Supreme PetFoods has published a series of rabbit lectures for veterinary surgeons and nurses by world-renowned experts.

The lectures, which were held at London Vet Show last year, covered a variety of topics in rabbit medicine and surgery, including dental disease, digestive disorders, calcium metabolism, urinary disease and 'sticky bottom' syndrome. The round table of case-based discussions also provided an opportunity for the audience to have their questions answered by rabbit specialists and discuss the complexities of some example cases.

Claire Hamblion, Marketing Manager at Supreme Petfoods said: "The success of Think Rabbit Month really highlighted that raising awareness and expanding rabbit-related expertise is becoming increasingly important for vets. However, in comparison to cats and dogs, specialist information is less widely available - even though rabbits can often be the trickiest patients! This is why we're so thrilled to able to make contemporary thinking from world-class specialists available at the click of a few buttons."

In addition to the lectures, vets and nurses also have access to an array of free Supreme support materials including a series of professional waiting room videos and a variety of downloadable practice documents, available at http://www.supremepetfoods.com/vet-zone/.

Expert speaker, Molly Varga, BVetMed DZooMed MRCVS,RCVS Specialist in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, whose lecture was entitled, 'Rabbits and Calcium: how much is too much?'said: "With current concepts in rabbit medicine and surgery rapidly evolving, access to convenient, concise and cutting edge information is crucial for the whole veterinary team. The only way this is possible is through initiatives such as this seminar series, which drives our knowledge and expertise forwards."

Other speakers in the seminar series included, Charly Pignon DVM (pictured right), Head of the Exotics Medicine Service at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vétérinaire d'Alfort in France, Professor Anna Meredith MA VetMB CertLAS DZooMed MRCVS, Livia Benato MRCVS, Lecturer in Rabbit and Exotic animal Husbandry and Nutrition and Wendy Bament RVN BSc (Hons) MSc, Exotic Animal Veterinary Nurse.

Claire added: "Not only are these specialists regarded as academic leaders in their profession but they are also renowned successful speakers, which makes for superb presentations. The watch-again capability of the online seminars makes it easy for vets and nurses to dip in and out at their leisure, gaining maximum value for minimum effort."

The British Veterinary Association has launched 'Great Workplaces', a workplace accreditation scheme designed to help address some of the  recruitment and retention issues in the veterinary profession.

The BVA says that securing 'Great Workplaces' will be a collaborative assessment process.

Each workplace will have a dedicated, experienced accreditor from a veterinary background, who will work with leadership teams and employees to gather a full picture of their workplace. 

Workplaces will be assessed in four main areas: health and wellbeing, leadership and management, culture, and learning and development. 

Successful workplaces will achieve either gold or silver accreditation.

Those that don’t meet the criteria yet will be recognised as ‘working towards’ accreditation and will be supported to make the changes needed to achieve success next time around.

Successful workplaces will hold their accreditation for three years and at the end of that period they will be required to undergo reassessment to retain their accredited status. 

BVA President Anna Judson said: “As well as attracting more people to join our veterinary profession, ensuring we retain the incredible talent we already have is critical to building a resilient and sustainable veterinary workforce.

"Positive workplace culture is central to achieving this and Great Workplaces by BVA is an innovative new approach that puts the well-being of vet teams front and centre.

"The knock-on impact will be good for vets and vet practices, good for clients and ultimately, good for animal welfare.

Photo: BVA

“Workplaces accredited under this new scheme, will be seen as employers of choice, attracting top talent who seek fulfilling careers and a healthy work-life balance.

"For existing team members, working in a recognised Great Workplace could enhance job satisfaction.”

A number of workplaces have already undertaken Great Workplaces accreditation during a series of pilots in 2023.

Two, Westport Veterinary Clinic in Linlithgow and South Moors in Devon, have become the first veterinary workplaces to receive a silver accreditation.

Fiona Leathers at Westport Veterinary Clinic, said:  "At Westport Veterinary Clinic, our collaboration with the British Veterinary Association and its Great Workplaces accreditation scheme has been transformative.

"It has given us invaluable insights into how this initiative positively impacts workplace culture and employee well-being.

“The simplicity of the accreditation process and the approachable nature of BVA’s accreditors facilitated seamless integration of the scheme’s principles into our daily routines.

"The tangible impact of the Great Workplaces accreditation has been profound.

"It's fostered a more inclusive, supportive, and cohesive environment, elevating employee satisfaction and bolstering team morale significantly.

"This experience extends beyond personal growth; it solidifies our belief in cultivating healthy work cultures.”

www.bva.co.uk/great-workplaces  

Photo: BVA

The BVA has announced that this year's BVA Live (NEC, 6th-7th June) will focus on contextualised care, in other words recognising that appropriate and proportionate care must be tailored to the needs of both the animal and the client, and consider the owner's finances, lifestyle, preferences, and their ability to provide suitable care.

Programme highlights for BVA Live this year include:

• Does running a successful practice jeopardise our commitment to animal welfare and contextualised care?
  In this session, in partnership with the Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF), Vicky Ford-Fennah, Professional Development Manager at Linnaeus and Kate Higgins, Director of Village Vets Formby, consider how contextualised care can be balanced with the financial needs of veterinary practices in the current climate.
• Would you euthanise a healthy XL Bully? And other challenging questions: ethical decision making and conflict resolution in practice
  Rosie Allister, Consulting Manager on the Vetlife Helpline and Hamish Morrin, of Vet Values, consider the impact challenging ethical dilemmas can have on vet teams.
• Closing down fertility clinics - are UK vets stepping into the gap?
  Angelika von Heimendahl, Director at Veterinary Reproduction Service, explores vets’ roles and responsibilities in the growing sector of canine fertility.
• How sustainable is modern pet ownership?
  BVA Past President Justine Shotton in discussion with Jen Gale, Founder of Sustainable(ish), will explore how vets can support clients to be more sustainable in their approach to pet ownership.
• Gut instinct: what’s the influence of the gut microbiome on animal behaviour and wellbeing?
  In this session, Fergus Allerton, Veterinary Surgeon Diplomate, Sarah Heath, Veterinary Specialist in Behavioural Medicine and Lecturer in Translational Pharmaceutical Sciences Jatin Nagpal explore the relationship between the gut microbiome and animal behaviour.

British Veterinary Association President Anna Judson said: “This has been an incredibly challenging year for the profession, with the review by the Competitions and Marketing Authority (CMA) prompting increased scrutiny of the value of veterinary care.

"We know that all veterinary professionals strive to provide the best possible care for the animals they see and we hope our focus on contextualised care at BVA Live provides a timely opportunity to explore this concept in more depth and consider how it can be applied in practice to support both decision-making and communication with clients.”

https://bvalive.vetshow.com 

Bulk milk surveillance for stomach worm exposure in dairy cows has found high levels in 68% of herds, with "probable sub-clinical effects on health and production", according to Pfizer Animal Health.

Between September 2011 and March this year, 449 milk samples submitted by dairy vets and SQP animal health advisers were analysed independently for Pfizer VPS.

Pfizer VPS vet Andrew Montgomery says that stomach worm (Ostertagia ostertagi) is the species identified most often in dairy cows^1,2. and known to suppress appetite³: "Numerous trials have found a yield response to worming treatment, typically in the region of 1kg/cow/day."⁴

"At 25p/litre, this would be worth £76/cow over a 305-day lactation, or about £16,500/year in a typical 200-cow herd. Some trials have also identified improvements in reproductive performance although this remains to be proven absolutely."⁴

When test results indicate that worming is justified, Andrew recommends a moxidectin pour on treatment in the late dry period to maximise the gain over the highest yielding, early part of lactation.

The bulk milk surveillance programme is ongoing, and free Pfizer test kits are available from participating VPS animal medicine suppliers and veterinary practices.

References

1. Agneessens J et al (2000) Veterinary Parasitology 90, 83-92.
2. Borgsteede FHM et al (2000) Veterinary Parasitology 89, 287-296.
3. Forbes, AB et al (2004) Veterinary Parasitology 125, 353-364.
4. Charlier, J et al (2009) Veterinary Parasitology 164, 70-79.

Origin (previously known as Westpoint) has announced that FarmVets SouthWest has joined the group, giving further geographical coverage to its veterinary practice network.

FarmVets SouthWest has practices at Ilminster and North Petherton in Somerset and Honiton in Devon.

Eoghan McAlonan, a director of the practice, said: "We are delighted to be joining Origin. The Origin group delivers the highest standards in veterinary services to UK agriculture, and we will bring our farmer friendly services to further enhance the groups activities".

In turn Origin says it plans to bring the wide benefits of group membership, including lab services, dairy consultancy and paraprofessional services, to further enhance the high level of service the vet team at Farmvets SouthWest provide to producers in Somerset and Devon.

Jon Mouncey, Managing Director of Westpoint Farmvets, said: "Working alongside our other Origin practices in the South West region, we can now offer all livestock producers our advanced services, ensuring their stock receive the very best in veterinary care. Our group offers a unique approach to integrated veterinary services and by applying the latest technology and research we ensure that animal health and welfare is optimised, delivering real value for our clients in a challenging agricultural climate."

Animalcare has launched Florgane, a novel, patented, long acting florfenicol 300mg/ml suspension which the company says has significant advantages over existing organic solvent-based florfenicol products on the market when used for the treatment and prevention of bovine respiratory disease (BRD).

Florgane is an aqueous, low viscosity advanced formulation, which, claims Animalcare, means that it is easier to inject even at temperatures as low as 5°C. Low temperature syringeability is important, as a large number of calves may need to be treated during colder weather at a time when the challenge from infectious agents is greatest. A syringeability study apparently demonstrated that Florgane is up to five times faster to administer when compared to the leading florfenicol non-aqueous formulation.

A paper on the treatment of naturally occurring respiratory disease with Florgane was presented recently at the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA) Congress in Torquay. According to the company, the multi-centre field studies in Belgium, Germany and Italy, in over 400 cattle with bodyweights ranging between 73-180kg, demonstrated that Florgane given by a single intramuscular injection, at a 25% lower dose of 30mg/kg, is as efficacious as non-aqueous florfenicol 40mg/kg administered by subcutaneous injection, measured by treatment success and relapses.

Post mortem examination at day 27 (meat withdrawal of 37 days) confirmed that, despite being given via the intramuscular route, Florgane is well tolerated at the site of injection due to its aqueous base and physiological pH. Maximum volume per injection site is 15ml allowing calves up to 150kg to be treated.

Animalcare adds that a further advantage of Florgane is that it persists in plasma above the MICs for the three most common pathogens for significantly longer than conventional extended action 300mg/ml florfenicol solution preparations -  thereby prolonging bacterial killing time. Therefore, owing to its improved bioavailability and excellent pharmacokinetics, Florgane can be given at an easy to remember dose of 1ml per 10kg.

Tony Liepman, Marketing Manager at Animalcare said: "Using Florgane will result in faster administration, resulting in less stress for the calves and a saving in time and money for the farmer."

Florgane is presented in polypropylene 100ml and 250ml multi-dose vials with a three year shelf-life.

For more information, visit www.animalcare.co.uk

Newly-invested RCVS President, Dr Sue Paterson FRCVS, has announced that her focus for this year will be on widening access to the veterinary profession to those from different socioeconomic, ethnic and religious groups.

She said: “My theme will be focussed on recruitment and particularly widening participation, as one of the three themes of the RCVS Workforce Action Plan.

"I want to get out during my presidential year and talk to school children and teachers, especially head teachers at their conferences, to make them aware of the opportunities that are available to a veterinary science graduate.

“I want to continue to work with the Veterinary Schools Council’s Widening Participation Vet Schools Network to make school children from all backgrounds aware, whether they are from a large, single-sex private school, or a mixed-faith inner-city comprehensive, that veterinary science is accessible to them. 

“A veterinary science degree equips graduates with the appropriate skillset to follow a myriad of different career paths.

"For example, in clinical practice caring for people’s beloved pets or working with farmers to produce high-welfare food in an economical and sustainable way. Not to mention groundbreaking research into human and animal diseases, public health to help safeguard food security, the pharmaceutical industry to develop new and innovative treatments, and the armed forces to maintain the health and welfare of military working animals. I could go on. 

“As professions, and this means not just veterinary surgeons but veterinary nurses, we need to get out there and sell ourselves to the wider public.

"We have made a start, but we need to become more inclusive and diverse.

"We need to do some myth-busting about the real requirements needed to be a vet or vet nurse.

"There is no doubt you do need to have good A levels to study veterinary medicine, but, beyond that, bright students from any background can join our professions.

"You can be a veterinary surgeon or veterinary nurse if you are black or white; Muslim or Christian; and from any socioeconomic background.”

Sue's speech is available to read in full at www.rcvs.org.uk/features.

The RCVS will be holding a summit meeting this autumn to examine the issues surrounding veterinary workforce shortages and develop solutions.

The meeting follows growing concerns expressed both within the profession and in the national media about the shortage of veterinary surgeons in the UK. 

Lizzie Lockett, RCVS CEO (pictured right), said: “Workforce shortages within the veterinary sector has been a concern for some time, however, in the past few months there has been a ‘perfect storm’ of circumstances, which have come together to exacerbate the problem. The issues include the ongoing impact of the pandemic, burnout and fatigue within the profession; the UK’s exit from the European Union, which has seen a significant reduction in the number of EU vets joining the Register as well as an associated increase in the need for veterinary certification; and an increase in pet ownership, and therefore demand for veterinary services, over the course of the pandemic."

In advance of the meeting, which is due to be help in November, the College will be conducting research to better gauge the extent of the problem both nationally and regionally.

The meeting will then consider how recruitment, retention and return to work might address the problem.

Lizzie added: “While there has already been a lot of focus and discussions around recruitment and retention, something less spoken about is return, and the summit will consider the reasons why members of the profession may move away from clinical practice, and if there’s more scope for different ways of working that could bring people back into clinical practice.

“Ahead of the summit we will be reviewing all the latest data that we and other organisations have shared to better understand the gap between capacity and demand, the push and pull factors on decisions to either join or leave clinical practice and build a more evidence-based picture of veterinary workforce trends.”

The summit itself, the date of which is yet to be confirmed, will involve key veterinary stakeholders including the veterinary schools, veterinary employers and representative bodies, coming together to ensure that there will be a joined-up approach in finding solutions to the issues confronting the profession.

Lizzie said: “It may not necessarily be easy to identify all the solutions in one day, and they won’t all come from the RCVS, but opening up the conversation and getting the professions focused on taking appropriate action is an important first step.”

Meanwhile, RCVS President Kate Richards this week wrote to all vets and nurses to reassure them them that the RCVS was aware of the problem and the additional pressures they are under as a result.

In the letter she wrote: “In the face of current shortages, I would like to stress that we support practice teams in prioritising cases strictly according to the health and welfare needs of their patients, and in informing their clients of the need to do so.

“We would also urge veterinary surgeons to share their caseload as much as possible, delegating permitted procedures to their veterinary nurse colleagues wherever appropriate to do so.

"And, we would like to remind veterinary surgeons that their current 24/7 emergency cover obligations, as set out in the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct, are limited only to taking steps to provide 24-hour emergency first-aid and pain relief to animals according to their skills and the specific situation."

She also added that, while members of the profession may be anxious about a potential increase in the number of concerns being raised by clients because they are not able to offer the level of service they would ideally like to, the RCVS would always take into account the entire circumstances surrounding a complaint as part of its investigation process.

She also said that the College would also continue to raise awareness amongst animal owners of the acute challenges currently facing veterinary teams around the country, and to request their ongoing patience and understanding.

To assist the profession, a series of FAQs have been produced to help with different situations that vets may encounter at the moment, particularly around the provision of 24/7 emergency cover, and to provide further guidance on delegating procedures to veterinary nurses. These can be found at: www.rcvs.org.uk/news-and-views/news/

Veterinary recruitment agency Noble Futures is running a competition in which vets from the UK and Northern Ireland can win £5000 worth of CPD vouchers from Improve International. 

To enter the draw, visit http://www.noble-futures.com/veterinaryCPDgiveaway before the 31st March 2021 and complete the form.

There are ten £250 vouchers for Improve's modular programmes and fifty £50 vouchers for its Practical Surgery and Ultrasound short courses up for grabs.

Tony Noble, Managing Director at Noble Futures said: "At Noble Futures, we care deeply about the veterinary profession.

"Those who work within it are at the heart of our business and we are dedicated to looking after those that work in our industry.

"Recently we made the exciting move into recruitment for clinical veterinary roles, to support our long-standing success in recruitment for industry-based roles and with our huge £5,000 Improve International CPD Giveaway we are looking to give something back to the brilliant veterinary surgeons to whom we owe so much, not only for being at the heart of our business but also for the care and protection that they provide to the many animals in our lives."

Hill's Pet Nutrition has released the results of a survey of how last year's graduates feel about clinical nutrition.

Despite teaching of clinical nutrition moving up the agenda for most vet schools, over one third of respondents said that they did not feel confident about applying their knowledge of pet nutrition to clinical cases. The remaining two thirds claimed to be reasonably confident but no respondent felt very confident in this area.

When it comes to advising clients 86 per cent would make a nutritional recommendation for their clinical cases but of those, half left it up to the nurse to decide on the brand of food. For 14 per cent of the new graduates, the decision was made to allow nurses to decide on the type of nutrition and brand.

The respondents were also asked about their preferred form of nutritional CPD support. Despite the advances in on-line CPD, the majority expressed a preference for face-to-face teaching in the form of in-clinic updates from reps, speaker tours and roadshows. However e-updates and on-line courses were preferred over paper correspondence courses.

Adrian Pratt, Veterinary Affairs Manager at Hill's Pet Nutrition said: "We recognise that our short survey dealt with only a small number of respondents but it gave us much food for thought. It's disappointing, for ourselves, but more so for the newly qualified vets, that a significant number don't feel confident about making nutritional recommendations. Having been in those 'new vet' shoes, I have to wonder whether this is a crisis of confidence or actually founded on a real or perceived lack of knowledge and also whether this is a finding that applies only to nutrition or affects other areas too. We would very much like to know the answers to these questions because we think that this could be a source of very considerable stress to the individuals concerned.

"Our survey doesn't really tell is whether this is resulting in vets delegating nutritional matters to their nurses because nurses are seen to have at least equivalent, or possibly greater knowledge of nutritional matters and are respected as fellow professionals, or whether these cases are being passed to the nurses with a sigh of relief because the vet doesn't feel able to deal with them. I also found it interesting that vets did not want to be seen to be actively recommending a particular brand, despite the wide variations in clinical evidence and nutritional make up between brands. I do wonder if there could be a perception here that 'brand' is a commercial decision that can be made by another member of the healthcare team, rather than a clinical decision."

Marge Chandler, DVM, MS, DACVN, MACVSc, DACVIM, DECVIM-CA, MRCVS is one of the two American College of Veterinary Nutrition diplomates in the UK (along with Dr Dan Chan) and believes that nutrition is well integrated at the R(D)SVS, "In addition to the general basics, we also teach the basics of small animal nutrition for healthy adult cats and dogs, kittens and puppies, with some emphasis on the special needs of cats. During the clinical lectures there is information provided for disease specific nutritional needs, for example with chronic kidney disease, liver disease, and gastrointestinal disorders.  In their final year, our students are given an interactive tutorial on clinical nutrition for hospitalized small animal patients. In addition to this tutorial, we discuss the patients' nutritional requirements and supplementation during rounds, and there is a nutrition form for each medicine in-patient requiring supplementation."

For those who need access to good quality post-graduate CPD on the topic, Hill's has just launched the latest Veterinary Nutrition Academy (VNA) course. VNA Level 3 is all about applying nutritional principles to make a recommendation appropriate to a clinical case. Anyone who would like to brush up on the topic can register with VNA - registration and the course itself is free of charge.  VNA also gives access to booking forms for Hill's roadshows and other events.

Adrian said: "While face-to-face training events are still proving to be highly popular, it is clear that travel time and cost can significantly hinder access to CPD particularly for those with family commitments or in geographically remote locations and our on-line training courses are continuing to grow in popularity."

Registration to VNA is free at www.myhillspet.com/vna. To complete registration the practice U number will be required and this is available by contacting Jane Quail at Hill's on 01923 814454.

The RCVS has announced the members that will comprise its new Audit and Risk Committee, which was set up following recommendations in the RCVS Overspend Review Group's report (otherwise known as the McKelvey Report).

The Audit and Risk Committee will support RCVS Council in meeting its oversight responsibilities, including:

• Monitoring the Council's risk management arrangements
• Approving the internal audit programme
• Advising Council on the comprehensiveness and reliability of assurances and internal controls, including internal and external audit arrangements, and on the implications of assurances provided in respect of risk and control.

Its members are:

Non-Council members
Elizabeth Butler (Chairman) is a practising Chartered Accountant who has held a wide variety of non-executive appointments, bringing both professional expertise and a depth of understanding of risk and governance. Among other roles, she has chaired the audit committees of the Royal College of Nursing and Hyde Housing Association, and currently chairs the audit committees of the Electoral Commission and the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, she is also chairman of Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust.

David Hughes is a chartered accountant and a former senior partner who has extensive expertise in financial reporting, accounting, auditing, risk management and governance issues. He is currently a Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee for the Highways Agency and a member of the Department for Transport Audit Committee.

Judith Rutherford has five years' experience as a Non-Executive Director and as a member of the Audit Committee in a community Healthcare and Primary Care Trust within the regulated environment of the NHS. She is currently Director of an organisation that provides interim management and consultancy to the private and public sectors.

RCVS Council members
Richard Davis is a Privy Council-appointed member of RCVS Council. He farms 104 hectares in North Bedfordshire and has been a director of First Milk Ltd for seven years. He has also been a director of Westbury Dairies Ltd, where he was Chairman of the Audit Committee. Richard has served on the audit committee of Assured Food Standards (Red Tractor) for the last six years and served as the Chairman of Assured Dairy Farms for six years (the scheme sets, audits and monitors production, welfare and environmental standards for most UK processors, and over 12,000 dairy farms).

Lynne Hill MRCVS is Chief Executive of Langford Veterinary Services Ltd, University of Bristol, and was previously Head of the Clinical Services Department at the Royal Veterinary College. Prior to that, Lynne was European Marketing Manager for Hill's Pet Nutrition. She is an elected member of RCVS Council and was President in 2005-6.

The non-Council members of the Committee were appointed by a panel chaired by Sir David Barnes, Chairman of the Governance Review Group.

The new Committee, which is accountable to Council and will report at least annually, will meet for the first time in early autumn.

Jacqui Molyneux, RCVS President said: "I am pleased that the new Audit and Risk Committee is now in place. It should offer reassurance to both members and the public that the framework via which Council's activities are scrutinised is robust."

CVS has announced that its Healthy Pet Club loyalty scheme, already the largest of its type in the UK, has reached the 300,000-member milestone.  

Mrs Angie Scullion (pictured right) from Okehampton joined the Healthy Pet Club in May 2017 at Okeford Veterinary Centre with her Border Collie, Cassie. She was awarded a year’s free membership by the practice to celebrate the milestone.

Launched in 2010 with 11,000 members, the Healthy Pet Club helps pet owners budget for their pets’ healthcare by spreading payments over a year. They also make savings on vaccinations, flea and worm treatments and receive access to a wide range of other benefits.

Mr Mukesh Rughani, Healthy Pet Club Manager at CVS, said: "Pet owners want value so we constantly research the market to check that the discounts and benefits we offer through the Healthy Pet Club are the ones that we know they will find most meaningful.

"We are delighted that the Healthy Pet Club has reached the 300,000-member mark and we have a number of exciting developments planned for later this year which we believe will make it an even more useful tool for our member practices while setting a new standard in value for our clients."