Intervet/Schering-Plough has announced that the license for Leptavoid-H has been improved allowing concurrent use with Bovilis BVD.

Intervet/Schering Plough says that given both vaccines are typically administered in the busy pre-turnout period, this will ease on-farm workload and should help to ensure that all primary courses or boosters take place sufficiently in advance of the period of risk.

Each vaccine is to be given by separate routes and sites, to animals of 8 months or older. The concurrent use in cattle may result in fewer animal interventions, less stress and better welfare.

The studies, undertaken by Intervet/Schering Plough's R&D division in the UK, focussed on both the safety and efficacy aspects of the concurrent administration of Leptavoid-H with Bovilis BVD. The company says no systemic adverse events occurred, there was no effect on the outcome of pregnancy or milk yields and the efficacy in cattle was not compromised.

Leptavoid-H is licensed to reduce the shedding of Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo in urine. Leptavoid-H is the only Leptospirosis vaccine licensed to improve herd fertility when Leptospira hardjo is the cause of herd infertility, and the only vaccine proven to protect stock against both strains in the UK.

Vétoquinol - maker of Epiphen, the anti-epileptic phenobarbital for the control of epilepsy in dogs - has added a new client brochure and a fridge magnet to its Epiphen support packs, designed to help owners understand the condition and make it easier for them to comply with daily dosage requirements.

The new brochure is called What I need to know and is written for clients that have been prescribed Epiphen for their pet for the first time.

Abbie King, Product Manager for Epiphen, said: ''The inspiration for the new brochure came after spending time at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket and realising how much information an owner needs to take in when their dog is diagnosed with epilepsy."

The new brochure covers the important information owners need to help them understand and manage their dog's epilepsy, including how Epiphen works, what they can do to help their dog, how to monitor seizures, where to find further information and frequently asked questions.

The Epiphen Treatment fridge magnet is designed as a quick reference guide to prescribing information that is needed every day when living with a dog with epilepsy. The magnet leaves space for the owner to write in their dog's name, dosage details and timings and their vet's phone number. Vétoquinol says it is especially helpful as a reference if more than one person is caring for the dog.

The new items enhance the existing Epiphen support pack, which comprises an owner manual, medication record and seizure diary, dog tags, seizure report pads, free serum level monitoring vouchers and a free, online resource at www.epiphenonline.co.uk

Vétoquinol also invites practitioners who are dealing with challenging cases to take advantage of its free Ask the expert scheme on 0800 169 8197 or email a case history to epiphen@vetoquinol.co.uk.

To order the new Epiphen support materials, ring 0800 1698197. Alternatively, visit: www.vetoquinol.co.uk to find out more.

Eastcott Veterinary Referrals has found an imaginative use for the perspex safety screens introduced at the start of the pandemic: for patient restraint. 

Specifically, they're using them as a sheep race of sorts, for patient restraint during fluoroscopic examinations.

Eastcott says the transparent barrier helps to keep patients as close as possible to the practice’s mobile image intensifier, while also limiting any sudden movement. This significantly improves the quality of images taken and reduces the amount of time taken per examination.

Nicholas Taylor, referral radiographer at Eastcott came up with the idea. He said: “Unlike us humans, animals don’t understand the need to remain still and the process of getting these images was becoming quite challenging and time-consuming. Often the length of the process would make the animal anxious and we would inevitably be going in circles.

"The idea came about when we were discussing how we could replicate the x-ray process in the human world, where machines are often very close to the patient’s body.

"We had a few spare desk barriers in the hospital and decided to give it go. We were so pleased at how easy it made the entire process, reducing the amount of time per exam, improving the quality of pictures and ultimately putting the patient at ease since they can see what is going on around them.”

The RCVS is hosting a free webinar at which it will explain changes to the guidance on 24-hour emergency care at 8.30pm on Monday 28 July. 

Veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses and other practice staff are all welcome to attend.

The webinar - 24/7 Emergency Care - A New Emphasis - will be led by RCVS Registrar and Head of Legal Services Gordon Hockey and Clare Tapsfield-Wright, former RCVS Council member and Chair of the RCVS Standards Committee. They will be explaining changes to supporting guidance of the Code of Professional Conduct and their impact on the responsibilities of practices and practice staff, as well as the public.

The changes to the guidance resulted from an extensive evidence-gathering process with both the profession and animal owners in respect of their expectations on the provision of 24-hour emergency veterinary cover.

The new supporting guidance, which was developed by RCVS Standards Committee after a thorough review of the evidence and approved in principle by RCVS Council in June, now places a greater emphasis on owners' legal responsibilities for the welfare of their animals as well as an obligation on veterinary surgeons to provide more information to clients about their out-of-hours service.

Furthermore, the new guidance will assist and empower vets to decline to attend an animal away from the practice when unnecessary or unsafe. The new guidance will be published online shortly.

To register for the free webinar, hosted by the Webinar Vet, please visit www.thewebinarvet.com/rcvs. A recording of the webinar will be made available to listen to again.

CVS has reported the results of a clinical improvement project it ran in 105 of its first opinion small animal practices to increase screening for hypertension in older cats.

According to the company, participating practices more than doubled the number of blood pressure checks they conducted, within 12 months. 

The CVS’ clinical improvement project initially looked at how effective its first opinion small animal practices were in screening older cats for hypertension.

In line with the veterinary industry norm, it found that less than two per cent of cats over the age of seven were receiving an annual blood pressure check.

This initial research also found that the common barriers to conducting blood pressure checks by vets and veterinary nurses in practice were due to time constraints, availability of equipment and simply remembering to discuss blood pressure checks with owners.

Each CVS site chose two people to lead the initiative at their site, to aid communication and delivery.

A document was created to help, providing background, aims, summary of resources and planning sections.

Contributory factors preventing delivery of blood pressure checks were outlined and practices were encouraged to identify additional barriers and resources needed.

A suite of resources were then produced to support the practice team - from reception to veterinary surgeons - in improving annual blood pressure check rates.

The resources included new clinical frameworks and veterinary guidelines on how to treat hypertension; in-practice educational resources to highlight the benefits of hypertension screening and information sheets and blood pressure diaries to help clients manage their pets condition.

To upskill and develop colleagues in how to identify and treat hypertension and resulting conditions, a collection of training materials was created and training sessions held.

These included a series of webinars which explained why hypertension is important to identify, how to overcome common challenges encountered when looking for hypertension in cats, how to use the ophthalmic exam to help diagnose hypertension and how to treat hypertension.

Three in-person CPD days were hosted with the support from Ceva six months into the project where feline specialists Sarah Caney and Samantha Taylor shared the latest evidence base in this field and practices were encouraged to share barriers, queries and tips, so that ideas could be taken away to make blood pressure screening a simpler process in practice.

Practices were also encouraged to organise lunch and learn CPD sessions, to share best practice and generate discussion within their team.

In addition, a website was created to host all resources in one place, including webinars, clinical frameworks, client resources, a discussion forum and data.

An audit of each participating practice’s blood pressure check data was conducted at the start of the project.

Results were then shared with each participating practice every month - including the total number of blood pressure checks performed each month and the percentage of cats over the age of seven who had an annual blood pressure check.

Twelve months after its nation-wide launch, results reveal that the number of blood pressure checks have more than doubled (110%) within participating CVS practices and an additional 5,984 blood pressure checks have been performed year on year.

A number of practices were able to implement systems that allowed them to perform over 40 blood pressures each month.

The number of cats on amlodipine (the first choice medication to treat hypertension in cats) increased by 303 patients year-on-year, hinting many more cats had been diagnosed with hypertension.

Kate Allgood, Hub Clinical Lead at CVS who was responsible for the hypertension clinical improvement project, said: “There is a huge benefit in treating hypertension.

"No one wants to see a cat suddenly become blind due to hypertension that wasn’t recognised in time.

"So many associated longer-term feline complications and conditions can be avoided if annual blood pressure checks in cats over the age of seven are routinely performed.

"Increasing blood pressure screening is not a simple task though, and this focus has allowed space and time for practices to give this topic the recognition it deserves; to identify and implement systems that make it easier to identify patients at risk, discuss with clients and perform these checks with ease.

"We have created a robust clinical structure, produced some easily accessible materials and supported our practices to make small and simple changes that add up.

"Our practices have done an outstanding job at delivering this project to date and I look forward to seeing what can be achieved in the future. We strongly believe that this work will contribute towards providing some of the best clinical care for cats in the veterinary profession.”

The BVA is now reaching out to non-members with a three-month, no strings attached, free trial. The offer ends on 31 August.

Over the past few years the BVA membership package has changed significantly in response to the needs of veterinary surgeons across the UK at all stages of their careers.

Harvey Locke, BVA President, said: "The well-documented stresses that put members of our profession at risk of mental health problems are unacceptably high. With their focus on conflict resolution and individual support, however, we hope the BVA legal services will come to be seen as a safety net for BVA members should things go wrong at work.

"These kinds of employment issues can be hard to talk about so we hope by highlighting a few stories it will encourage others to seek the help they need from the BVA.

"The three-month free trial is an opportunity for the BVA to reach out to non-members and show them the impact of our complete membership package - from the legal and employment services and free and discounted CPD to our popular publications and money-saving financial services."

Ceva Animal Health has launched a new TV advertising campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of the veterinary behavioural product, Feliway.

The new advertisement, features the new 'Feliway' purple cat playing happily in the home with its family.

The advertisement will appear on the major UK channels including More 4, E4, ITV 1, Sky Channels and the Discovery Channel for one week from 16^th September 2013, with an additional three weeks coverage during October 2013.  Behind the scenes' footage of the filming of the advertisement can also be viewed on the Feliway YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtAXd5mReYc6JGufxRirvng?feature=watch

A Feliway video on demand and YouTube campaign will be available to viewers between 16^th September 2013 and 21^st October 2013 and will be repeated between 15^th November 2013 and 2^nd December 2013. 

An Adaptil video on demand campaign will be aired between 21^st October 2013 and 11^th November 2013 to raise awareness of Adaptil in the run up to and during the firework season. The video on demand will be available across ITV player, Sky Anytime On Demand, 4oD and YouTube.

For more information, call 01494 781510 or contact your local Ceva territory manager.

The RCVS has published its 2025-2029 strategic plan, which lays out how the College will work with and for stakeholder groups.

Underlying the strategic plan are what the College says are its four updated values of compassion, collaboration, clarity and courage.

The plan lays out four strategic ambitions, each focused on one of its stakeholder groups, each one under the banner of 'Stronger Together'.

Veterinary professionals: "The RCVS will help veterinary professionals meet high standards and champion accessible, team-based veterinary care, delivered in settings that support professional autonomy and leadership."

This includes reviewing the Code of Professional Conduct and supporting guidance, achieving new veterinary legislation and ensuring that educational standards and career pathways meet the diverse needs of society.

Animal owners and keepers: "The RCVS will support animal health and welfare and public health by enabling access to veterinary care informed by the needs of consumers and service users."

This includes supporting and informing the public in how to get the best from veterinary professionals, with increased transparency, agency and choice.

Society at large: "The RCVS will champion the role that veterinary professionals play in One Health and public health, take a leadership role on environmental sustainability and biodiversity, and continue to look at how it can play a role in the global veterinary professions."

This includes leading the conversation on issues such as the cost of veterinary care, building enthusiasm for veterinary work in the minds of the next generation of potential professionals and ensuring veterinary professionals responsible for public health are well supported with robust standards and safeguards.

Staff team and governance: "The RCVS will attract and retain the diversity of talent and skills to deliver what’s needed now and anticipate what might be next and build a culture that allows people to thrive."

This includes developing an infrastructure for success, including the new RCVS headquarters, and underpinning structures for finance, communications and digital, creating a working culture with sound values and supportive management.

Lizzie Lockett, RCVS Chief Executive Officer, said: “The overall theme of the plan recognises that there are many other individuals and organisations that have a stake in our mission to inspire confidence in veterinary care and protect the public interest by ensuring animal health and welfare, and public health, are advanced through thriving world-class veterinary professions.

“This is where the ‘stronger together’ comes in, recognising that, in our role as a royal college that regulates, we are very well placed to bring people and organisations together to meet our common purpose of improved animal health and welfare and public health in a collaborative, proactive way.”

www.rcvs.org.uk/strategy25

Following the launch of Pro Plan Liveclear, the Purina Institute is hosting a two-hour CPD symposium on managing cat allergens which will take place online on Wednesday, 8th July at 7:30pm. 

Speakers at the free event will include feline expert Dr Andy Sparkes, BVetMed, PhD, DipECVIM, MANZCVS, MRCVS and the immunologist who led the Purina research behind Liveclear, Dr Ebenezer Satyaraj, PhD.

Andy will address the consequences of feline allergy. He says that in majority of cases, cat-allergic owners will choose to tolerate ongoing symptoms of allergy, rather than relinquish their cats, even when they have severe symptoms.

Ebenezer will talk about the research behind Pro Plan Liveclear and how it will allow veterinary surgeons and nurses to help support these clients.

Libby Sheridan, MVB MRCVS, Purina Veterinary Technical Affairs Manager, UK & Ireland said: "This innovation is safe for cats who continue to produce the major cat allergen, Fel d 1, which is found mainly in the cat's saliva and sebaceous glands.

"Our researchers found that the Fel d 1 protein could be neutralised through feeding a nutritious cat food coated with an innovative egg product ingredient containing anti-Fel d 1 antibodies1 which helps reduce the active allergen transferred to hair and dander during grooming, and ultimately helps reduce active Fel d 1 in the environment.2

"Now the science has resulted in a commercially available product that could have a big impact on the quality of life of the cat and their owner. We'll be sharing the research behind this at the symposium so that clinicians can evaluate the potential benefits."

Any member of the practice team can register for the event at  www.veterinarywebinars.com/purina, and will be entered into a prize draw to win an iPad. There will also be a number of goody bags available as additional prizes.

More information about the science is available at www.purinainstitute.com.

References

1. Satyaraj E, Sun P and Sherrill S (2019). Fel d 1 blocking anti bodies against the major cat allergen Fel d 1. Presented at the annual meeting of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Lisbon, Portugal.
2. Satyaraj E, Li Q, Sun P and Sherrill S (2019). Anti -Fel d 1 immunoglobulin Y anti body-containing egg ingredient lowers allergen levels in cat saliva, Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery 21(10): 875-881. Doi:10.1177/1098612X19861218

Vet Oscar Sinfield is to cycle round every practice in Somerset over two days in September to raise money for Vetlife.

The route covers a distance of approximately 400 miles.

Oscar said: “My goals for the event are to raise awareness about mental health within the veterinary profession and demonstrate how being in the countryside can boost wellbeing. Along the way, I’m keen to fundraise as much as possible for Vetlife.

“Vetlife has done so much for the veterinary profession with regards to making mental health support more accessible.

"Having that knowledge that they are there personally provides a lot of comfort in what can sometimes be quite a lonely and isolating profession.”

Fellow cyclist and Vetlife trustee Danny Chambers said: “I know how painful it is to cycle up Cheddar Gorge in North Somerset, so I am in awe that Oscar is cycling a 400-mile route around that terrain to visit every vet practice in Somerset in 2 days.

"I’m sure in his brief visits to each practice he’ll get a warm welcome and some sustenance to help him along to his next pit stop!

"Thank you to Oscar for his enthusiasm and support.”

Oscar is inviting others in the veterinary community to join sections of the journey along the way.

For more information on how to get involved with the cycle, visit the Somervet Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1930480070643515. 

Donate to the fundraiser via the Somervet JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/ride-somervet

The RCVS and the Veterinary Schools Council (VSC) have launched a joint survey of new grads from UK vet schools to determine if and how the coronavirus pandemic has affected them.

The survey has been sent to 984 veterinary surgeons who graduated from one of the UK’s eight vet schools in 2020 to measure how the pandemic may have affected graduates’ employment prospects, clinical & non-clinical skills, and resilience in the workplace.

The survey has a deadline date of Wednesday 16 December 2020 and all responses to it will remain anonymous while helping to inform future policy on graduate support.

Dr Linda Prescott-Clements, RCVS Director of Education, said: “We know that the coronavirus pandemic has had a disruptive impact on the final stages of education for the 2020 cohort, in terms of clinical placements for extra-mural studies as well as teaching. This survey aims to gauge whether this has, in turn, had a deleterious impact on their confidence with both clinical and non-clinical skills as well as their resilience, for example, in asking for help and support from colleagues, managing their time effectively, and managing complex and stressful situations.

“Employment is another area of concern and in any typical year almost all graduate vets would find work or go on to further study after their veterinary degree had finished. Some anecdotal reports have suggested a perceived or real change to employment prospects this year and so we are hoping to gather some further data to see if there has been a discernible impact on this cohort.

“We are mindful that the pandemic is having a significant impact on all students and we are keen to understand how best we can support them moving forward. I would strongly encourage those graduates who have received the survey, which should only take around 10 minutes to complete, to take part, because the results will help the RCVS and the VSC inform future policies on how we can better support veterinary graduates in 2021 and subsequent years.”

Any graduates who have not received the survey or require further information can contact the RCVS Education Department on education@rcvs.org.uk. 

A new Support Services Guide has been launched by Fort Dodge Animal Health, designed as an aid to the company’s Practice Support Programme.

The guide has been designed to provide a comprehensive reference on all the services Fort Dodge offers its practice customers. These include a comprehensive range of client materials, such as pet healthcare records, reminder stationery and pet health information leaflets, as well as various business support initiatives such as the well-respected Fort Dodge (FDI) bench-marking facility, a vaccine amnesty package and Practice PR. This press relations service provided via a professional PR agency has assisted a number of practices with local publicity, helping them increase their visibility in the local community.

Practices wishing to obtain a copy of the new guide should contact Fort Dodge on 01489 774249.