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Long story.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a consultation on reforming the governance arrangements of the RCVS.

The consultation follows a period of discussions between the RCVS and Defra about how the College might best modernise Council.

The consultation gives the public and profession the opportunity to have their say on what reforms would best prepare the College for the future. It discusses the appropriate size and composition of Council, including the proportion of elected members, how veterinary schools should be represented, increasing lay membership, and ensuring appropriate veterinary nurse representation. It also examines how flexibility can be built into the reforms in case of future changes, such as the possibility of new categories of associate. Responses to the consultation will inform the College’s work with Defra to determine the precise details of any new governance arrangements.

The College says any reform should meet its unique requirements as a Royal College that regulates and the criteria already agreed by the College: Council’s decision-making role would be strengthened, for instance, by increasing the number of Council meetings per year. This would reduce or remove the need for a separate Operational Board in order that the CEO reports directly to Council.

Any reforms also need to ensure that Council has sufficient members to populate the College’s committees and Presidential team, and follow the government’s five principles of better regulation, by being proportionate, consistent, accountable, transparent and targeted.

RCVS President Bradley Viner (pictured top right) said “I am delighted that Defra is consulting on RCVS governance and the minister has the full backing of RCVS Council in so doing. This consultation is an opportunity to hear the voice of the profession and the public about an appropriate structure and oversight of the RCVS, reflecting the uniqueness of being a Royal College that regulates. Consulting on this important issue is in keeping with our desire to become first rate in what we do, building on other measures to modernise and improve the workings of the College.”

Vetsure has launched vetsuremeds.com, a VMD-approved online dispensary platform for UK independent veterinary practices that allows practices to retain an income stream that might otherwise be lost to corporate competitors.

The platform allows vets to write prescriptions for medications which clients can buy instantly at the point of care, with delivery to their home later. 

Practices then receive a share of the revenue from medicine sales that have been fulfilled through vetsuremeds.com, mitigating against the losses if practices simply direct clients to the Internet, where there is a strong chance they will end up in the arms of a corporate-owned dispensary. 

VetSurgeon understands that Vetsure is not aiming to compete with the cheapest online dispensaries, but is expecting that clients will be happy to pay a little bit more for the frictionless process which means they don't have to think, the medication will just arrive, and for the knowledge that they are supporting their independent practice. 

In addition, the company highlights that because the prescription is processed at the point of care, vetsuremeds.com eliminates the risk of fraudulent multiple use of prescriptions. 

In terms of revenue to the practice, the system will not completely replace the profit margin on drugs sold in practice, but against that, there is a reduction in the administrative burden and it also mitigates against the risk of clients giving their details to a corporate-owned group which may later decide to open in the local area. 

The platform is rolling out across the Vetsure network in coming weeks and is currently in beta testing, with wider market availability planned later in the year.

Ashley Gray, Managing Director of Vetsure, said: "As a company founded, owned and run by vets, we were driven to act in the face of a rapidly changing marketplace.

"Our mission has always been to champion independent clinics.

"The CMA investigation highlights a very real risk to practice income, particularly when such a significant proportion is tied to medicine sales.

"Vetsuremeds.com enables practices to meet evolving regulatory expectations, deliver outstanding client service, and continue to thrive as independent businesses."

vetsuremeds.com 

www.vetsurevet.com

Defra has announced the detection of Bluetongue in 18 imported cattle on premises near Bishop Auckland, County Durham.  The animals originated from within the BTV8 Restricted Zone in Germany and were detected as a result of post-import testing carried out by Defra on all Bluetongue susceptible animals arriving from Continental Europe. 

This is the fourth incidence of infected animals being imported to the UK.  Alongside the premises in East Sussex, Hertfordshire and Devon identified in August, the imported animals will remain under restrictions. 

As of 1 September the whole of England and Wales is now in a Protection Zone and approximately 30 million doses of vaccine have so far been made available to farmers throughout England and Wales to protect their stock.  However, it may take up to six to eight weeks from now for livestock keepers in the North of England and Wales to have had sufficient opportunity to vaccinate their livestock and to gain immunity (at least three weeks in sheep, and six weeks in cattle). 

To allow livestock keepers in those areas sufficient opportunity to protect their animals, and while further veterinary investigations are carried out, these particular infected animals will remain under restriction until late October.  Any further positive import cases detected may also be restricted for a period of time depending on veterinary risk assessment, while vaccination continues.

Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer, Alick Simmons said: "This incident shows how important it is for farmers to consider potential disease risks when buying stock, regardless of source.  Buyers need to consider how best to protect their own businesses and those of their neighbours and make sure they are clear about the stock they are intending to buy.

"I also want to remind farmers about the importance of vaccination.  It is the only effective tool to protect susceptible animals from Bluetongue.  Recent evidence indicates a drop or delay in vaccine take-up in counties recently brought into the Protection Zone. Sales data for some of those counties suggest that the number of animals vaccinated in these areas could be as low as one in three, and in Northumberland and Cumbria, the most recent counties brought into the Protection Zone, as low as one in five.

"The threat from Bluetongue is present and real, as shown by the most recent import cases.  Vaccination as a preventive measure is therefore more important than ever, so the message to the industry remains clear: don't hesitate, vaccinate".

Poor sex education amongst cat owners may be leading to more than 200,000 unplanned litters - or 850,000 kittens every year in the UK, according to research published online in the Veterinary Record today.

Authors Dr Philippa Welsh, Professor Tim Gruffydd-Jones, Margaret Roberts and Dr Jane Murray based their findings on a survey of almost 10,500 UK households and more than 3000 completed returns (30% response rate).

Information was gathered on pet ownership, with specific questions asked of owners of female cats about how many planned or accidental litters their pets had had. The survey also aimed to probe the prevalence of common misconceptions about the breeding patterns of cats.

In all, data was collected from 715 cat-owning households, of which 426 owned one or more female cats. Around 1 in 8 (13%) of these owners said that their pets had had one or more accidental litters.

A total of 128 litters had been produced by 91 (out of 552) female cats; 65 of these had given birth to 102 unplanned litters, meaning that just under 80% of all litters had been accidental.

Unplanned litters were more than twice as likely in households owning more than one cat and more than four times as likely if the owner mistakenly believed that a female cat should have a litter before being neutered, the responses showed. Men were more than twice as likely as women to hold this belief.

The authors calculate that if this belief were dispelled, there could be around 213,000 fewer litters and more than 851,000 fewer kittens born in the UK every year.

Half (49%) of 682 cat owners surveyed believed that cats should either have a litter before being neutered (23%) or were unsure if they should (26%), despite there being no evidence whatsoever that this benefits feline health.

Similarly, among the 659 owners who answered the question about puberty, most (83.5%) mistakenly believed that the youngest age at which a cat could get pregnant was five months, with a further one in four (26%) believing that an unneutered female cat (queen) couldn't get pregnant before the age of 12 months. The authors point out that whilst it is not common for a four month old kitten to get pregnant, it does happen.

Furthermore, one in seven cat owners incorrectly thought that unneutered related cats wouldn't mate with each other, and a further one in four (24.5%) were unsure.

The authors said: "The vast majority of litters born to cats in the UK are not planned. This study suggests that improving cat-owner knowledge of the reproductive capacity of cats is likely to have a significant impact on the numbers of accidental litters."

The authors concluded that dispelling the commonly held belief that cats should have a litter before neutering would probably have the single biggest impact on the figures.

Read the full paper

A mutation responsible for Primary Lens Luxation (PLL), a painful and blinding inherited eye condition, has been indentified by geneticists working in the Kennel Club Genetics Centre at the Animal Health Trust. They expect a DNA test to identify carriers of the mutation to be available by late October, 2009.

The team led by Dr Cathryn Mellersh, in collaboration with Dr David Sargan (Cambridge University) and Dr David Gould (Davies Veterinary Specialists), believe the discovery could prevent the development of PLL in several breeds of terriers.

Miniature Bull Terriers, Lancashire Heelers, Tibetan Terriers, Jack Russell Terriers, Parson Russell Terriers, Patterdale Terriers, Sealyham Terriers and Chinese Crested dogs will all benefit from the findings.

Dr Cathryn Mellersh, said: "This is an exciting discovery for many breeds of dogs across the world. We have identified the mutation, and soon we'll be able to give advice on breeding strategies. Hopefully in time we'll eradicate this awful condition from many breeds of dogs."

In the near future a simple test kit will be available for breeders and owners to test their dogs. It will be possible to collect DNA from a simple cheek swab.

The DNA test will enable breeders to ascertain the likelihood of each dog's risk of developing PLL. Breeders will then be able to make informed decisions about which dogs to breed. This will minimise the risk of producing dogs that will become affected by the serious and debilitating condition.

In affected dogs PLL causes fibres which support the lens to breakdown or disintegrate, causing the lens to fall into the wrong place in the eye. Depending on where the lens falls, it can cause glaucoma or loss of vision.

Caroline Kisko, Communication Director at the Kennel Club, commented: "This is truly a major breakthrough at the Kennel Club Genetics Centre in our fight to eliminate many of the inherited diseases dogs have, all made possible with funding from the Kennel Club Charitable Trust.

"PLL is a painful and blinding condition, and we hope once the DNA test is available at the end of next month we will be able to eliminate this condition altogether."

Dr. Mellersh, added: "We would like to sincerely thank all the owners and breeders who have contributed DNA and information from their dogs to this project. The discovery would not have been possible without them."

Over 1,200 members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, including around 800 UK-practising veterinary surgeons, have not yet paid their retention fees, and face being removed from the Register if they do not pay before 29 May 2010.

Veterinary surgeons must be registered with the College in order to practise legally in the UK. Retention fees are due by the end of March each year, and the College allows a further two-month period before removing veterinary surgeons from the Register, during which time reminders are issued.

There is still just time for payment to be made by credit card, bank transfer or cheque. Payments cannot be made over the telephone.

Those who have recently changed address, practice address or bank details are urged to check that payments have been properly processed. It is the responsibility of individual members to ensure payment has been made, even if an employer pays the fee. Those whose names are removed for non-payment after 29 May will no longer be able to practise legally in the UK, and would need to pay an additional fee if they wished to be restored to the Register.

Bill Mavir, VDS Chairman said: "Registration with the RCVS is a prerequisite for membership of the Veterinary Defence Society and the provision of professional indemnity insurance."

Bayer Animal Health has signed a sponsorship deal with the celebrated series The Dog Whisperer on Nat Geo Wild and committed to a wide-reaching TV advertising campaign to promote Drontal. 

The sponsorship agreement covers series 5 of The Dog Whisperer as well as repeats of series 1 - 4.  The programme follows Cesar Millan as he goes into the homes of troubled dog owners offering calm and assertive guidance. The Dog Whisperer is broadcast five times a day throughout the week and will be aired from July until December on Nat Geo Wild. Drontal's sponsorship credits will be shown before, during and after each episode and will feature the Schnauzer that's become synonymous with the brand.

An additional TV advertising campaign will run during July and August in the UK and Republic of Ireland, primarily on GMTV and Ireland AM, but also on around 15 satellite channels. All the advertising will centre around the Schnauzer "Absolutely Not" campaign, serving to highlight the benefits of regular worming to a specifically targeted audience.

Drontal product manager, Dan White, says the initiative will increase brand awareness for Drontal amongst pet owners, ultimately resulting in healthier dogs and cats. "We're expecting to see a significant increase in demand once the campaign commences and, as such, have put in place the necessary steps to ensure this extra demand can be easily satisfied."

Deborah Armstrong, Senior Vice President, Media Sales and Partnerships for Fox International Channels says: "We are thrilled Drontal has partnered with our world famous Dog Whisperer TV series. The show, which premieres on Nat Geo WILD, and its star Cesar Millan, has a passionate and loyal fan base in this country which is a key factor for Drontal. The Dog Whisperer is a break-out franchise for National Geographic Channel and the show combines our unique brand values with first class entertainment."

New point of sale materials for veterinary practices to reflect the sponsorship agreement will also be available.

For more information, please speak to your local Bayer Territory Manager.

Following issues with the implementation and associated costs of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' database (iMIS), independent IT specialists TFX Consulting Ltd have reported on both the implementation project and the long-term suitability of the database for the College's needs.

The TFX iMIS Report highlights inadequacies in the procurement process for the IT system, especially with regard to the drafting of the original brief. The Report suggests that this led to differing expectations from the College and ASI, the company licensing and assisting with the implementation of the software, in terms of the detail and complexity of the project.

Although TFX says it believes the iMIS system to be suitable for the finance functionality required, it is critical of its ability to support some other RCVS data structures, and considers it is a poor fit for the complex registration and education functions of the College. The Report writers note that the RCVS continues to fulfil its statutory duties in terms of fee collection and the maintenance of registration records.

The key recommendations of the Report are that the RCVS continues to work with the iMIS database in the immediate future, particularly with regard to core functions, but that a new partner is sought for ongoing support of the system. Thereafter, the Report recommends that a plan is put in place to migrate away from the system over a period of two to three years, as part of a natural upgrade path for RCVS IT systems.

As part of this programme, TFX recommends that a detailed analysis exercise is required, with the objective of more completely defining the College's complex requirements.

This is the second of two reports prepared by TFX; the first reviewed the College's technology more generally. The Technology Report provided valuable advice in areas of network security, staged replacement of legacy hardware and a coherent software and licensing programme, with associated staff training. 

The TFX iMIS Report can be downloaded from http://www.rcvs.org.uk/TFX

The TFX Technology Report will not be published, as it concerns issues relating to security of the College's IT infrastructure.

RCVS President Jerry Davies said: "We are grateful to TFX Consulting, and Ben Murray in particular, for the depth and clarity of both of their reports. It has been very useful to have independent scrutiny of the iMIS project and our IT systems as a whole.

"Lessons can be - and have been - learned. For example, new project management protocols have been introduced by the College, and the instigation of an Audit and Risk Committee has been agreed".

Council accepted the findings of the Report at its recent meeting, and the new Chief Executive and Secretary, Nick Stace, will consider how the recommendations are best implemented, when he takes up his post in September 2012.