Compassion Understood, a new company set up to provide veterinary staff with training in how to help clients deal with pet loss, and provide owners with a new information resource on the subject, launched at BSAVA this week.

The new service has been set up partly in response to a survey which showed a disparity between what veterinary professionals think clients need in relation to euthanasia and what they actually want.

The research¹ showed that 60% of owners felt their vet handled the euthanasia of their pet very well, leaving 40% who had a clear desire for veterinary staff to understand more, to help prepare them better for their loss, and to signpost where they can access more support if required.

Compassion Understood Managing Director Douglas Muir said: "Our research showed that 70% of veterinary professionals felt that further training in supporting clients through pet loss would be beneficial, and only 35% of vets felt well-equipped to answer questions from pet owners about the right time to say goodbye.

"This, coupled with a very clear need for more support expressed by the owners in our surveys, led me to see that there was a double need: more training was needed in end-of-life for the practice team, on communication as well as clinical aspects of end-of-life; also some kind of resource was needed for pet owners, so they could access clear and helpful information.

"There are some very good support sites out there, but the information is quite fragmented and not easy to find. We wanted to pull everything together in one place and from there we could signpost them to where to get further help if needed. And so Compassion Understood was born, to help veterinary practices, and pet owners."

The new Compassion Understood Pet Loss Support Training programme has been put together with the help of end-of-life and hospice vet Dr Susan Gregersen. She said: "Speaking to colleagues in the many practices we collaborate with, I’ve learned just how many feel inadequately prepared. They’re unhappy that they’re short of time – and sometimes skills – to do a good job when an often-distraught client needs them most. But if a client is left with bad memories at the end of life, they may not return to the same practice with another pet; as we know, about 1 in 5 do not¹."

The programme includes modules covering the clinical aspects of assessing quality of life, decision-making around end-of-life, pre-euthanasia preparation, and palliative and animal hospice care. Other aspects covered are the emotional and psychological aspects of losing a pet, as well as how to protect the practice team from compassion fatigue or emotional depletion.

The training programme is fully online, and can be completed at the learner’s own pace. The learning approaches and delivery have been overseen by educational expert, Dr Jenny Moffett previously of the University of Surrey, herself a veterinarian with a keen interest in communication and pet loss support.

Susan said: "Vet school training on end of life and euthanasia is still sparse, as many vets will agree. I see the online course as being about learning to care rather than to cure, giving vets the confidence and skill to show real compassion while remaining professional."

Reference

1. Pet Loss Survey, 2015. Compassion Understood. Data on file.

VetSurgeon.org has launched a new register of veterinary locums as a resource for practices that need to find a locum quickly and at no cost.

Veterinary locums can add themselves to the register free of charge, and include full details of the service they offer.

Practices that need a locum can then search the register by area. After they've used the locum, they are encouraged to comment beneath the locum's entry on the register.

At the time of writing, about a dozen locums have added their details to the register, so it's still early days. Hopefully, however, this will grow into a really valuable resource for both practices and locums.

To add your name to the register, click here and follow the instructions linked to from the right hand side.

Village Vet is set to become the first veterinary group to have its clinics recognised as 'Cat Friendly' under the International Society of Feline Medicine's (ISFM) WellCat For Life programme, sponsored by Purina.

Working in partnership with Purina, each clinic is undergoing a bespoke 'moggie makeover' to help make visits as stress-free as possible for cats and their owners.

Founder of Village Vet, Brendan Robinson said: "We understand how stressful trips to the vets can be for both our feline friends and their owners. Cats account for 45% of our client base, so it is our goal to make visits to our practices as relaxed and stress-free as possible.

"The Hampstead practice, for example, is introducing a specialist cat ward situated well away from the sight and smell of dogs, with large, glass-fronted kennels that cut down noise and keep the cats hidden from each other.

"Another important change is the introduction of dedicated 'feline advocates' across each practice whose role is to 'think cat' and maintain the gold standard cat care. Front of house staff are also being trained to help owners make their cat as comfortable as possible in the waiting room, by directing them to the cat only waiting areas and offering towels to cover the baskets so cats feel safe and secure."

To help implement the changes, Purina has funded and organised practice visits with feline specialist Andrea Harvey. During her time with Village Vet, Andrea visited each practice to help train the 'feline advocates' and run workshops with vet nurses and front of house staff.

Rea Johnston from the Maida Vale Village Vet has been appointed as a 'feline advocate'. She said: "Here at Village Vet, we have always understood the importance of catering to cats' specific needs. But Andrea really helped inspire the team to think of practical changes that could make a real difference to our clients and their pets. Our support staff now have much greater confidence and it's making a big difference to our clients."

Claire Bessant, CEO at ISFM said: "As territorial animals, cats can become stressed as soon as they leave their home, so by the time they get to the vet practice they can be extremely anxious. This stress can manifest itself physically, which in extreme cases can affect diagnosis of certain conditions.

The Cat Friendly Clinic self-assessment scheme is open to any veterinary clinic that deals with cat patients. It lays out numerous requirements regarding the design, equipment and facilities within the clinic. Importantly, it also covers the quality of care provided to cats, the level of understanding of cats and their needs in the clinic, and interaction between the clinic and cat owners.

Reaching a gold or silver standard allows practices to display the Cat Friendly Clinic logo. For more information, visit: www.wellcat.org.

Veterinary Women In Leadership (VWIL) is to host an online CPD event designed to empower women in the veterinary profession to problem-solve and achieve career goals on 7th December 2022 from 1-7pm.

The event, sponsored by Provet Cloud, will include interactive workshop sessions on ‘Finding Flexible Working Solutions’, ‘Financial Security and Negotiation Skills’, and ‘Developing Your Personal Brand’.

Women from all areas of the veterinary industry will also be sharing their inspirational career stories. 

The speaker line-up for the event includes Flexee’s Silvia Janska, who takes a look at ‘Finding Flexible Working Solutions’, including how they can be implemented in practice to empower individuals and teams, and benefit the business.

Katie Ford and Paul Horwood from VetYou, will be addressing overcoming barriers in talking about, navigating, and creating security with money to arm delegates with negotiation tools and useable resources in their workshop session on ‘Financial Security and Negotiation Skills’

Hamzah Malik from Regent Animal Health will lead a workshop on ‘Developing Your Personal Brand’ to build delegates’ confidence in ways to explore and articulate personal identity and strengths, and apply brand marketing principles to boost career success.

The event will also feature ‘Seeing is Believing’ breakout sessions with female speakers from all spheres of veterinary practice, business, industry, nursing and education, sharing their career stories and taking part in Q&A sessions.

The event is suited to all those thinking about the next career step, considering leadership roles or already working within leadership positions in the veterinary sector.

Veterinary professionals and students can take advantage of an early-bird rate until 20th November.

For more information and to register for the event, visit: https://eu.eventscloud.com/website/7528/home/ 

VetKind, a collaboration between the Association of Veterinary Students of UK and Ireland and SkillsTree Training, are giving a webinar this Saturday which will offer advice for student vets about how they can look after their mental wellbeing during the coronavirus pandemic.

The one-hour webinar, titled 'Calm in the Corona' takes place between 11am and 12 noon on Saturday 25 April and is being supported by the RCVS Mind Matters initiative.

The session will look at some of the common responses to uncertainty during the pandemic, with an emphasis on how to recognise and nurture more adaptive or helpful responses that do not lead to heightened anxiety or distress.

Topics will include creating routines, setting boundaries and how to seek social support despite quarantine measures.

Building on the interactive approach from previous VetKind conferences, student veterinary nurses and veterinary students will be invited to share their coronavirus experiences, ideas and successes with their colleagues.

Jenny Moffett, Managing Director of SkillsTree and VetKind facilitator said: "Although we’re all talking about social distancing right now, it’s more accurate to think of it as physical distancing. Social support is more important than ever, and webinars can be a really effective way to connect, and work together on a common challenge.

"We know that many students may be facing heightened stress and anxiety right now as they worry about the impact the pandemic may have on their own and their family’s health, their education, their finances, their housing and so on. We hope that this webinar will provide some effective coping strategies and an opportunity to share fears and worries and find constructive solutions to them."

Those that wish to take part in the webinar should email avsvetkind@gmail.com. An automatic reply with the link to participate in the webinar will then be emailed back.

The RCVS has published a summary of the goings on at its 6 November meeting.

Amongst other things, Council agreed to continue to display postnominals in the Register, undertake a consultation on whether members should be able to use the courtesy title 'doctor' and make amendments to the College's current registration regulations.

In addition, 

• Council discussed and approved the College's budget for 2015.
• Council heard that the new Royal Charter had been approved by the Privy Council the previous evening and approved new rules relating to the registration of veterinary nurses which need to be in place when the new RCVS Royal Charter comes into effect and new bye-laws to replace the existing ones which will be revoked when the Charter is sealed and brought into effect.
• Council agreed to amend a number of the current regulations for the registration of veterinary surgeons in order to make the process more convenient for registrants. Key changes include allowing veterinary surgeons to supply either a work or home address for publication in the Register, not charging a punitive additional restoration fee for those who are restored to the Register at the direction of the Disciplinary Committee and no longer levying an administrative charge on credit card payments - a change which will also now allow the College to accept debit card payments. The new registration regulations have now been submitted to the Privy Council, which will need to grant approval before they come into effect.
• Council confirmed that the College will continue to display postnominals for postgraduate qualifications in the Register - reversing a previous decision to remove all postnominals except those for the registerable degree and MRCVS or FRCVS. Council agreed that the following postnominals would be included on the Register - primary veterinary qualifications that the College has a legal obligation to display; qualifications approved for Advanced Practitioner and Specialist status; and other qualifications and honorary postnominals deemed relevant by Council including some non-veterinary/science-related qualifications.
• Council agreed to undertake a consultation on whether members of the College should be allowed to use the courtesy title 'doctor'. The proposals were brought forward by RCVS President Professor Stuart Reid who cited the fact that international veterinary surgeons used the title, that medical practitioners in the UK carry the courtesy title and a recent decision by the General Dental Council to allow dentists the use the title. Council agreed to open the issue to an online consultation with both the public and profession, which is likely to be launched before Christmas.
• Council members heard reports from VN Council and the Audit and Risk, Education, Standards, Preliminary Investigation, Disciplinary and PIC/DC Liaison Committees. Papers for each can be also be found at www.rcvs.org.uk/about-us/rcvs-council/council-meetings
• During the afternoon session of Council, members considered a range of possible options for reforming the governance structure of the College. The case for reform was outlined by Professor Reid who asked Council members to consider its decision-making functions, size, composition and frequency of meetings. Following group discussions various views were put forward, including a larger consultative Council which would meet less frequently, alongside an enlarged Operational Board which would meet monthly; and having a smaller Council which would meet more frequently. The Operational Board will now be considering these views and will put further proposals to Council in March.
• Council agreed a recommendation put forward by members Mark Elliott and Richard Stephenson that recognised that while much decision-making had been delegated to committees (eg the Standards and Education Committees), Council members should feel able to discuss decisions made in committee with which they disagree. Furthermore, the recommendation stated that committees should be encouraged to refer major policy decisions to Council for ratification. The majority of recommendations were accepted in principle by Council.

More information about these decisions can be found in the latest edition of RCVS News, copies of which have been sent to all veterinary surgeons and listed/registered veterinary nurses.

The full papers for the Council meeting can be found on the RCVS website at www.rcvs.org.uk/about-us/rcvs-council/council-meetings

Hysolv Animal Health UK has announced that it is offering a free diagnostic test which allows vets to identify the E. coli sub-types that produce the Shiga toxin associated with oedema disease in pigs.

The test, known as STEC-Check and worth £150-£200, is being sponsored by IDT Biologika GmbH. In the UK and Republic of Ireland, faeces and/or intestinal samples will be sent to the Animal Health and Plant Agency (APHA), Weybridge and SAC Consulting Veterinary Services at Penicuik to confirm results within a few days.

Hysolv says the test will provide a quick and accurate diagnosis, enabling appropriate action, including vaccination, to be taken on the farm.

Richard Brealey from Hysolv said: "Oedema disease is not always obvious and may be masked or controlled by the use of antibiotics, the use of zinc oxide or low-protein feeds which can also negatively affect productivity. This test will help confirm the presence of Shiga-toxin producing E. coli on the farm, a cause of serious losses in individual herds. We are therefore advising farmers to contact their vets to discuss using STEC-check on their farms."

According to the company, a nationwide study in Germany showed that 59% of farms where oedema was suspected were affected by Shiga toxin. 

Richard added: "The Ecoporc Shiga vaccine has been recently licensed for use in the UK. There is pressure on vets and farmers to reduce the use of antimicrobials and vaccination, together with other measures, and this will help them to do this."

In the UK farmers will be able to carry out a DIY calculation of their return on investment online, using their smartphones or by visiting the Shiga toxin website www.shigatoxin.com

Denmark-based consulting firm praQtice has launched a subsidiary in the UK to offer veterinary practice management consultancy services.

The company says it concentrates on six business areas: strategy and business development, marketing, employee and manager development, finance, research and analysis, and training.  

praQtice says it has worked with a wide range of practices, from the small local practice to the large hospital, helping them bring together their mission and vision. The company also has the benefit of having an in-house marketing and communication department which it says has had considerable success - not only in Scandinavia, but in the UK when last year praQtice won a Veterinary Marketing Association award.

The launch in the UK will primarily be driven by three praQtice consultants - founder and business developer Christian Kolthoff, Marketing Consultant Mario Riewerts and Business Developer Helen Kington.  

Helen said: "This will be great for UK vets, largely it has been the same group of consultants working with the same thoughts and ideas for the last 10 years. We need to look beyond our borders in order to evolve. In Scandinavia you can only put a mark up of 5% on your drugs, which does not make you a profit. Thus they have learnt to be much better in delivering and pricing for their professional service, I am sure we can learn a lot from them.  What we also see all over Europe is that practices are getting bigger and bigger. But as the practices grow, so does the number of problems and the partner's income rarely follows. praQtice is about quality of life and allowing yourself to dream, we then give you the tools along with helping you through the implementation to make those dreams and ambitions come true.

You can meet the team at the VPMA Congress in Oxford (28th-30th January), where founder and CEO Christian Kolthoff will be speaking. Meantime, if you would like more information about praQtice, visit www.praqtice.co.uk or telephone Helen Kington on 07765 338 607

Norbrook Laboratories has announced that Pestigon for Cats, the company's fipronil spot on solution against fleas and ticks, has been granted an extension to its licence which means it is now indicated against the Ixodes ricinus tick.

Previously, the cat product was only indicated for Dermacentor reticulatus.

The Pestigon dog spot on offers efficacy against the Dermacentor reticulatus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus and the Ixodes ricinus tick.

Michelle Jones, Norbrook's Small Animal Brand Manager said: "The extension of our licence for Pestigon in Cats is welcome news. The Ixodes ricinus tick is one of the most common ticks found in the UK. Pet owners need to be aware that choosing a treatment that kills ticks as well as fleas is vital, with ticks potentially spreading diseases such as lyme disease. We are therefore delighted that our Pestigon range now gives cat owners even more protection against fleas and ticks."

Michelle added: "Pestigon is only available through veterinary practices which means that pet owners have to visit their practice to purchase this flea and tick treatment. They can therefore receive expert advice at the point of purchase and discuss any concerns they may have."

Pestigon spot on is available from all wholesalers in packs of 3, 6 and 24.  Norbrook also makes a household spray, Permaguard, and a range of customer support materials available from Norbrook Territory Managers.

Image: Ixodes ricinus  Richard Bartz

The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use (CVMP) has reached a final conclusion that the benefit-risk for veterinary medicines containing zinc oxide, used to prevent post weaning diarrhoea in piglets, is negative and that this class of products should be withdrawn.

The proposed withdrawal is vigorously opposed by the National Pig Association, which argues that zinc oxide is effective at controlling E.coli infections and can result in lower use of antimicrobials. Furthermore, the ban was proposed by France and the Netherlands, neither of which use zinc oxide.

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate has submitted evidence to support a proposal for a 10 year transition period if medicines containing zinc oxide are to be withdrawn. This will allow for changes in pig farming practices to avoid increases in the occurrence of diarrhoea at weaning, to ensure animal welfare and prevent increases in the use of antibiotics.

The European Commission will now make a final decision on zinc oxide products - taking into account the CVMP’s recommendation and evidence submitted by Member States - which is expected to be announced some time after June this year.

The RCVS will be holding a summit meeting this autumn to examine the issues surrounding veterinary workforce shortages and develop solutions.

The meeting follows growing concerns expressed both within the profession and in the national media about the shortage of veterinary surgeons in the UK. 

Lizzie Lockett, RCVS CEO (pictured right), said: “Workforce shortages within the veterinary sector has been a concern for some time, however, in the past few months there has been a ‘perfect storm’ of circumstances, which have come together to exacerbate the problem. The issues include the ongoing impact of the pandemic, burnout and fatigue within the profession; the UK’s exit from the European Union, which has seen a significant reduction in the number of EU vets joining the Register as well as an associated increase in the need for veterinary certification; and an increase in pet ownership, and therefore demand for veterinary services, over the course of the pandemic."

In advance of the meeting, which is due to be help in November, the College will be conducting research to better gauge the extent of the problem both nationally and regionally.

The meeting will then consider how recruitment, retention and return to work might address the problem.

Lizzie added: “While there has already been a lot of focus and discussions around recruitment and retention, something less spoken about is return, and the summit will consider the reasons why members of the profession may move away from clinical practice, and if there’s more scope for different ways of working that could bring people back into clinical practice.

“Ahead of the summit we will be reviewing all the latest data that we and other organisations have shared to better understand the gap between capacity and demand, the push and pull factors on decisions to either join or leave clinical practice and build a more evidence-based picture of veterinary workforce trends.”

The summit itself, the date of which is yet to be confirmed, will involve key veterinary stakeholders including the veterinary schools, veterinary employers and representative bodies, coming together to ensure that there will be a joined-up approach in finding solutions to the issues confronting the profession.

Lizzie said: “It may not necessarily be easy to identify all the solutions in one day, and they won’t all come from the RCVS, but opening up the conversation and getting the professions focused on taking appropriate action is an important first step.”

Meanwhile, RCVS President Kate Richards this week wrote to all vets and nurses to reassure them them that the RCVS was aware of the problem and the additional pressures they are under as a result.

In the letter she wrote: “In the face of current shortages, I would like to stress that we support practice teams in prioritising cases strictly according to the health and welfare needs of their patients, and in informing their clients of the need to do so.

“We would also urge veterinary surgeons to share their caseload as much as possible, delegating permitted procedures to their veterinary nurse colleagues wherever appropriate to do so.

"And, we would like to remind veterinary surgeons that their current 24/7 emergency cover obligations, as set out in the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct, are limited only to taking steps to provide 24-hour emergency first-aid and pain relief to animals according to their skills and the specific situation."

She also added that, while members of the profession may be anxious about a potential increase in the number of concerns being raised by clients because they are not able to offer the level of service they would ideally like to, the RCVS would always take into account the entire circumstances surrounding a complaint as part of its investigation process.

She also said that the College would also continue to raise awareness amongst animal owners of the acute challenges currently facing veterinary teams around the country, and to request their ongoing patience and understanding.

To assist the profession, a series of FAQs have been produced to help with different situations that vets may encounter at the moment, particularly around the provision of 24/7 emergency cover, and to provide further guidance on delegating procedures to veterinary nurses. These can be found at: www.rcvs.org.uk/news-and-views/news/

A new study published in Plos One by the Royal Veterinary College has revealed the most common health disorders of tortoises in the UK¹.

For the study, researchers reviewed the anonymised medical records of 2,040 chelonia on the College's VetCompass database. 

94.26% were recorded as tortoises, 3.63% terrapins and 2.11% turtles.

The most common tortoise species were Hermann’s tortoise, Horsfield’s tortoise and Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise, while the most common terrapin species were musk turtle and yellow belly slider. 

The study found that the most common disorders in tortoises were beak abnormality (17.68%), overgrown nails (11.91%) and shell abnormality (9.67%), while the most common disorders in terrapins were top and bottom shell abnormalities (13.51%).

The researchers say that most of these disorders are externally visible making them easier to recognise and diagnose, however they also often correspond with inappropriate husbandry and can be related to internal diseases that are harder to identify and diagnose.

The average age of death in the study was found to be 7.32 years, which is below the expected lifespan of most species of tortoise, suggesting that many are dying prematurely.

Dr Jessica May Hornby, exotic veterinary surgeon and lead author of the study, said:

“This research has provided us with a base to start to understand what veterinarians are currently seeing in practice and therefore give an insight into the health of the chelonian population.

"People are no longer only keeping the more common species of pets, such as dogs and cats, so this data is vital to understanding where and how owners and veterinarians need further support and training to ensure these brilliant little guys get the veterinary care they need, especially when many should easily be outliving us!”

Reference

• Hornby JM, Hedley J, Brodbelt DC, Church DB, O’Neill DG (2025) Demography, commonly recorded disorders and mortality in chelonia under UK primary veterinary care: A VetCompass study. PLOS ONE 20(4): e0321038. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321038 

Photo: www.depositphotos.com

Virbac is launching a nationwide consumer campaign directing pet owners into practice with a special £1 off Indorex voucher promotion.

Indorex product manager Victoria Hudson said: "Participating practices also have the chance to win £250 worth of shopping vouchers for themselves. The practice returning the most client vouchers, plus two runners up, will each win Love2shop shopping vouchers which can be spent at thousands of high street stores, restaurants and attractions across the UK!"

Victoria added: "Indorex is such an easy product to use providing owners with 12 months protection against fleas in their home with just a single application. Even in the summer months, the product is UV stable so it can also be used in sunlit areas such as cars and conservatories."

Vouchers can be obtained from your local Virbac territory manager or downloaded at www.fleafreezones.co.uk/. Following customer redemption each £1money off voucher can be reclaimed by the practice with proof of purchase.