation skills and a willingness to learn and develop research skills to a high standard.  The successful applicant will also have excellent communication skills and confidence in making contact with cat owners and veterinary surgeons.

Applicants must possess, or expect to obtain, a first class, or good upper second class, degree in a biological related subject, or a degree in a veterinary science, and be able to demonstrate a clear interest in FIP.  This project is available to citizens of a number of European countries (including the UK) who have been resident in the UK for a period of 3 years or more.

Informal enquiries about the project are encouraged and can be made to Dr Séverine Tasker (email: s.tasker@bristol.ac.uk).

To apply, please send a CV, cover letter, and the names and addresses of two referees to Alison Foxwell, Head of Department’s Office, School of Veterinary Sciences, Langford House, Langford, North Somerset, BS40 5DU (email: cvs-hod-office@bristol.ac.uk), quoting reference SCH/10/09, by December 15^th 2010

See attached document for details of BMUS meeting in Brighton which has a veterinary stream

Photon Therapeutics is to launch PhotonUVC, a new device which claims to clear corneal infections in five seconds, on stand E30 at the London Vet Show this week. 

PhotonUVC Vet is a non-contact treatment which emits low dose ultraviolet C light at a targeted area.

Photon Therapeutics says the device kills bacteria, viruses, fungi and other infecting organisms while being safe to host tissues.

Other claimed benefits of the device are that it avoids client compliance issues associated with eye-drops, it eliminates the need for antibiotic eye drops, and it is very simple to learn how to use.

The device costs £4,995.

To explain more about The PhotonUVC Vet, Dr. Simon Dean. MBChB, MSc, FRANZCO, FBCLA Chief Scientific Officer at Photon Therapeutics, and Dr. Mark Leddy BVSc, MBA, CEO, will be delivering a CPD presentation at the Exhibitor Showcase Theatre 3: "5 Amazing Seconds – A New Transformative Treatment for Corneal Infections", on Thursday 14th November at 3pm.

There is also a launch event reception at the stand from 16.15 to 18.15 on Thursday 14 November.

https://photon-therapeutics.com/ 

CVS is embarking on a new study to investigate and document the clinical and clinicopathological features, treatments and outcomes of colitis in UK adult horses.

A team of researchers led by Tim Mair, CVS Equine Veterinary Director and Specialist in both Equine Internal Medicine and Equine Soft Tissue Surgery at Bell Equine Veterinary Clinic, will review 100 cases of colitis in adult horses and 100 controls referred to seven equine veterinary hospitals in the UK: five CVS equine veterinary hospitals as well as Rossdales Equine Hospital and University of Liverpool’s equine hospital.

A set of diagnostic tests on blood and faeces will be performed in these cases.

The laboratory tests will include: small redworm serology, culture and PCR of faeces for Salmonella spp, PCR of faeces for Clostridioides difficile and Clostridium perfringens, ELISA of faeces for toxins of C.difficile and C.perfringens, PCR of faeces for coronavirus.

The clinical features, laboratory results, treatments and outcomes will also be recorded.

Tim said: “Acute colitis accounts for around 5% of admissions to referral hospitals. 

"And of those who are referred with it, half will not survive but there is very limited evidence available.

"So it’s vital that we build our evidence-base of this life-threatening condition.

"We hope that the outcomes of our new study will lead to a greater understanding of the causes and better inform veterinary treatment of colitis in UK adult horses.”

The Colitis in Adult Horses study is supported by a research grant from CVS, and funding for the small redworm ELISA will be given from Austin Davis Biologics.

The study started at the beginning of 2024 and the first horses have been recruited.

The results of the study are expected to be published in 2025. 

Programme attached including details of how to register

Bristol-based Dayna Johnson has been struck off by the RCVS Veterinary Nurse Disciplinary Committee after she was convicted of stealing controlled drugs from a practice where she worked.

Miss Johnson was convicted at North Somerset Magistrates’ Court following a guilty plea of the offence of theft by employee in December 2023, after she stole buprenorphine belonging to Yatton Vets earlier that year.

She was sentenced to a fine of £120, a surcharge of £48, and costs of £85.

There were four further charges against Miss Johnson.

Charge one related to Miss Johnson stealing 5ml of methadone in December 2022 from her employer, Vets4Pets in Bristol, and injecting herself with the methadone.

The police investigated the incident and Miss Johnson accepted a conditional caution for the theft, the condition being she should attend a drug awareness course.

Charge two related to Miss Johnson dishonestly taking a syringe of methadone in August 2023 from her employer, the Langford Small Animal Hospital, and injecting herself with it.

Charge three related to two dates in September 2023 when she dishonestly took methadone, gabapentin and buprenorphine from Yatton Vets, her then employer, injecting herself with the buprenorphine and then working when unfit to do so.

Miss Johnson was later convicted of theft in relation to the buprenorphine (charge five).

Charge four related to an incident in November 2023, when Miss Johnson dishonestly took a syringe of buprenorphine from Bristol PDSA, for the purposes of self-administration, and was dishonest both to other members of staff and in the clinical records about the circumstances of taking the buprenorphine.

Charge five was in relation to Miss Johnson’s criminal conviction.

At the outset of the hearing, Miss Johnson admitted all charges in their entirety.

Having reviewed all the evidence and taken Miss Johnson’s admissions into account, the Committee found each of the charges proved.

After the criminal proceedings had finished and had been reported to the College, Miss Johnson wrote a letter expressing her deepest apologies to both the RCVS and the profession.

Within this she also made it clear that she took full responsibility for her actions.

In a later statement, she added that she had tried to use the experience to learn and improve in every aspect of her career and life and did not want to defend her behaviour.

Within this statement she also retracted a previous request to resign from the register, stating that she would accept any outcome to the investigation.

In deciding whether the proved charges amounted to serious professional misconduct, the Committee took the following aggravating factors into account:

• Risk of injury to an animal or human
• Recklessness in carrying on working despite the risks to animals and colleagues
• Premeditated misconduct (for example obtaining keys/codes to the controlled drugs cabinet)
• Abuse of professional position
• Misconduct sustained or repeated over a period of time
• Conduct contravening advice issued by the RCVS, including the Preliminary Investigation Committee and Professional Conduct Department, or other appropriate authority (the police conditional caution)

The Committee identified no mitigating factors and concluded that for each of the individual charges Miss Johnson’s conduct fell far short of the conduct expected of a member of the profession and that each of the charges one to four amounted to serious professional misconduct.

In relation to charge five, the criminal conviction, the Committee noted that the nature and the circumstances of the offence involved dishonesty, abuse of her professional position regarding access to controlled drugs, breach of her employer’s trust, and that the misconduct took place notwithstanding an investigation by the police for similar conduct in December 2022.

The Committee therefore concluded that charge five rendered Miss Johnson unfit to practise.

When deciding on a sanction, the Committee took into account mitigating factors, which included:

• There were no previous disciplinary findings against Miss Johnson
• Her criminal conviction was now a spent conviction
• Her misconduct appeared to be as a result of her drug addiction at the time
• She had made some efforts to avoid repetition by engaging with addiction recovery meetings and talking therapies
• She said she had been drug-free since December 2023

The Committee found no further aggravating factors at this stage.

Kathryn Peaty, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf said: “The Committee considered that the overall misconduct proved so serious and was incompatible with remaining on the register.”

She added: “The Committee accepted that Miss Johnson was currently likely to be drug-free on the basis of her evidence and that of her referee, but it noted that independent testing proving she had been drug free for any period of time was not available to it.

"Furthermore, Miss Johnson had been unable to demonstrate that she had worked without any incident recently as she had accepted she had been dismissed from her recent job.

“Having taken into account all of the aggravating and mitigating factors, and balancing the public interest and the need to uphold and maintain standards within the profession, and having decided that Miss Johnson’s insight was limited, the Committee concluded that the sanction of ‘removal’ was the only proportionate sanction it could impose in this case.

"It also decided that such a sanction maintained public confidence in the veterinary profession, safeguarded animal welfare and protected the public from any future risk of repetition of similar behaviour.

“The Committee therefore directed that the Registrar remove Miss Johnson’s name from the register of veterinary nurses forthwith.”