Central CPD has launched 'On-Demand', an CPD delivery platform which will give independent practices access to the same sort of bespoke online team-training technology used by the corporates.

Sophia Salmon MRCVS from Central CPD said: "All of the major corporate chains in the UK now deliver a significant proportion of their clinical and non-clinical staff training via online learning platforms. These systems form an important part of professional development, training standardisation and even performance evaluation.

"However, learning platforms can be expensive to procure and develop, as well as being time-consuming to maintain, and therefore may not be viable for smaller businesses."

Central CPD has used its experience providing online learning to several of the UK’s major corporate veterinary groups to create 'Central CPD On-Demand', which features over 1500 clinical and non-clinical CPD videos for vets, nurses, managers and receptionists.

There's a new practice subscription package which, developed with whole-team learning in mind, costs £2000 per year for up to twenty people (veterinary surgeons, nurses or management staff). 

Central CPD says the new package allows individuals and practices to set their own learning plan for the year, and for mentors to build and supervise training programmes for other staff members.

Practices can add their own content, such as policy documents, in order to assist with the delivery of compulsory elements of staff training.

Central CPD says its service is a fraction of the cost of procuring and populating an off-the-shelf learning platform, and the company is staffed by vets and vet nurses who are available to provide one-to-one advice and support to help practices set up their team’s platform and get the most out of the system.

For more information, visit: https://centralcpd.co.uk/ 

Pfizer Animal Health has launched Poulvac, the first modified live vaccine against E.coli in chickens.

The company claims that the vaccine, which can be used from one day of age, is set to bring major benefits in safeguarding the health of broilers, pullets for egg laying and breeding stock.

According to Pfizer, E.coli is one of the most significant bacterial pathogens found in chicks during the first week, leading to problems throughout the life of a flock including inferior performance, lack of uniformity and increased mortality. It is a costly, widespread problem for the UK poultry industry.

The vaccine was developed from research beginning in the 1990s at the Government's veterinary laboratories at Weybridge (now AHVLA) in the UK, employing genome technology to produce an avirulent strain of E.coli that induces protective immunity to the pathogenic strains of the bacteria.

The vaccine is completely non-pathogenic, and does not persist in the bird or the environment for any significant period of time. A gene deletion in its development restricts in vivo replication and leaves behind activated macrophages ready to respond to pathogenic E.coli strains.

Dr Stuart Andrews, poultry technical manager of Pfizer in the UK and Ireland said: "Poulvac E. coli provides broad cross protection against the key serotypes of E. coli infecting chickens. It is the only modified live, nonreactive vaccine proven to meet the European regulatory requirements for efficacy and safety.

"Trials have confirmed that Poulvac E.coli does not persist in the bird and proves to be self-limiting. The vaccine can survive in the environment for only a short time, and spread to in-contact birds is also limited."

The vaccine is administered as a coarse spray with onset of immunity 14 days afterwards and duration of immunity for up to 12 weeks. It can be used from day-old up to six weeks before the onset of lay, and has a nil day withdrawal period.

In the USA where Poulvac E coli has been available for six years field experience has shown the considerable benefits. In the Midwest where average layer mortality at 50 weeks of age was 2.31 per cent, this was reduced to 1.51 per cent with three doses of the vaccine*. In Eastern USA flock mortality compared with five previous flocks was reduced from over three per cent to one per cent.

A field trial in the USA with more than 300,000 broiler breeders vaccination before lay reduced mortality from 2.8 to 1.9 per cent - with only two out of 28 flocks needing antibiotic treatment compared with 13 of the 28 unvaccinated flocks.

On a broiler field trial in Georgia over four million birds were vaccinated with Poulvac E. coli at hatch. The vaccinated birds had a better feed conversion (1.79 against 1.84 for the controls) and with condemnations at the processing plant down from 1.22 to 0.73 per cent the result was a lower production cost of 0.51¢ per lb. 

In another broiler trial covering more than two million birds in Arkansas livability was improved from 95.20 to 95.77 per cent and feed conversion improved from 1.95 to 1.90, gaining 0.45¢ per lb.

* Pfizer says it is important to note that in these studies carried out in the USA more than one dose of the vaccine was often administered. A single vaccination is licensed in the Summary of Product Characteristics however, where clinical disease requires and at the discretion of a veterinary surgeon, the vaccination schedule may be re-started as there is no contra-indication on the SPC.

Hallmarq Veterinary Imaging has launched Standing Equine Leg CT (slCT) to help veterinary surgeons diagnose the cause of equine lameness.

The company says it is launching the new slCT after achieving success imaging horses in collaboration with its UK-based clinical trial sites.

The new standing CT scanner has a unique low, flat platform for quick and easy entry and exit of the standing sedated horse. 

The system uses a dual-concentric ring design which enables the detector plate to remain very close to the region of interest, thereby improving image quality. 

Hallmarq says slCT is a good fit for equine practices wanting to step up to 3D imaging in the evaluation of their lameness cases. 

Bell Equine in Kent, Sussex Equine in Ashington, and Berkshire- based Donnington Grove Equine were involved in early trials of novel system.

Dr Elisabetta Giorio from Donnington Grove says slCT complements their sMRI which highlights soft tissue and metabolic changes: “The combination of MRI and CT was a useful tool to have and helped with surgical planning and decision making".

For more information, visit: https://hallmarq.net/  

The results of the UK's first ever public National Equine Health Survey have quantified non-notifiable healthcare issues affecting horses, ponies, donkeys and mules in the UK.

The survey, which was pioneered by The Blue Cross animal charity and is supported by The British Equine Veterinary Association, was carried out last November following two years of pilot schemes. The intention was to find out more about endemic non-notifiable diseases that have never before been recorded in horses, ponies, donkeys and mules, such as coughs, skin diseases and lameness.

The results were announced at the National Equine Forum by Professor Josh Slater, Professor of Equine Clinical Studies at The Royal Veterinary College, who has been working with The Blue Cross on the survey.

A total of 306 sets of records were submitted from 3120 horses in mainly private ownership, with a balance of representation from competition yards, riding schools, welfare charities and studs. A broad range of syndromes and diseases were assessed including colic, sarcoids, laminitis, wounds, dental issues, eye disease, lameness and weight issues.

The results showed that lameness was the most common problem affecting horses (11% of horses surveyed) but that the foot was not the most common cause of lameness and that laminitis (3%) was less common than the 7-8% total that previous surveys had suggested.

Weight management was the next most common issue for horse owners, with 9% of horses recorded as overweight and 8% as underweight.  These figures are lower than previous surveys which may be because they are based on the owner's assessment of their horse's weight which is subjective and may vary according to their perception of 'the right weight'.

Skin disease and wounds (5% and 4% respectively) posed a significant problem and colic (2%) was also a common occurrence, with a 6:1 ratio between medical and surgical cases.

The survey is breaking new ground in Europe as well as the UK. Currently Government agencies in all European countries conduct surveillance for prescribed exotic diseases such as West Nile Virus and African Horse Sickness but currently there are no large scale surveillance programmes for endemic diseases.

Professor Slater said: "The regular collection of such data holds numerous benefits to the UK equine industry. Not only does the survey provide a benchmarking facility for equine disease, welfare, standards of care and codes of practice but it will also underpin standards for yard inspection schemes. Not least it confirms the workability of an important template to monitor the serious threat of infectious and exotic disease in the future." 

He added: "It's exciting to see hints in the NEHS 2010 survey that data 'straight from the horse's mouth' might challenge some established ideas. For example; the survey found that lameness was common, as you would expect, but that the foot was not the most common cause of lameness, which you might not have expected. This kind of data has never been collected before and is invaluable to the veterinary profession and wider animal welfare industry, helping to inform our future research, training and education. It will be really exciting to see the results of the larger surveys The Blue Cross are running in 2011." 

Kerry Doyle, education officer at The Blue Cross said: "We are thrilled to be involved with this innovative project to enhance the future health of our horses and very grateful to all those who have participated in the survey so far. We now need even more horse owners to sign up for the next round so that we can capture as much useful data as possible."

The National Equine Health Survey is currently funded by The Blue Cross but sponsorship is being sought. It is to be conducted twice-yearly with the next census week planned for 9-15 May 2011. All keepers and owners of horses are urged to participate and details of all horse owners will remain anonymous. It's very quick and easy to complete and should only take around five minutes. To register online visit www.bluecross.org.uk/NEHS or email NEHS@bluecross.org.uk.

Boehringer Ingelheim is holding two free webinars looking at improving the control of mastitis on farms.

The first, 'Factors that determine the success of a mastitis treatment' is tomorrow, Thursday 30th April, at 7:30pm. It will be presented by veterinary surgeon and researcher, Sofie Piepers. 

The second webinar is titled 'Communication skills for effecting behaviour change with a focus on mastitis treatments'. Presented by Owen Atkinson, a vet with experience of the dairy industry around the world, the webinar will start at 7:30pm on Tuesday 5th May. 

There will be opportunities to ask questions of both speakers at the end of each session. 

For more information, visit: https://www.boehringer-academy.co.uk

CPD Solutions has launched the first postgraduate certificate (PGCert) in Soft Tissue Surgery in the UK.

Awarded by The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), the programme starts in March 2024.

The programme combines practical training with reflective learning and enables veterinary surgeons to achieve their PGCert within 12 months. 

Vet and PGCert Programme Manager, Alison Malone, said: "This course came about as a result of listening to what vets in practice want, and many wanted a focused soft tissue surgery curriculum without the orthopaedic element amid concerns that their practices don’t have the case load to benefit from the advanced learning.

"The Soft Tissue Surgery PGCert provides delegates with hands-on experience for the cases they will be seeing frequently, making a dramatic impact to their daily work life”.

The Soft Tissue Surgery PGCert comprises three modules: Essentials of Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery, Small Animal Abdominal, Perineal and Urogenital Surgery, and Small Animal Head, Neck and Thoracic Surgery.

Each module begins with three days of practical sessions at CPD Solutions Training Centre in Warwickshire provided by tutors Lynda Rutherford, Faye Swinbourne, Will Robinson, Lara Dempsey, Elinor Field and Lee Meakin.

There are 20 spaces on the PgCert in Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery starting next March.

The course costs: £10,947 + VAT, plus you'll also need to register with the University of Central Lancashire, which costs £2630 (No VAT) for UK students.

www.pgcert.com

Zoetis has announced the introduction of Equimidine solution in a 50% larger plastic bottle.

The company says the new 15ml multi-dose presentation, now in plastic rather than glass, offers greater safety, as well as cost-saving advantages to practices.

Equimidine, containing 10mg/ml detomidine hydrochloride and methyl parahydroxybenzoate 1 mg/ml as a preservative, is a clear solution for intravenous injection. It has sedative and analgesic properties and is indicated for use either alone or in combination with butorphanol to facilitate the handling of horses for clinical examinations, minor surgical procedures and other manipulations. It can also be used with ketamine for short duration general anaesthesia for surgical procedures such as castration.

According to the company, the new 15ml plastic bottle is more cost-effective per dose than the old 10ml glass vial. It is also safer to use as the bottle is less likely to break if accidentally dropped. The multi-dose facility involves a tightly fitted rubber bung through which a sterile needle can be inserted to withdraw each dose.

Penny McCann, Equine Product Manager, Zoetis UK Ltd, said: "The new presentation provides practical benefits for vets and the larger bottle size means the product is now even more cost-effective."

For more information, speak to your Zoetis Account Manager, refer to the SPC or contact Zoetis Customer Support on 0845 3008034.

Veterinary Vision has been awarded with silver accreditation by the International Society for Feline Medicine (ISFM) for the facilities it provides at its sites in Penrith, Sunderland and Charnock Richard.

Head nurse Nicola Atkins (pictured right) said: “We are very happy and proud to have achieved our silver accreditation for cat-friendly clinic status. 

“To earn this internationally-recognised award, we had to prove that we met all of the ISFM criteria, including allocating a nurse and vet at each centre who are dedicated to caring for our cats and providing ‘cat only’ waiting areas to reduce their stress.”

“We provide cats with carefully-tailored care from our stress-free waiting areas and high standards of anaesthetic protocols, which deliver an enriched stay at our hospitals.

“This also reassures owners and makes them feel more at ease about visiting our clinics with their cats.”

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

Vets Now Glasgow has launched a neurology and neurosurgery service.

The new service is being headed by Dr Katia Marioni-Henry.

Katia graduated from the University of Parma in 1995 and went on to do a PhD in Clinical Electrodiagnostic at the University of Turin and Scott-Ritchey Research Center in Auburn, Alabama.

Her early career was spent at various American universities, where she became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, with a subspecialty in Neurology and finally an Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery at the University of Tennessee.

Katia came to the UK to work as a consultant in neurology and neurosurgery for a number of large referral practices, before moving to the University of Edinburgh in 2013, where she started the neurology/neurosurgery service, building it from scratch to a nine-strong team.

Katia said: “This is absolutely the best place to be brought in an emergency, but previously we’d have to refer some cases elsewhere for conditions affecting the brain, peripheral nerves or the spine.

“Now some of these debilitating neurological conditions can be diagnosed and treated rapidly here without having to transport the animal.”

“With our CT scanner, for example, we can diagnose slipped discs quickly, especially in small breeds, and treat them surgically.

“And we can use it for brain scans if there is trauma or if we suspect a tumour or severe inflammation in the brain.

“We can do a lumbar tap to rule out inflammation of the central nervous system either on infectious or immune-mediated basis.”

The RCVS Disciplinary Committee has accepted an application for restoration to the RCVS Register by Gordon Lonsdale, who had been struck off in March 2004 for illegally delegating acts of veterinary surgery to insufficiently qualified members of his practice staff.

At the initial Inquiry, Mr Lonsdale, who formerly worked as a sole practitioner in Shropshire, had admitted three separate charges of serious professional misconduct. These included allegations that he had instructed nurses and support staff to undertake dental extractions, dog and cat castrations, the removal of tumours or masses, the induction and maintenance of anaesthesia, lancing abscesses and suturing wounds.

At yesterday's hearing, the onus was on Mr Lonsdale to satisfy the Committee that he was fit to be restored to the Register, not least in view of his former health problems and the eight-year period for which he had been off the Register.

He provided the Committee with evidence of undertaking continuing professional development, including 130 hours of online courses and seven weeks of seeing practice, letters of endorsement from former clients and testimonials from friends and former colleagues.

The Committee accepted Mr Lonsdale's evidence that he had successfully addressed his alcoholism, which it recognised as being a contributory factor to his poor decision making in an isolated working environment. He assured the Committee of his intention that, should his application be successful, he intended to work only in a multi-handed, rather than single-handed, practice in future.

The Committee found him to be an honest and frank witness who had made a credible attempt to refresh his small animal practice knowledge; it was satisfied that he accepted the findings of the original hearing and that he had put the welfare of animals at risk, and it noted his expression of remorse.

In considering Mr Lonsdale's application, the Committee made a number of recommendations, including that he should register for the RCVS Professional Development Phase, undertake certain parts of the RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice, restrict himself to his recognised areas of competence, investigate communication courses run by the Veterinary Defence Society and continue with the mentoring programme provided by the Veterinary Surgeons Health Support Programme. Mr Lonsdale stated that he was willing to follow all of these recommendations.

Professor Peter Lees, who chaired and spoke on behalf of the Disciplinary Committee, concluded: "In these circumstances, we do not consider that any further period of erasure would be of benefit either to the public or the veterinary profession. Therefore, we direct the Registrar to restore Mr Lonsdale's name to the Register."

Krka has launched Flovuxin, a fast-acting, single-dose, injectable solution for bovine respiratory disease (BRD) caused by Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida, Mycoplasma bovis and Histophilus somni, associated with pyrexia.

Krka’s Farm Key Account Manager Charlotte Read said: “BRD remains a priority issue on farm and advising farmers on the management of BRD risks, and treatment options when needed, is a key task for farm vets.

"Flovuxin’s combined formulation is a high efficacy BRD treatment acting within six hours¹, to improve treatment outcomes.” 

Reference

1. Julien Thiry, Laura Elvira Partida, Juan Vicente GonzálezMartín, Eric Pagot, Florian Voisin, Hubert Theys, Guillaume Lequeux, Allan Weingarten, Vincent de Haas (2014); Treatment of naturally occurring bovine respiratory disease in juvenile calves with a single administration of a florfenicol plus flunixin meglumine formulation; The Veterinary record 174(17)

The Veterinary Development Council (VDC) is conducting a survey to investigate the role of paraprofessionals and technicians in veterinary practice, and is asking vets in large animal, equine, and mixed practices to complete a short survey.

The VDC says that information from the survey will help inform discussions on the regulation of technicians.

The survey will take between 5 and 10 minutes to complete and can be found on the BVA website at www.bva.co.uk/vdc. The BVA has also emailed the survey directly to practices.

The survey has been devised by the VDC working group looking at the role of the veterinary-led team, chaired by BVA Past President Professor Bill Reilly. This is one of three working groups that will report to the VDC:

• Veterinary engagement with the food supply chain chaired by Gwyn Jones of the National Farmers' Union (NFU). To consider how the veterinary profession might better engage with the food industry, with a view to better defining what food industry stakeholders need and want in terms of veterinary services, now and in the future and the implications of this for the veterinary profession. The group will also examine ways in which better engagement with food industry stakeholders might be facilitated.
• Business models for the provision of veterinary services chaired by John Fishwick, President of the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA). To identify and classify different business models for veterinary practices and the provision of veterinary services, to consider the merits and limitations of each of these models and provide case studies of their successful application. This group will examine the whole range of models, recognising that one size does not fit all and acknowledging the differences between large and small practices.
• The role of the veterinary-led team chaired by Prof Bill Reilly, Past President of the BVA. To identify the range of services that could be supplied to the farming community by a veterinary-led team, including those services that could be undertaken by veterinarians and non-veterinarians. To identify how these services are currently delivered and to describe the benefits of bringing non-veterinarians into a veterinary-led team. The working group will also assess desire of veterinarians and non veterinarians to work together to deliver these services.

Professor Reilly said: "The relationship between veterinary surgeons and technicians is vital but it varies from practice to practice.

"The working group on the role of the veterinary-led team aims to take a snapshot of how services, such as artificial insemination and foot trimming, are currently delivered, and gauge how veterinary surgeons feel about other services being delivered by non-veterinarians in the future.

"I hope veterinary surgeons in large, mixed and equine practice will take 10 minutes to complete our survey to help us map the current use of technicians in veterinary practice and help shape our future discussions."