The British Horse Society (BHS) and University of Nottingham have launched a new campaign to help veterinary surgeons provide their clients with advice, presentations and resources on all issues related to colic.

The 'Vet REACT Colic Champions', which is being supported by 62 veterinary practices around the country, will help horse owners create a plan of action if their horse develops critical colic and needs referral to an equine hospital.

The campaign follows research conducted by the University of Nottingham which found that one in three emergency call-outs by vets were due to colic and 90% of owners were not confident in spotting its early signs.

Emmeline Hannelly, Welfare Education Manager at the BHS said: "It’s fantastic that so many vets are supporting our 'Vet REACT Colic Champions' scheme – we are delighted to be working with them. We hope that it will help even more owners to make informed decisions related to colic and in turn, improve equine welfare.”

Sarah Freeman, Professor of Veterinary Surgery at the School of Veterinary Science and Medicine, University of Nottingham said: "We are delighted to be working with vet practices on the 'Vet REACT Colic Champions' scheme. Their support and guidance has been a huge help in reaching such a wide population and we hope we can reach even more people in the future."

Alex Kingdon, BVM BVS MRCVS from Avonvale Equine Practice said: "Being part of the 'Vet REACT Colic Champions' scheme is incredibly important to our practice. Colic is by far one of the most common emergency conditions we see and the scheme has already had a huge impact on many horse owners.”

For further details on the 'Vet REACT Colic Champions' scheme and 'React Now to Beat Colic' campaign, visit: www.bhs.org.uk/colic 

Photo: Shutterstock/PJ Photography

Fort Dodge Animal Health has announced that its Duvaxyn WNV vaccine against West Nile Virus (WNV) is now available in the UK, following its licensing through the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).

Duvaxyn WNV is the first vaccine available in Europe to protect horses against this emerging disease threat.  288 horses and two people in Italy were found to be infected with WNV during the outbreak that hit northern Italy in late 2008 where it is now considered endemic. The disease is endemic in all areas of North America where it has claimed the lives of both horses and humans.

West Nile Virus is caused by a highly contagious flavivirus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, primarily of the Culex species. The natural hosts of West Nile virus are birds, with migratory birds from Africa carrying the disease. Mosquitoes become infected after taking a blood meal from infected birds and then may transmit the disease to horses and even humans. While horses are 'dead end hosts,' the consequences can be severe as the virus causes encephalitis or meningitis.  Mortality rates among horses which develop neurological signs are high and there is no palliative cure for the disease.  Treatment is limited to symptomatic relief which can be long and expensive.

Sabrina Jordan, UK Business Manager for Equine Vaccines at Fort Dodge said: "WNV is an increasing threat to the equestrian sector in the UK and is a particular challenge for owners who transport their horses around the world.

"The fact that a vaccine is now available will undoubtedly offer peace of mind to the equestrian community.  They can be reassured that horses in the UK can now be vaccinated against WNV with a vaccine that has already been shown to be highly effective in protecting horses in America. 

"With any vaccine, a record that a horse has been vaccinated with Duvaxyn WNV should be recorded in its horse passport. By presenting this vaccine in pre-filled syringes with Infovax-ID labels, we've aimed to make both the administration and record keeping of Duvaxyn WNV as convenient as possible.

"To build understanding of this potentially fatal disease threat, we are continuing to work with governments and authorities at a national and European level, as well as working in partnership with the UK's veterinary community to ensure that owners are fully informed about the risk WNV poses and of the benefits of vaccination."

To mark British Food Fortnight (running until 2nd October) the BVA is calling for mandatory method of production food labelling, which it says could offer post-Brexit UK food producers and farmers a unique selling point.

BVA has added its voice to the Labelling Matters campaign for the introduction of mandatory method of production labelling of meat and dairy products. This would help consumers across the UK to answer the simple questions "How was this animal kept?" and "Did this animal die a humane death?", including stunning before slaughter.

A key element of the Labelling Matters campaign is that mandatory method of production labelling must be underpinned by robust welfare outcome safeguards, with on-farm welfare assessments ensuring that high welfare standards are being achieved.

Legislation for mandatory method of production labelling has been implemented already for shell eggs, which must legally be labelled either as “eggs from caged hens”, “barn eggs”, “free range” or “organic”. Labelling Matters wants to see this principle extended to meat and dairy products from other farmed animals.

The BVA highlights evidence which shows that consumers in the UK and across Europe want clear food labelling with information about animal welfare:

• The majority of European consumers are confused by current labelling and are often unable to tell what the welfare standards are for animals used in the product, according to European Product Labels Research commissioned by Labelling Matters
• 80% of EU consumers want labelling that clearly shows which farm system was used to produce their meat and dairy product
• 94% of vets believe UK consumers of meat and fish should be better informed about slaughter methods, BVA's own Voice of the Veterinary Profession survey found
• A study of 13,500 meat consumers across 27 EU Member States found that 72% want information about the stunning of animals when buying meat

BVA President Sean Wensley said: "For vets it's a top priority that the animals we rear for food have a good life and a humane death. Research shows that vets are not alone in caring about where their food comes from. Mandatory method of production labelling makes sense on a number of fronts: consumers can be clearly and consistently informed about how the animals reared for their meat and dairy products were kept, with on-farm welfare assessments assuring high standards. Mandatory method of production labelling would give unambiguous information to the high numbers of consumers who care about animal welfare when buying meat and dairy products and help ensure market support for British farmers who pride themselves on achieving the highest welfare standards."

The RCVS has launched 1CPD, a new learning and development platform which replaces the Professional Development Record (PDR) as a way for veterinary surgeons to plan, record and reflect on continuing professional development (CPD). 

The College says that 1CPD has been designed to facilitate the new outcomes-focused CPD model which was introduced in 2020 and becomes mandatory from 2022.

An important part of this new model is reflection, so 1CPD encourages vets to reflect on the quality, relevance and impact of their CPD activities.

Dr Linda Prescott-Clements, RCVS Director of Education said: "Although the outcomes-focused element of these changes won’t become mandatory until January 2022, we recommend that you incorporate reflection in your cycle of planning, doing and recording CPD as soon as possible, and our new 1CPD app makes this much easier to do than before.

"Research has found that reflection enhances the quality, impact and relevance of CPD as professionals consider what they have learned, how they will apply their learning and how it will improve their practice. To support this CPD model, which research has shown has a positive impact on both professionalism and patient outcomes, the 1CPD platform facilitates reflection by allowing you to record your reflective notes on your recorded CPD activities, through a variety of means including text, audio or uploading a document."

The old PDR was taken offline last Friday and all of the data saved in the PDR has been transferred to 1CPD.

The 1CPD app is now available for both Apple and Android devices, available on and off line, and through a new dedicated website, all of which is now accessible using the same credentials used to access My Account. 

Richard Burley, RCVS Chief Technology Officer, said: "1CPD provides a range of enhancements to RCVS’ previous offerings in this space and represents an important step forward in the College’s digital approach. Built on the latest best-practice technologies, it improves on every aspect of our previous approach to CPD support, delivering the first stage of a new, integrated, career-long CPD support capability for members.”

The launch of 1CPD also coincides with a change to the way that the College assesses CPD compliance, moving to an annual CPD requirement of 35 hours a year for veterinary surgeons and 15 hours a year for veterinary nurses.

More information on the CPD changes, along with accompanying resources, can be found on the RCVS website: http://www.rcvs.org.uk/cpd2020.

So that practices can make sure everyone in their team is aware of the changes, the RCVS has also produced a poster which can be downloaded at: https://www.rcvs.org.uk/news-and-views/publications/cpd-poster/.

For more information, contact the Education team on 0203 795 5595. For technical advice about 1CPD, email the RCVS at onecpd@rcvs.org.uk.

CVS is launching an app which will allow veterinary locums to see available shifts at its practices, negotiate rates, book shifts, message practices and submit invoices for payment.

The new app has been specifically developed for CVS, is unique to the group, and is owned by the company.

It is powered by LocumBell technology.

When registering on the app, locums can input their work preferences - including their skills, desired travel radius and preferred shift times - so that they are only served up shift advertisements relevant to them.

Users can also set up notifications for upcoming jobs.

The app then allows locums to set minimum shift rates, submit the rate they would like to receive for a shift and negotiate their fees directly with a practice.

Shifts can be then be booked or cancelled on the app at the touch of a button.

All upcoming booked shifts appear on the users’ calendar.

Once a shift has been completed, locums can submit the invoice for their work using the app.

The app allows locums to see every CVS practice invoice and its status, which CVS says will allow queries to be resolved quicker and payments issued faster.

The app is being rolled out to all of CVS's practices from this August.

Amy Hughes, Head of Recruitment at CVS, said: “Locum administration can be time-consuming – as locums first have to identify work, liaise with a practice and our central support team, to negotiate and book a shift, then complete all invoice paperwork.

"We wanted to remove that pain and make it easier for locums to work with us. 

The app is available for Apple devices on the App Store and for Android devices on the Play Store.

For any technical difficulties or assistance, contact: support@locumbell.com or call 0161 556 7685.

The RCVS has announced that its new Royal Charter, which recognises veterinary nursing as a profession, is due to come into effect early next year once it has been signed by Her Majesty the Queen and received the Great Seal of the Realm.

The Charter, which was approved at a meeting of the Privy Council on 5 November, sets out and clarifies the objects of the RCVS and modernises its regulatory functions.

The Charter will also confirm the role of the College as the regulator of veterinary nurses and give registered veterinary nurses the formal status of associates of the College.

In addition, the Charter will also underpin other activities of the College such as the Practice Standards Scheme.

One of the key changes is that those qualified veterinary nurses who are currently on the List will automatically become registered veterinary nurses. This means that they will be required to abide by the Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Nurses, will be held accountable for their actions through the RCVS disciplinary process and will be expected to keep their skills and knowledge up-to-date by undertaking at least 45 hours of continuing professional development (CPD) over a three-year period.

In addition, the Charter will give formal recognition for VN Council to set the standards for professional conduct and education for veterinary nurses.

Kathy Kissick RVN, the current chair of VN Council, said: “A Charter which recognises veterinary nursing as a fully regulated profession is something that many veterinary nurses, as well as the British Veterinary Nursing Association, have been wanting for some time so I commend this development.

“This can only be a good thing for the profession, the industry as a whole and animal welfare because it makes sure that registered veterinary nurses are fully accountable for their professional conduct and are committed to lifelong learning and developing their knowledge and skills.

“Furthermore, the new Royal Charter is a significant step towards attaining formal, statutory protection of title, which would make it an offence for anyone who is not suitably qualified and registered to call themselves a veterinary nurse.”

From next autumn those former listed veterinary nurses who have become registered veterinary nurses will be expected to confirm that they are undertaking CPD and will also need to disclose any criminal convictions, cautions or adverse findings when they renew their registration.

A detailed set of frequently asked questions for listed veterinary nurses who will become registered veterinary nurses once the Charter is implemented can be found at www.rcvs.org.uk/rvn.

Although the date for signing and sealing the Charter has not yet been confirmed, once it comes into effect the College will be contacting all listed veterinary nurses by letter to outline the changes as well as putting an announcement on www.rcvs.org.uk.

Ceva Animal Health has launched the ASAP Salmonella differentiation test to provide assurance on how well birds have been vaccinated and as part of a standard laboratory method to differentiate its Cevac Salmovac vaccine strain from field strains of Salmonella Enteritidis.

All laying flocks that adhere to the British Lion Code of Practice must be vaccinated against Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium during the rearing period. 

Environmental sampling is carried out to monitor the flocks for Salmonella infection from 22-26 weeks of age and continuing every 15 weeks throughout the laying period. 

Version 8 of the British Lion Code of Practice states that approved Salmonella testing laboratories must undertake testing to differentiate between field and vaccine strains of Salmonella.

The Cevac Salmovac vaccine strain can occasionally be detected during routine sampling. 

When this happens, the accredited laboratory can carry out the differentiation testing whilst also sending the samples to the official confirmatory laboratory for final identification.

Ceva says ASAP significantly improves and speeds up the differentiation between vaccine and field strains, providing early reassurance to the producer that the official confirmation will identify the vaccine strain.

The ASAP Salmonella differentiation test has 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity for differentiating the Cevac Salmovac vaccine strain from any Salmonella field strain.

Pippa Abbey, poultry national veterinary services manager at Ceva Animal Health said: “Several tests are available to differentiate Cevac Salmovac from Salmonella field strains, however using ASAP as a second medium significantly improves and speeds up the differentiation process, ensuring that laboratories can quickly and efficiently detect the presence of the Cevac Salmovac strain.

“The ASAP media is also a useful tool for monitoring Cevac Salmovac drinking water vaccination and helps with vaccination auditing.”

Ceva also says that using ASAP media as a tool for monitoring the application of its vaccine can provide reassurance that it has been given successfully. 

On the day of vaccination, following priming of the drinker lines, a water sample can be taken from the end of the line and sent to the laboratory for testing. 

Cevac Salmovac will grow in dark blue/purple colonies indicating vaccine availability throughout the poultry house and a good vaccination process.

The RCVS Disciplinary Committee has dismissed an application to be restored to the Register of Veterinary Surgeons from former Wirral-based vet Ian Beveridge.

In May 2013 the Committee had asked the Registrar to remove Mr Beveridge from the Register following a four-day hearing in which he was found guilty of serious professional misconduct after finding that he had treated clients badly, kept inadequate clinical records, was dishonest in his dealings with the RCVS and that animals in his care were placed at risk.

In June 2013 Mr Beveridge, who was not present or represented at the original hearing, then appealed the decision. The appeal was withdrawn in May 2014 which was when Mr Beveridge was formally removed from the Register.

Then, in April 2015, Mr Beveridge applied to be restored to the Register. The Disciplinary Committee met to consider his application in June 2015, however, this hearing was adjourned after new evidence was served to the Committee concerning allegations that Mr Beveridge had ordered prescription-only veterinary medicines when he was not authorised to do so. He was subsequently interviewed by police who took no further action.

In deciding whether Mr Beveridge was fit to be restored to the Register, the Committee heard evidence in regards to the circumstances in which the prescription-only drugs were ordered using his account and delivered to his former practice address which had been taken over by Medivet after he sold the premises to the company.

During the course of the hearing, Mr Beveridge admitted that his account had been used to buy the drugs, but that a part-time member of his staff, who was neither a veterinary surgeon nor a veterinary nurse, had done so without his prior knowledge or approval.

In relation to this evidence Ian Green, chairing and speaking on behalf of the Committee, said: "The Committee takes the view that the unauthorised use of a veterinary surgeon’s drugs account for which he carries the ultimate responsibility is a very serious matter and, of itself, demonstrates that the applicant has at best a cavalier attitude to his work which of itself means that he remains unfit to be on the Register.

"This attitude is further demonstrated by the fact that, even after the first orders were placed in late April and early May 2014, the applicant did not seek clarification from the College of his status following the withdrawal of his appeal against the original Committee’s findings."

In addition to this, the Committee also considered the seriousness of his original failings, the fact that Mr Beveridge’s acceptance of these failings was ‘qualified’, that he had been off the Register for 20 months and the fact that his efforts in terms of continuing professional development had been inadequate and not focused on those areas in need of improvement, among other factors. In mitigation it did consider that Mr Beveridge had demonstrated genuine remorse about previous actions and noted a petition and a large number of letters in support of him from former clients of his practice.

However, the Committee felt that this did not detract from the seriousness of the original failings and, in conjunction with the subsequent unauthorised ordering of veterinary drugs, that the application for restoration must be dismissed.

The RCVS ViVet Programme is hosting a webinar to introduce veterinary professionals to the concept of ‘design thinking’ and how it can be used in the context of veterinary practice, at 12:30pm on Wednesday 2nd December. 

The College says that design thinking is a problem-solving process that anyone can use in all areas of veterinary practice. It is a method by which teams can create solutions to problems or challenges using empathy, creative thinking and experimentation.

The 75-minute session will give an overview of the principles behind design thinking, its various practical stages, and how it can be used to tackle challenges and problems within everyday practice.

Sophie Rogers, RCVS ViVet Manager, said: “While design thinking may sound quite theoretical and conceptual, it is actually a very practical problem-solving process that suits busy veterinary professionals and their teams. For example, the webinar will also be applying design thinking to the current backdrop of the challenges posed by Covid-19 and will be using examples that are relevant to the veterinary world to explore how it can help overcome some of these key challenges.

“The webinar will also be interactive, with delegates being sorted into small groups to carry out tasks that bring ideas to life and demonstrate how it supports innovation and working collaboratively.”

The webinar will be hosted by Gill Stevens, the Founding Director of Level Seven, a consultancy that specialises in merging coaching with design thinking methodology as a way to support innovation and team productivity, and Rick Harris, Founder of Customer Faithful, a research-led consultancy, specialising in customer research, proposition design and employee engagement.

You can sign up to the webinar, which will count towards the continuing professional development (CPD) requirement for both veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses, via the ViVet website at: www.vivet.org.uk/design-thinking-webinar-a-practical-approach-to-problem-solving-in-veterinary-practice. 

Vetlife has launched new guidance for veterinary workplaces affected by suicide, to accompany its postvention support service.

Suicide postvention is the response and provision of support after a suicide.

It aims to support recovery, and to prevent further adverse outcomes in the aftermath including the prevention of further deaths by suicide. 

The new guidance is intended for people who have been affected by the suicide of a veterinary professional, people who support those who have been affected, and for managers and leaders in veterinary workplaces who are working to prevent suicide. 

The guidance examines veterinary workplace considerations after a suicide, including immediate aftermath and longer term. 

It also covers communication, including talking both with colleagues and clients, and publicly on social media and elsewhere.

It finishes with a checklist of actions for veterinary workplaces affected by suicide considering immediate, short term, and ongoing actions for support and postvention.

As well as providing this guidance, Vetlife can provide individualised support to practices and individuals who have experienced a suicide through its Postvention Service.

If you are a UK veterinary professional who has been affected by suicide or wants support for a veterinary workplace, contact 0303 040 2551.

You can download the guidance here.

Veterinary Radiology & Ultrasound (VRU), Equine Veterinary Education (EVE) and the Equine Veterinary Journal (EVJ) have published a free collection looking at the most significant advances in distal limb imaging from the past five years.

"Advances in Imaging of the Equine Distal Limb 2017–2022" comprises a total of 20 papers which have been selected by Mathieu Spriet, Ann Carstens and Tim Mair.

It also includes an editorial from the EVJ summarising the major historical technological developments in imaging of the foot and fetlock.

The publication looks at the evolution of computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), which has opened a whole new field of possibilities for bone and soft tissue imaging in racehorses and sport horses, MRI and how it has been improved by optimising scanning techniques, ultrasound radiography and scintigraphy.

Mathieu Spriet said: “The content of this virtual issue represents an amazing amount of new knowledge that with no doubt will contribute to improve equine welfare and safety.

“With the increase availability and versatility of all the imaging modalities, the knowledge base appears to increase exponentially.

"We are very excited to see what the next five years will bring. We hope the readers will enjoy consulting this collection as much as we enjoyed putting it together.” 

The virtual issue is free for 12 weeks and can be found at https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1001/(ISSN)2042-3306.equine-distal-limb 

Photo: 18F-NaF PET, CT and MRI images from a horse with navicular and middle phalanx lesions. Adapted from EVJ 2018;50: 125-132

Hamilton Specialist Referral in High Wycombe has launched a soft tissue surgery service.

The service will be run by European and RCVS recognised specialist in Soft Tissue Surgery, Jane Ladlow, and will begin taking referrals from October 28th.

Jane has nearly 20 years’ experience as a specialist clinician, researcher, teacher and lecturer.

Her main focus for the last 10 years has been upper airway disease in dogs. As the clinical lead of the Cambridge Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS) Research Group, she has been instrumental in the introduction of objective, non-invasive assessments of airway function, identifying risk factors for BOAS, clinical diagnosis, breeding guidelines and the development of new surgical techniques (laser turbinectomy and laryngeal surgeries).

She has extensive experience of general surgery, and particularly enjoys oncology surgery, with an emphasis on treatments that are kind to owners and animals. Jane was the 2019 recipient of the BSAVA Simon Award for outstanding contributions in the field of veterinary surgery.

Jane said, “The team at HSR demonstrate a drive for excellence, both clinically and in providing the best experience for clients and their pets. I’m excited to start working as part of the innovative and collaborative team of surgeons, nurses and support staff.”

Director and orthopaedic surgery specialist, Michael Hamilton, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Jane to the team here. Her work has revolutionised the way we diagnose and manage BOAS. Continual learning and innovation are core to our practice, and we know Jane will be a strong driving force helping us continue providing the best outcomes for clients and their pets.”

For more information, visit: www.hamiltonspecialists.vet