The Easy to Give Awards are designed to recognise the commitment made by pharmaceutical companies in making it easier to give prescription-only medications to cats; recognising that medicines which are easier to give make life less stressful for vets, owners and cats alike and ensure better compliance.
Each Easy to Give Award is decided by a feline expert veterinary panel taking into account feedback from their clients. And the winners are ...
These companies will be granted the use of the Easy to Give logo on advertising to the veterinary world. These bring the total number of Easy to Give awards presented, since their inception in 2005, to 39.
International Cat Care also announced the winners of the Cat Friendly Awards, which recognise other products that have made a real difference to cat wellbeing and welfare.
For more details on the work of the charity go to www.icatcare.org.
The successful candidates, who completed their studies during 2020 and passed the examination in November, are Lucy Wilson (pictured right), from Equibreed UK, Reading, Vanessa Austin, who works at at Vets4Pets, Northampton, and Donna Johnson, the Clinical Services Manager at The Pet Vet, Barnsley.
Lucy said: “I chose to do the CVPM to cement my knowledge of how to run our practice to the best of my ability and to provide the highest level of support to my colleagues. The CVPM resources, syllabus and experience have given me a thorough understanding of my skills and areas to develop. I cannot recommend the experience highly enough.”
Chair of the VMG Certification and Training Committee, Philippa Davies, said: “The CVPM exam tests candidates’ skills in operational management, prioritising, strategy, and thinking on your feet. It’s a gruelling assessment and holders are an elite group. We are delighted to welcome Vanessa, Donna and Lucy and congratulate them on their achievement.”
For more information, visit: https://www.vetmg.com/education/cvpm/
The BSAVA reports that two four month old puppies in The Netherlands have tested positive for rabies.
The puppies were imported into The Netherlands from Bulgaria on October 5th. Reports indicate that these puppies, which were both microchipped and travelling under the Pet Passport scheme, originated from a shelter in Bulgaria. They are still trying to trace the driver and passenger who delivered the puppies.
One puppy started showing signs of fever and paralysis on 10th October and was euthanased on 18th October, it has tested positive for rabies on both direct immunofluorescence (DIF) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
The second puppy was euthanased because it originated from the same litter, although it was living in a different area of the country by this time. This dog was suffering from haemorrhagic gastro-enteritis (HGE), but showed no neurological signs. However it has also tested positive for rabies on both DIF and PCR.
The BSAVA says this aspect of the case will be of particular concern to veterinary professionals in the UK because HGE is commonly seen in unvaccinated (imported) puppies. Preliminary reports do not make clear the vaccination status of these dogs.
BSAVA President, Professor Michael Day, said: "Not only does this demonstrate the need for pet owners to comply with pet travel legislation, but also for vets to be alert to the possibility of disease with any imported animal.
"Whilst we have been concerned about the issue of illegal imports and the enforcement of the current legislation, this latest incident also raises the possibility of rabies cases in dogs that appear to comply with the current pet passport regulation."
This calls into question whether veterinary staff in first opinion practice should be offered the pre-exposure rabies vaccination. The current recommendations from Public Health England are that all individuals at continuous and frequent risk of exposure to the rabies virus, as well as some groups at infrequent risk, should be offered pre-exposure rabies vaccination. Professor Day said: "Whilst veterinary professionals in companion animal practice are not currently included in this list, this might be a timely point to undertake a review based on a new risk assessment. I would be in support of practitioners who believe they are at risk having the option of the subsidised occupational vaccination."
UK veterinary surgeons are reminded that responsibility for dealing with illegal imports rests with local authorities; usually Trading Standards or Environmental Health. However, if a veterinary surgeon in practice has any suspicion of rabies or any other notifiable disease they should inform their local Animal Health Office.
In addition to enhancing current standards of veterinary dentistry, the WSAVA says it hopes that the guidelines will help to bridge what it perceives as a significant gap in veterinary education globally and to encourage a greater emphasis on dentistry in the veterinary curriculum.
The WSAVA’s Global Dental Guidelines include information and images of oral anatomy and common pathology, as well as best practice recommendations for oral examinations and an easily implementable dental health scoring system.
Evidence-based guidance on periodontal therapy, radiology and dental extractions is also included, together with details of minimum equipment recommendations.
A key theme is the WSAVA’s rejection of anesthesia-free dentistry (AFD), which it describes as ineffective and a cause of unnecessary stress and suffering to patients.
The guidelines have been developed by the WSAVA’s Global Dental Guidelines Committee (DGC) whose members include veterinary dentists from five continents, together with representatives from the WSAVA’s Global Pain Council, Global Nutrition and Animal Wellness and Welfare Committees. They are based on the WSAVA’s three-tier continuing education system to ensure that they are relevant for all veterinary surgeons, whether they are working in an advanced hospital setting or in a clinic in a country in which companion animal practice is still developing.
Dr Brook Niemiec, a Board-Certified Specialist in Veterinary Dentistry of the American and European Veterinary Dental Colleges and a Fellow of the Academy of Veterinary Dentistry, is Co-chair of the WSAVA DGC.
He said: "Dental, oral and maxillofacial diseases are, by far, the most common medical conditions in small animal veterinary medicine. They cause significant pain, as well as localized and potentially systemic infection but, because pets rarely show outward signs of disease, treatment is often delayed or not performed with a corresponding impact on the welfare of the patient. In developing the Global Dental Guidelines, we felt that the lack of perception of patient pain was a key issue.
"Our Committee members were also unanimous in their opposition to AFD. We believe that anesthesia is essential for the execution of any useful dental procedure and this is a central recommendation of the Guidelines. To support it, we have provided a detailed analysis of anesthesia and pain management approaches."
He added: "Our patients are not well served by the current variation in standards of care, level of equipment and procedural knowledge of dentistry. Misinformation which clouds the sector is a further hindrance. As clinicians, we cannot allow a fear of the unknown, the discomfort of client pushback or ignorance of current techniques to keep us from doing our best to relieve pain and suffering in our patients.
“We are delighted to launch the WSAVA’s Global Dental Guidelines, which are free to download at http://www.wsava.org/guidelines/global-dental-guidelines. We are equally delighted to announce that 22 of our member associations have already endorsed them. It is our firm intent that they will be the first step in changing the way that dental disease is perceived in the veterinary profession and in improving dental treatment in companion animals worldwide. We are grateful to our sponsors, Addison Biological Laboratory, Boehringer Ingelheim, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, KRUUSE and Virbac for supporting this important project."
The new formula also contains crataegus, L-carnitine and magnesium taurate, and is designed to be used alongside all heart medications.
Alongside the launch of the new product, Vita has also created an infographic highlighting the common signs of heart disease in dogs.
https://vitaanimalhealth.com/common-signs-of-heart-disease
https://vitaanimalhealth.com/product/omnicardio-plus
Norbrook has launched Loxicom 0.5mg/ml oral suspension for small dogs, indicated for the alleviation of inflammation and pain in acute and chronic musculo-skeletal disorders.
Loxicom Oral Suspension comes in a clear 15ml bottle which allows vets and clients to monitor levels of the product and re-order when necessary.
Loxicom 0.5mg/ml for Dogs comes with two sizes of syringe, a 1ml syringe graduated from 0.25kg-5kg to treat even the smallest of dog breeds accurately, and a 5ml syringe graduated from 1kg-25kg to treat small and medium dog breeds. The syringes plug securely into the bottle to ensure a tight-fitting connection and minimal leakage when administering the product.
This new oral suspension joins the range of 1.5mg/ml oral suspensions for Dogs and 5mg/ml injections for Dogs and Cats, launched in 2009, and the 0.5mg/ml oral suspension for Cats launched earlier this year at the BSAVA Congress.
Henry Schein Inc., parent company of Henry Schein Animal Health has been named as one of Ethisphere's 2012 World's Most Ethical Companies.
The Ethisphere Institute is an international think-tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability. This is the sixth year that Ethisphere Institute has published the World's Most Ethical Companies list.
Out of more than 5,000 nominations for the World's Most Ethical Companies award this year, Henry Schein was named to the list of 145 companies for raising the bar for ethical standards within the health care industry through exemplary ethical leadership, worldwide business standards and commitment to corporate social responsibility.
Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein, Inc. said: A deep commitment to the highest ethical standards and business practices has been a hallmark of Henry Schein since our founding in 1932, and continues to be at the very core of our business model as we have grown to become a Fortune 500 company with operations around the globe and nearly 15,000 Team Schein Members."
Kruuse has launched a range of seven specialized sterile surgical disposable drapes and gowns developed for the surgery team working in equine clinics or hospitals.
The company says its new surgical sets have been designed so they include a comprehensive set of sterile drapes, towels, instrument covers and adhesive tapes needed to perform particular procedures:
Andrew Groom, Managing Director, Kruuse UK Ltd. said: "This exciting new range of products increase the Kruuse's equine product portfolio and develop further our commitment to provide specialist species available products to support the veterinary practitioner."
Ceva Animal Health has launched a new initiative to help young vets attend a variety of educational opportunities to further their knowledge of cattle reproduction.
The reprodAction Young Vet Initiative was introduced this month and three young vets have already taken part in the scheme.
The new initiative is open to recently qualified vets who are keen to improve their knowledge of cattle reproduction and who work for practices that are interested in growing their business by improving cattle reproduction on farms. The scheme includes Ceva-sponsored cattle fertility courses and dissertation programmes.
Emily Denton from Shropshire Farm Vets (pictured right), Annelyse Desbois From Meadows Farm Vets and Alun Beckett from Larkmead Veterinary Group were chosen to attend a CPD day 'A Practical Approach to the Non-Pregnant Cow', organised by Nottingham University.
Carol Atkinson, Ceva's reprodAction range marketing manager, said: "The purpose of this project is to give new graduates working in practice the opportunity to participate in quality CPD. The aim is to help them build their expertise and enthusiasm for cattle reproduction work via practical sponsorship."
Emily Denton has been an intern at Shropshire Farm Vets for the past year. She was chosen for the initiative having recently completed the XL vets farm new graduate programme. She said: "It was an exciting opportunity to build on the skills I have developed in practice and to discuss cases with my peers and with other, more experienced clinicians. The course was excellent - my take home message was that as cow genetics change it affects their cycle. Our ability to manipulate this is dependent on having a good, accurate knowledge of the physiological changes taking place."
For more information about taking part in the reprodAction Young Vet Initiative, contact your Ceva Territory Manager.
First they looked at the names of all the cats and dogs they saw in 2018, finding that the most popular names for dogs were Bella, Poppy and Alfie, whilst the most popular for cats were Charlie, Bella and Molly.
By comparison, the top ten names registered at the practice in the thirties were: Susie, Sally, Judy, Penny, Candy, Sam, Betty, Simon, Wendy and Bridget.
Honestly, who calls their dog Simon? Even in the 1930s.
Tom Ward, from White Cross Vets, said: "The most common names in our research reveal a leaning towards giving pets human names. It’s fascinating that this has gone full circle and was also a trend in the late 1930s, before names such as Fido, Patch, Sooty, Duke and Fluffy became popular with cats and dogs."
White Cross says that more recently it has also seen a surge of pets named after TV and film characters including Elsa from Frozen, Baloo from The Jungle Book, Peppa the cartoon pig, and Khaleesi, Sansa, Brienne and Tyrion, the Game of Thrones characters.
The Blue Cross is calling for nominations from veterinary practices across the country for its Veterinary Nurse of the Year Award 2008.
The annual award is presented at the British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA) Annual Congress. It recognises the contribution of veterinary nurses in educating the public about responsible pet ownership and the welfare of pets in the community.
This year's Congress will take place on 10-12 October at the Kettering Conference Centre, Northamptonshire.
Last year's award was won by Anna Hatchett for her outstanding contribution to animal welfare, both within her veterinary practice and among the local community in Whitby, North Yorkshire.
Anna Hatchett was nominated by two vets, Edward Gillams and Kate Loomes, who previously worked with her at The Beck Veterinary Practice in Whitby. Ms Loomes commented: "Anna is an exceptionally dedicated and talented nurse. She has an amazing memory for clients and takes time to enquire as to how their individual pets are. She doesn't hesitate to take in and care for stray and lost animals and works well over her working hours when animals are in need of help."
Nominations for this year's award can be made by completing the nomination form on The Blue Cross website at: www.bluecross.org.uk/BVNA2008or by contacting Sally Leathem on 01993 82557. The deadline for nominations is Friday 15 August 2008.
Woodley Equipment has become the UK distributor for the full portfolio of SpotChem products from Japanese manufacturer, Arkray.
The range of products includes:
For more information about the new SpotChem analysers, visit: www.woodleyequipment.com/, email: sales@woodleyequipment.com or call on +44(0)1204 669033.
MDC has announced it will launch Smart Oxygen, a system it describes as a simple, instant and economical way to deliver oxygen or nebulising therapy to cats and other small animals, at the London Vet Show (20th/21st November London Olympia).
The system is connected directly to a transparent 3mm PVC Smart Oxygen canopy placed within one of MDC's cat baskets. The clear plastic means the patient remains in full view, allowing you to observe respiratory patterns during treatment. Venting access enables the release of excess oxygen and can be varied according to the patients' condition and oxygen percentage requirements.
MDC says Smart Oxygen is ideal for emergency situations because it requires no assembly and allows vet professionals to provide oxygen or nebulisation therapy single-handed. It also minimises stress as respiratory patients respond better without restraint - known to exacerbate symptoms. With Smart Oxygen an animal can be monitored without the anxiety associated with a nasal cannula or masking.
For more information, visit: www.mdcexports.co.uk
Ceva Animal Health has announced its biggest ever TV advertising campaign, designed to highlight the benefits of using Adaptil and Feliway, will begin on Christmas Day.
The TV advertisement for Adaptil focuses on Meg and her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Dude, who is anxious when Meg is away from home. With the strapline ‘Best behaviour starts here’ the advertisement will help educate pet owners on the action they should take to keep their dogs happy when they are left at home alone and Dude’s experience taking Adaptil.
Feliway’s TV advertisement features the strapline ‘Experience the difference in your home’ and focuses on the real life story of Clare and her rescue cat, Mewsli, who was often scared and anxious, so much so that she would hide under the bed and scratch the side of the chair.
The TV advertising campaign, which is aimed at ABC1 women, runs from Christmas Day until 10 January 2016 and the advertisements will air throughout the family films over the festive period with Adaptil featured during ad breaks for Paul O’Grady’s For the Love of Dogs Christmas Special on Boxing Day.
Genitrix has launched Dentagen, billed as the UK’s first dental plaque protection system for dogs and cats.
The active principle in Dentagen is a plant extract called RF2 and the product operates as an ‘anti-biofilm’ treatment by modifying the membrane of oral bacteria to prevent them from producing plaque even at low concentrations.
Dentagen wax is presented for practice use in a syringe for easy application to the gingival layer and the buccal area of teeth. The initial protective coating of wax is applied to dogs or cats at end of dental procedures in practice and while the animal is still sedated. The coating lasts for two to three days.
Dog owners can then maintain the protective coating by giving their pet Dentagen plaque prevention chews every other day. The chews, impregnated with RF2 and of a specially designed shape and consistency, are supplied in two sizes with the larger size designed for dogs over 8 kg and a smaller size for dogs less than 8 kg.
Vet Katy Horton of White Hart Lane Vets, who has trialled the product, commented: “The Dentagen wax was certainly very easy to apply and, from the small sample of dogs we’ve so far tried it on, the palatability of the chews was good. While tooth-brushing remains the gold standard for dental care, we recognise that it can be difficult for owners and believe that this new approach could be a valuable alternative.”
Five syringes of Dentagen for application in practice cost £12.50. Packs of nine small chews cost £5.10 while a pack of the larger chews costs £6.50.
Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health has reported that since launch, its diagnostic service RespCheck has identified infectious diseases in 15 per cent of all animals checked under the scheme.
Offered to qualifying practices for no charge and implemented by the Animal Health Trust (AHT), Intervet/Schering Plough set up RespCheck to help identify the cause of infectious respiratory problems in horses.
The RespCheck kit, which has been used to swab more than 700 horses since launch, consists of naso pharyngeal swabs, enabling two horses per yard or outbreak to be swabbed for a variety of diseases. These include equine influenza, equine herpesvirus, Streptococcus equi (strangles), pasteurella, rhinovirus and Streptococcus zooepidemicus. The swabs are sent to the AHT for analysis and the results returned direct to the vet.
John Dickerson from Chine House Equine Hospital in Leicestershire said: "The service is fantastic, made all the better by being completely free of charge! The benefits are two-fold. From the clinical perspective it means we can discount or treat potential infections in a more timely fashion; for instance, we use RespCheck to screen for any suspected infectious respiratory disease cases which enables us to deal with the problem, through quarantine and strict hygiene measures, helping to prevent the spread of the disease.
The other benefit is to our practice reputation and the standard of service we can offer. It's great to be able to provide owners with peace of mind without it costing more than our call out fee. By the time an owner calls the vet they are usually stressed and worried about their horses symptoms and need some reassurance, which is exactly what RespCheck gives them. We are confident that providing a diagnostic service that is completely free and that puts an owners mind at rest regarding the risk of an infection can only be a good thing for our practice reputation and customer care.
Last year, the service proved its worth when the screening of a recently imported horse showed the animal had equine influenza. I believe that had RespCheck not been employed, we would have had an outbreak in that particular yard."
Practices interested in knowing more about RespCheck should contact their local Intervet/Schering-Plough Veterinary Business Manager or phone the company's Veterinary Support Group on 01908 685685.
The National Office of Animal Health has completed its annual review of its Code of Practice for the Promotion of Animal Medicines, and a number of changes will come into effect on 1st July 2011.
One change spells out the way antimicrobial medicines are promoted to farmers, with a firm emphasis on correct use and education.
Advertisers will be required to describe the condition the product is aiming to treat, and to promote an understanding of the treatment of the disease.
The phrase "use medicines responsibly" will always be included in text, making the voluntary strapline introduced in 2009 a formal part of the NOAH Code. As with all promotions to people other than prescribers, farmers will always be reminded to consult their veterinary surgeon.
Advertising text will always state clearly the name of the company and the brand being promoted, and promotion must not be designed to disguise its real nature.
Withdrawal periods for products will be stated, but these must not be unduly prominent and not in a font size greater than the body copy containing recommended dosage and species description.
The changes were proposed by NOAH within its formal response to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate's consultation on the Veterinary Medicines Regulation 2010. The Minister decided in December 2010 to continue to allow the advertising of antimicrobial veterinary products to farmers.
Phil Sketchley, NOAH Chief Executive, said: "Whilst welcoming the Government's decision in December not to further restrict the advertising of animal medicines, we feel that the industry should take a proactive role to ensure the system works properly. We believe it is important for farmers, who are legally responsible for the health and welfare of their animals and the food produced from them, to be aware of the medicines that are available to protect the health of their animals, and at the same time we want them to know that these medicines must be prescribed and used responsibly.
"The issue of antimicrobial resistance is one that affects us all. The way to promote best practice is through education by maintaining all lines of communication between farmers, vets, scientists and animal medicine producers.
"Antibiotics are essential for maintaining the health and welfare of all animals, but like any medicine they need to be used responsibly in order to maintain their effectiveness, and their availability for future generations."
A number of candidates have already come to the VetSurgeon.org forums to discuss their candidacy and help voters decide whether they're worthy of your vote; their individual discussion threads are linked to below.
The College points out that there is a new voting platform this year, designed to make it easier to vote online.
The new system includes regular personalised email reminders from Electoral Reform Services which include a link to the voting platform and the ability to log in securely straight away, without having to refer to the ballot paper in order to find the security codes. Using the email address provided the College, veterinary surgeons can also ask ERS to reissue the security codes if needs be.
Voting for both of this year’s elections opened on Friday 24 March with an email sent to all those eligible to vote for whom the College holds an email address. Ballot papers have also been despatched to all eligible voters along with booklets containing the candidates’ biographies, contact details and manifestos. Instructions on how to vote online and by post are included with the ballot papers.
There are 16 candidates contesting six places on RCVS Council, including three existing Council members eligible for re-election and 13 candidates not currently on Council. They are:
All votes must be cast, either online or by post, by 5pm on Friday 28 April 2017.
Once again this year the College invited members of both professions to ‘Quiz the candidates’ by putting their questions directly to all those standing for election. Some of the key themes this year included Brexit, complementary/ alternative therapies, the structure of the veterinary industry, out-of-hours work and veterinary nurse remuneration among others.
Each candidate was invited to choose two questions to answer from all those received and produce a video recording of their answers.
These videos, along with biographies and statements for each candidate, are available to view on the RCVS website at www.rcvs.org.uk/vetvote17.
One of the most significant changes has been the introduction of video consultations which have allowed clinicians to continue to see patients in need whilst maintaining social distancing.
At the start of lockdown, Davies split many of its service teams into two, which alternate weekly between consulting remotely from home and operating on-site.
The practice says that continual communication between the two teams has enabled the efficient triage of referred cases, whilst the ongoing management of less urgent cases is discussed with clients and referring vets until the patient can be seen on site.
Davies says the new system has been particularly effective for its orthopaedics service, which has seen an increasing demand for video consultations.
Jan Janovec, European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery and Head of orthopaedics said: "Every challenge is an opportunity. The current adverse circumstances are forcing us to re-evaluate the ways we have traditionally worked, and I believe that this “audit” will result in new and better ways of delivering care to our patients.
“Despite lockdown cats continue to explore outdoors and get injured and dogs continue to chase squirrels and birds! Puppies and small dogs continue to get sat on or stepped on by their family members and so they keep us busy mending broken legs, fixing dislocated joints, and so on.”
Once lockdown has ended Jan says that he and his team intend to review what they have learnt and re-evaluate all aspects of the orthopaedic service process to make the clinician, client, patient and referring vet interactions even better.
Hill's Pet Nutrition is offering veterinary surgeons, vet students and nurses in the UK an opportunity to look round its Pet Nutrition Centre in Topeka, Kansas, via a live webcast to be delivered at 7pm on Tuesday 11th January 2011.
To join the webcast, which will last around 1.5 hours, go to http://www.fc-tv.com/webcast/keystone/hills/jan-11-11 and enter the password pnctour. This event is specifically for veterinary surgeons, veterinary students and veterinary nurses only.
Tim Dobbins, Associate Veterinary Affairs Manager said: "We look forward to our colleagues joining us for this special live webcast and hearing some of the latest thinking that explains the science behind some of our most exciting products."
Petplan has announced the winners of its 2011 Veterinary Awards.
The awards are to recognise and celebrate staff and practices throughout the country that have delivered an exceptional level of care to the nation's pets and their owners.
Alison Andrew, Petplan's Marketing Manager said: "Britain is known to be an animal-loving nation and with millions of households owning cats and dogs, pets play a central part in family life. The Petplan Veterinary Awards give us the opportunity, on behalf of all pet owners across the UK, to thank the veterinary profession for the outstanding service they provide to our pets.
"This is the 12th year of the awards and this year we received over 2,800 nominations, a record number for the vet awards, which really highlights the high regard that the profession and pet owners have for these awards."
The winners for each category are:
VET OF THE YEARAlison Laurie, Crown Vets - Highlands What really stood out about Alison for the independent panel of judges was her clinical excellence, exceptional ability and compassion towards customers and their pets, all of which were highly praised in her nominations.
VET NURSE OF THE YEARMaria Corcoran, Orwell Veterinary Group - Ipswich Maria's ability to naturally lead by example was a prominent factor for the judges, as well as her ability to always make pet care and comfort her top priority. She also provides great customer service and high clinical standards.
VET SUPPORT STAFF OF THE YEAR Patty Fraser, Loch Leven Equine Practice - KinrossThe independent panel of judges was really impressed by Patty; she is considered to be the 'hub' of the practice and constantly makes a strong contribution to the team in many ways. Her ability to organise and multitask whilst offering excellent customer service is outstanding.
VET PRACTICE OF THE YEAR Emersons Green Veterinary Surgery Ltd - Avon Emersons Green Veterinary Surgery's work to continually educate their customers really stood out for the independent panel of judges. The practice works incredibly hard to provide regular newsletters and updates on their Facebook page, which is run by nurses, whilst maintaining a great level of service for their pets and clients. The practice has also been very successful in helping to re-home dogs.
Animalcare has announced the launch of Thiafeline (Thiamazole 2.5mg and 5mg) for the management of hyperthyroidism in cats.
An estimated 12% of UK cats over the age of nine suffer from hyperthyroidism², which could equate to almost 350,000 cats³. In one study, 92% of cats diagnosed with hyperthyroidism were stable after four weeks treatment (on the twice daily 2.5mg dosing) with thiamazole¹
Thiafeline is presented as a blister pack, which Animalcare says offers the benefits of easy dispensing, improved stock control and no nurse exposure during dispensing for increased safety in practice. This format also allows pet owners to monitor the dosage and quantities easily, for an uninterrupted course of medication.
Animalcare says that whilst many of the clinical signs for hyperthyroidism are easily recognised, it understands that diagnosis is not always straightforward. For this reason, the company has produced support materials for Thiafeline users including diagnosis best practice charts for use within practice and a pet owner awareness package for use in waiting rooms.
Beverley Hammond, Product Manager for Thiafeline said: "While initial signs associated with hyerperthyroidism can appear quite mild it is important for pet owners to understand that if left untreated the condition can lead to serious secondary complications. It's easy for owners to assume that the signs they are seeing are simply related to old age so our campaign will aim to increase the amount of owners bringing their cats for senior pet checks and also ensure that vets are following the best practice procedures to reach a definitive diagnosis."
References
CVS Group has announced that European internal medicine specialist Caroline Kisielewicz MVB CertSAM DipECVIM-CA is joining ChesterGates Veterinary Specialists with effect from 1 October 2014.
Caroline Kisielewicz graduated from University College, Dublin in 2006 and, after working in first opinion small animal practice for two years, completed an ECVIM-residency training programme at the Small Animal Hospital at the University of Glasgow in February 2013.
Most recently she has been working at the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals at the Royal Veterinary College. She is interested in all aspects of small animal internal medicine, particularly emergency medicine, transfusion medicine, immune-mediated diseases and endocrine diseases.
CVS Referral Director, Professor John Innes said: "We are delighted to welcome Caroline to our specialist team at ChesterGates. She is a rising star in internal medicine and I believe it is a measure of CVS' growing reputation for offering a diverse range of career options that we are attracting some of the strongest talent from the specialist vet pool.
"Caroline joins Ellie Mardell and Chris Saul here at ChesterGates to help us to offer an even more comprehensive and user-friendly internal medicine service."
Caroline said: "I was keen to join this excellent multi-disciplinary specialist referral hospital with its dynamic, friendly and close-knit team. Working at ChesterGates gives me the opportunity to provide the highest standard and quality of care and treatment for my patients, clients and their referring vets."
CM Research, the veterinary market research company, has released the results of a survey which suggests that staffing and HR issues are becoming an increasing challenge for the profession.
629 veterinary surgeons picked from 12 answers to the following question: "What would you say are the biggest challenges facing your vet practice at the moment?"
The biggest challenge, voted for by 42% of respondents, was 'Clients unable to pay their bills'. However, only marginally behind in second place (up significantly from fifth place the previous year), was 'Managing and retaining staff' (41%).
The full results were:
Coincidentally, VetSurgeon.org also carried out some research recently which explored what candidates look for in an ideal job - one of the keys to staff retention and good employer / employee relationships. You can download the report here.
When vets were asked to predict what they thought the future held for the profession, key themes included more corporatisation, more specialisation and the Internet having a still greater impact on business, both in terms of competition and clients consulting Dr Google:
The first part of the charge was that, between 3 November 2014 and 10 December 2016 he did not provide CPD records to the RCVS requested in four separate letters dated November 2014, September 2015, November 2015 and November 2016. The second part of the charge was that, between 11 December 2016 and 26 July 2017, he did not provide the RCVS with his CPD records despite requests.
Dr Zukauskas admitted to the charge against him at the outset of the hearing.
The Committee considered whether Mr Zukauskas’ failure to respond to requests for his CPD records constituted serious professional misconduct.
The Committee found that he had breached the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Surgeons by not responding to the repeated requests for information from the College, although the Committee noted that there had not been total silence. Mr Zukauskas had made email contact on at least two occasions in response to RCVS letters and gave evidence that he had attempted to phone the authors of the letters. The Committee also noted that in early February 2017 Mr Zukauskas had made repeated attempts to give the RCVS access to his online CPD account, which he had been updating to reflect CPD work that he had undertaken.
Mr Zukauskas’ explanation for his failure was that he had not fully appreciated the importance of the letters, that his English was poor, and that he failed to obtain appropriate advice about the content of the letters until recently. It was only in a witness statement dated 27 July 2017 that he finally disclosed his full CPD records.
The Committee noted Mr Zukauskas' admission in his evidence that his English was not good, particularly in light of the obligation, brought into the Code in February 2016, for veterinary surgeons to be able to communicate effectively in written and spoken English.
Chitra Karve, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: "From that date, if not earlier, the respondent should have been concerned to understand English sufficiently well to address the correspondence from the College. Whilst the Committee did not consider that his conduct in this respect amounted to disrespect, it did consider that he had shown a disregard of his obligations.
"At all times he could and should have made appropriate efforts to respond to the correspondence from the College and obtain appropriate advice. In effect he put off dealing with these matters and put his head in the sand."
Regarding his failure to respond to requests between December 2016 and July 2017, Ms Karve added: "This caused the College a considerable amount of concern and extra work. Had he done so much earlier, much of this matter would have been avoided. The respondent was once again in breach of his obligations."
Having found Mr Zukauskas guilty of serious professional misconduct in relation to both parts of the charge the Committee then considered its sanction against Mr Zukauskas, taking into account the fact that the Veterinary Nurse Disciplinary Committee had recently suspended a veterinary nurse from the Register for a period of two months having found her guilty of similar charges.
In mitigation the Committee considered a number of testimonials from colleagues and clients, his hitherto long and unblemished career in the United Kingdom, and his open and frank admissions and subsequent efforts to avoid repetition of his behaviour. Language problems were also considered as an explanation for why the situation had occurred. However, it also considered the aggravating factor that the misconduct was sustained over a period of time and that there was unacceptable disregard for the obligations he had to the College as a veterinary surgeon.
In summing up Ms Karve said: "The Committee has determined to impose a reprimand. In doing so it acknowledged that the respondent has shown considerable insight into his behaviour. He had acknowledged that he has needed help in communicating with the College. It noted that he is a good and proficient veterinary surgeon in the work which he undertakes. He expressed remorse for his behaviour. He has carried out sufficient CPD and since December 2016 has been communicating with the College. The Committee considers it unlikely that he will transgress again.
"The Committee has decided that it is appropriate in this case to add a warning to the decision to impose a reprimand. It is mindful of the fact that other veterinary surgeons registered with the College have a duty to discharge their CPD obligations and they honour those obligations. Moreover, the conduct of the respondent has involved a considerable amount of work and expense for the College."
The warning was that in future Mr Zukauskas must respond in a timely and appropriate manner to any communications from the RCVS.