Dentistry Specialists: Andrew Perry, Jose C. Almansa Ruiz, Rachel Perry, and Bob Partridge, together with veterinary dentists Dr Matthew Oxford FRCVS, Evelyn Barbour-Hill and Susan Thorne join the team of Small Animal Medicine Specialists who are also on hand to answer questions posted by GP vets on VetSurgeon.org
All questions asked on VetSurgeon.org are added to a searchable knowledge base for the benefit of everyone in the profession. So anyone who asks a question is not just doing it for their own benefit, but for everyone.
Questions can be case-related, or broader questions asking what the team thinks about a drug, technique or piece of research.
Anyone who subscribes to the VetSurgeon Digest of questions here, and posts a dentistry question here before 30th September 2023 will have their name put in the hat for a bottle of Moet champagne.
VetSurgeon.org Editor Arlo Guthrie said: “One other thing. Do share this news story with your colleagues in general practice. For them to be able to tap into the minds of some of the leading lights in both dentistry and medicine is a really amazing resource, especially for more recent grads."
The University of Surrey has appointed Devereux Architects to create a masterplan for its new School of Veterinary Medicine.
As one of the University's largest and most prestigious future development sites, the new school, which sits within the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, will comprise three complimentary and inter-related buildings totalling approximately 9000m2 - an Academic Building, a Veterinary Clinical Skills Centre and a Veterinary Pathology Facility.
The new building will be positioned at the corner of the new campus green at Manor Park. It will feature naturally ventilated office and teaching spaces along one side of the atrium and research spaces and lecture halls along the other. The roof of the atrium is shaped to guide rising, warmed air into the plant room where the heat can be extracted and reused.
The new academic building will provide world-class teaching and research laboratories, lecture theatres, and flexible break out spaces organised around a common shared atrium.
Professor Lisa Roberts, Dean of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, said: "We were very impressed with the design concept for the new School of Veterinary Medicine that Devereux Architects presented at the tendering stage. We are looking forward to working with the professional team at Devereux Architects to deliver this major project for the University of Surrey."
The audit1 was led by Paragon Veterinary Referrals’ head of cardiology, Chris Linney (pictured), to review treatment for patent ductus arteriosus.
He set up the study whilst working at Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service, and the other centres collaborating on the study were Anicura Oslo Animal Hospital, Heart Vets; Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and the Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, University Hospital of Companion Animals, Copenhagen and Veterinary Cardiology Consultancy.
Other clinicians taking part included Brigite Pedro, Mike Martin and João Neves, formerly of Willows, along with Jo Harris and Dave Dickson, of HeartVets.
Chris, an RCVS and EBVS specialist in cardiology, said: “This published multicentre prospective clinical audit was a first of its kind in the cardiology world.
“This type of audit acts as a quality control to improve patient outcomes through systematic review of care, comparing to predefined criteria and then implementing change, and so the process repeats.
“Improving patient outcomes and benchmarking against existing standards is essential for elevating patient outcomes.
In the centres in this study, we are already delivering excellent patient outcomes but with room for improvements, however small, this audit will help future patients but also colleagues across the cardiology world.”
Reference
Participating practices will learn about dental disease pathophysiology and diagnosis, gain insights in pet owner behaviour and learn how to increase client engagement while implementing a dental home care plan.
Animalcare has also made available free social media packs and waiting room materials to help educate clients on pet dental health.
Will Peel, Marketing Manager at Animalcare said: ‘We know that UK veterinary surgeons consider dental disorders to be one of the most important health related welfare issues currently affecting UK dogs.
"We’ve introduced our CPD sessions to help the entire veterinary team learn more about dental disease and to help them educate their clients about implementing an at home dental regime which works for them and their pets.'
To book your Lunch and Learn or request a social media pack and other materials, contact your local Animalcare territory manager or email animalcare@animalcare.co.uk.
Medivet has announced that the Pilgrims Veterinary Clinics based in Dartford and West Kingsdown have become the 100th and 101st practices to join the Medivet Veterinary Partnership
Arnold Levy, Managing Director of Medivet said: "We are delighted to welcome the Pilgrims group. Medivet was founded in 1986, and we have been growing steadily ever since. Our model is based on acquisition or partnership with existing practices. That means we are still entirely vet owned and vet managed - and I strongly believe this traditional partnership model is the reason for our success."
He added: "We invest alongside our partner practices. We share the cost of investment for new equipment, and we share the profits. This has been a consistently successful approach for us. It's given our group the resilience to thrive whatever the competition, or the state of the economy."
The trial is the result of a six-week consultation held by the College in June 2016, asking for the profession’s views on a proposed new system of CPD - one that concentrates less on hours logged and more on interactive, reflective learning and measuring the impact that CPD has on the individual’s practice and patient health outcomes.
The College says that while an overall majority of the 3,357 people who responded to the College’s consultation agreed with the proposed changes to the CPD requirement, certain elements received less support than others. The lowest amount of support was received for the ‘reflection’ component with 35% of respondents disagreeing with it.
The RCVS Education Committee and VN Council therefore agreed that a pilot of a new outcomes-based approach should be held during 2017 before making a recommendation to RCVS Council. The RCVS Council approved this proposal at its meeting on 10 November 2016, after which 117 volunteers were recruited, 60 of whom were able to attend the training days.
A veterinary surgeon who signed up for the pilot and works in veterinary industry, Gina Dungworth, said: "I really appreciate the acknowledgement of non-clinical CPD practices, and while I was originally sceptical of the proposed system the pilot day has so far been clear and helpful."
A veterinary nurse volunteer, Lindsey Raven Emrich, said: "CPD is such a varied part of a veterinary professional’s career, and it very much depends on the person how easy it is to do. I find myself doing a lot of reflection as a natural part of reading articles, and I’m hoping this new system will expand that way of thinking into other areas of CPD."
The volunteers will now pilot the new proposed system and report to Education Committee, VN Council and RCVS Council.
Modules for the first GPAdvCert – in Small Animal Orthopaedics – will begin in February 2018. Improve says it's the first of many 'next steps' programmes which it plans to launch under this new postgraduate level qualification.
The GPAdvCert in Small Animal Orthopaedics is aimed at veterinary surgeons who have completed their General Practitioner Certificate in Small Animal Surgery (GPCert SAS) or Postgraduate Certificate (PgC) in Small Animal Surgery.
Accredited by the European School of Veterinary Postgraduate Studies (ESVPS) and validated by Harper Adams University, the programme is delivered over 15 modules in three state-of-the-art European training centres - Sheffield, UK, Cremona, Italy and Madrid, Spain. Improve says delegates will learn from world-class clinicians and will be supervised in their practise of new surgical techniques and advanced procedures in a wet-lab environment.
David Babington MRCVS, Managing Director of Improve International (pictured right), said: "We felt there was a gap in the current structure for a postgraduate qualification which would allow students to advance their knowledge and practical skills in their chosen area and to add to their academic credentials. The General Practitioner Advanced Certificate is our solution."
Successful achievement of the GPAdvCert will enable delegates to progress from a Postgraduate Certificate in Small Animal Surgery (or equivalent) to the Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Veterinary Practice Sciences in the UK, which is awarded by Harper Adams University. This can, in turn, be used towards the award of a Masters Degree (MSc) in Advanced Veterinary Practice Sciences.
David added: "Delegates for our first GPAdvCert in Orthopaedics for Small Animals will enhance their skills and confidence in dealing with more advanced orthopaedic procedures in-house and this will help them to reduce the number of patients which are referred, retaining a higher level of income for their practice. They will also develop skills which they can pass onto their team. We look forward to welcoming our first delegates next year."
Further details are available at: https://www.improveinternational.com/uk/course/general-practitioner-advanced-certificate-in-small-animal-orthopaedic-surgery/
Identics, an animal identification company run by veterinary surgeon Egbert de Vries, has launched Labtags, a system with which you can tag animals and takes tissue samples simultaneously.
Egbert said: One of the diseases for which this tag has proven to be useful is Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD). BVD Antigen testing is an important method of identifying the persistently infected (PI) animals in a herd.
"Use of labtags can be integrated in an accreditation scheme to achieve BVD Free status. It removes the need for taking blood samples and therefore simplifies the implementation of the accreditation scheme.
"BVD Antigen testing is not solely used for achieving an accreditation status. Persistently infected (PI) animals in your herd allow for the circulation of the BVD virus and have a negative impact on herd fertility and calf health. Identifying these animals is necessary for good herd management."
Two different labtags are available from IDENTICS. The first is the green button tag with a sequential number, which can be used as a complimentary tag to your double tagged animal. The second is a DEFRA approved tag with your UK herd number and individual animal number, allowing you to tag and sample your newborn calves with the correct tag without any extra work.
For more information, visit www.identics.co.uk, start a conversation with Egbert, email: info@identics.co.uk, or telephone: 01994 342100 / 07787 420646
The RCVS Charitable Trust has announced that it is working in partnership with Imperial College London and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to co-fund a doctorate entitled 'Veterinary training and veterinary work: a female perspective, 1919-2000.'
This will look at the shift in women's expectations, experiences, professional networks and career trajectories, and examine how and why certain veterinary activities came to be regarded as suitable (or unsuitable) work for women. In the course of this research the personal collections of two prominent members of the veterinary profession, Connie Ford and Olga Uvarov, will also be catalogued, to make these papers more accessible to both professional researchers and more generalist readers.
Clare Boulton, RCVS Charitable Trust Librarian and the Trust's project supervisor said: "This exciting project is an opportunity to really use the archival material held by the RCVS Charitable Trust Library, interview transcripts and surveys, to describe and analyse the educational and work experiences of successive generations of female British vets. It's great to be able to work with other academic institutions on a project of this nature so we can share expertise - and make the most of the research findings."
The research will be carried out by Julie Hipperson, who holds an MA in Modern History from King's College London, and whose interests include women in the professions in the twentieth century, and rural environments and communities. She said: "I hope new insights will be gained into the most famous of veterinary female pioneers.
"More than this, however, I will be looking at the mainstream of female vets, their aspirations, motivations and achievements since 1919, and also the obstacles they encountered, in order to contextualise the 'feminisation' of the profession. This is a sizeable challenge, but one which I hope will be invaluable not only to the veterinary profession, but also to understand more fully women in the professions throughout the twentieth century."
More information can be found on the Trust's website http://trust.rcvs.org.uk/pioneers-and-professionals/ and on Julie's 'Pioneers and Professionals' blog at http://pioneersandprofessionals.wordpress.com/
Bayer Animal Health, makers of Profender, has launched a campaign to reignite the age-long debate, 'Cats vs Dogs', to highlight the importance of protecting cats against intestinal worms.
Aiming to spark discussion between pet owners and vets, the campaign emphasises key differences between cats and dogs, including the challenges they present when it comes to worming control, such as cats' independent nature.
Previous research by Bayer Animal Health found that 42% of cat owners worry their pet does not swallow worming tablets, 38% are concerned that it will spit it out and 21 per cent say their cat runs away. This leaves potentially more than 750,000 cats unprotected from the parasite.
Launching in September, the campaign microsite http://www.catsvdogs.co.uk/, invites the public to vote for who they think rules, while uniting and educating owners over their common foe: intestinal worms. Voting closes at the end of November, with a tribute video to the winning species as voted for by the nation.
Alongside the microsite, a nationwide survey of pet owners is being conducted in partnership with Your Cat and Your Dog magazine to uncover pet owner perceptions of cats vs dogs, including parasite protection attitudes.
Campaign materials will also be supplied to veterinary practices, including an educational poster about worming control and applying spot-ons. For further information and campaign materials please get in touch with your local Bayer Animal Health Territory Manager.
For further information about Profender, or parasite control in companion animals, visit: http://www.itsajungle.co.uk/.
Ceva Animal Health has launched Hepaticare, a new liver support supplement for cats and dogs.
The company says Hepaticare contains the same high quality ingredients as Hepatosyl, but is now enhanced with micro-encapsulated SAMe to enhance product stability and patient acceptance.
Hepaticare contains the antioxidants of S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), vitamin E and silybin to help maintain liver function, and vitamin K to support the normal blood clotting process. Ceva says these ingredients help neutralise damaging free radicals produced by the liver during times of stress, while the SAMe has been micro-encapsulated to enhance stability, reduce any bitter aftertaste and increase patient acceptance.
Hepaticare capsules can be given whole or opened and sprinkled onto, or mixed with, food.
Rob McLintock, companion animal business unit manager at Ceva Animal Health, said: “Following a change in supplier we have taken the opportunity to launch a new liver support supplement, ensuring that the new and improved product, Hepaticare, is as effective and as easy to administer as possible.”
Hepaticare pack sizes and pricing will remain the same as for Ceva’s Hepatosyl. Until the end of September, Hepaticare will be available on a buy one get one free offer.
For further information, contact your local Ceva territory manager or phone 01494 781510.
The webinar is being hosted by Dr William Ingham Farrow from Poultry Health Services (PHS), part of the VetPartners group.
William said: “Having worked with a wide variety of different avian species and management systems for over 10 years, I’m delighted to be sharing my experience.
"I hope to bring plenty of useful insight to help young vets gain confidence in this area.
“In this session, I’m aiming to provide advice for first-opinion vets working with both individual hens and backyard flocks.
“I hope to show that you don't need specialist equipment or medication to offer veterinary care for these often overlooked clients, and to signpost the additional help available in more complex cases."
The webinar is part of the Farm Animal Veterinary Society's Car Pool Cases series, which will also cover antibiotic selection (June 25th), camelid care (August 20th), downer cows (October 22nd), youngstock (November 19th) and beef fertility (December 10th).
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/carpool-cases-practical-pointers-from-front-line-farm-vets-tickets-640902997117
To submit questions ahead of the Carpool sessions, email: farmsupport@vetpartners.co.uk
www.favs.org.uk
Veterinary nurse Beverley Burnett has launched North East CPD, a new CPD provider in the North East of England.
Beverley said: "It's not always time- or cost-effective to have to travel far and wide for courses, sometimes overnight, leaving surgeries short-staffed, and what with increasing travel costs, I decided to provide courses further North.
"Courses for both veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses start in October. Our lecturers are all very experienced professionals, qualified to the highest standard within their chosen speciality, giving you the opportunity to receive only interesting and up-to-date courses.
"Our aim is to help you develop your knowledge and skills, whilst enjoying a relaxed and friendly environment, at an affordable rate."
To find out more about current and future courses, and how to book, visit http://www.ne-cpd.co.uk/ or email: info@ne-cpd.co.uk
North East CPD is curently offering a 10% discount on your first booking!
Henry Schein Inc. has announced an agreement to acquire RxWorks Inc., the veterinary practice management software provider.
Founded in 1988 and with headquarters in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, RxWorks has 68 team members and an installed base of more than 1,500 veterinary clinics in 19 countries worldwide (primarily Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the Netherlands).
Henry Schein says RxWorks will become part of it's Global Animal Health Practice Solutions business, led by its current management team.
Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Henry Schein, Inc. said: "RxWorks has an excellent reputation for helping veterinarians increase practice efficiency and improve quality health care through its innovative practice management software solutions.
"The addition of RxWorks further strengthens our growing practice management software solutions business, which helps deepen relationships in the regions served by RxWorks with our animal health customers, including large corporate customers. The addition of RxWorks will nicely complement our expanding animal health technology businesses. We look forward to welcoming our new colleagues from RxWorks to Henry Schein."
Nathan Basha, Chairman of RxWorks said: "RxWorks software is designed to facilitate consistency of patient care, enable practice growth, achieve enhanced profitability and optimize professional time, all the while improving the quality of life for patients. Aligning with Henry Schein, a global company committed to serving animal health professionals and bringing innovation to the marketplace, allows RxWorks to provide even further value to customers while expanding industry reach."
Henry Schein says it expects the acquisition to close in the second half of January 2016. Financial details and terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The event is held every four years and hosted alternately by BEVA and the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP).
It offers the opportunity for equine vets to absorb and digest the latest knowledge, clinical practice and scientific advances in the treatment and prevention of colic, from the world’s leading international equine gastroenterology experts.
Held over 2.5 days, the symposium comprises numerous 12-minute oral presentations on a range of topics including surgical techniques, treatment, parasitology, gastric ulceration, endotoxemia, pharmacology of intestinal motility, colic complications, epidemiology, physiology of digestion, the intestinal microbiome and metabolomics.
Each session will be followed by three minutes for questions and discussion.
Poster sessions on the first two days will cover ground beyond the oral presentations and delegates will be able to review and discuss the work with presenters.
There will also be opportunities to network with other equine vets, researchers and professionals.
Clinicians and scientists have until 1 February 2024 to submit abstracts of recent work that they wish to present at this meeting.
The scientific committee will consider abstracts on all aspects of equine gastroenterology, including basic science research and reports of clinical cases or novel approaches to treatment.
The abstract submission form is here: https://form.jotform.com/230473925626359
Tickets cost £475 (with a concessionary rate of £235 for post graduate students and interns) and includes a drinks reception on both 10th & 11th, an evening buffet and Ceilidh on 11th and lunch on 11th & 12th.
Further information and booking details can be found here: https://www.beva.org.uk/Education/CPD/Event-Details/eventDateId/1740
A new expert panel has been formed to evaluate pain management in canine osteoarthritis following a recent shift to a more integrated approach to pain and disease research.
In the past, pain and joint disease have been considered as separate areas of research, with pain perceived simply as a consequence of disease. Over the last few years, however, it has become increasingly apparent that the relationship is far more complex and that pain may be a driver of disease rather than just a consequence of it. The expert panel hopes to apply the new knowledge to the management of joint pain in veterinary practice.
The panel, which had its inaugural meeting in Paris recently, brings together acknowledged veterinary experts in the fields of pain and joint disease. Its focus will be on the assessment and management of pain in canine osteoarthritis (OA), with the objective of educating veterinary surgeons to better understand and manage pain in canine OA and thereby improve the well-being of pets that suffer from this common disease.
'Central sensitisation' is one of the latest theories that has been suggested to explain the complex interaction between pain and disease progression in canine OA. Duncan Lascelles, Associate Professor of Surgery at North Carolina State University, said that research has shown that the components of the pain pathway can change in response to a pain stimulus. Pain receptors 'up-regulate' in response to painful stimuli and become more sensitive to subsequent pain.
CNS sensitisation is likely a significant contributor to chronic or maladaptive pain; this pain leads to decreased mobility, reduced muscle support and reduced muscle function, thus leading to disease progression. In other words, joint diseases cause pain, which in turn feeds back to create more disease.
Professor Lascelles said: "The link between the clinical signs associated with OA and joint pathology is not a simple one and may be much more complex than we have previously thought.
"There is some evidence that COX inhibition reduces central sensitisation. And some evidence suggests that reducing central sensitisation may have a modulatory effect on disease progression by reducing signals going out to the periphery.
"The relationship between pain and disease progression is a very new area of research, and is at the forefront of our knowledge of how pain and joint disease are linked."
Professor John Innes, Head of Division, Small Animal Studies, University of Liverpool Veterinary School, told the meeting that OA is likely to be one of the major reasons for euthanasia of pet dogs in Europe. He and two co-investigators have performed a systematic review of the published evidence for the use of long-term, continuous NSAID treatment (at least 28 days) in OA. They found that this form of management is associated with better outcomes than short-term NSAID therapy, with no evidence of additional safety issues. This review is to be published shortly.
The expert panel comprises:
Prof Dr Stuart Carmichael, Vets Now Ltd. Formerly at: Veterinary School, University of Glasgow, UKProf Dr John Innes, Small Animal Teaching Hospital, University of Liverpool, UKDr Bernard Bouvy-Centre, Hospitalier Vétérinaire de Frégis, Arcueil, FranceProf Dr Jean-Pierre Genevois, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Lyon, FranceDr Carlos Macías, Centro Veterinario de Referencia Bahia de Malaga, SpainProf Dr Martin Kramer, Klinik für Kleintiere, Chirurgie , Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, GermanyDr Sabine Tacke, Klinik für Kleintiere, Chirurgie, Justus-Liebig-Universität GießenProf Dr Duncan Lascelles, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, USAProf Dr Herman A.W. Hazewinkel, Faculteit Diergeneeskunde, Departement Gezelschapsdieren, Utrecht, NetherlandsDr Emilio Feltri, Anaesthetist and specialist in Pain Management, Ambulatorio Veterinario Associato, Tortona, ItalyDr Peter Vandekerckhove, Specialist Surgeon Companion Animal, Wondelgem, Belgium
The Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics is urging the Prime Minister to make the announcement on antimicrobial resistance he promised the House of Commons during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday 7th May 2014.
In a reply to a question from Zac Goldsmith MP, David Cameron acknowledged that the problem of antibiotic resistance could have 'unbelievably bad consequences' leading to quite minor ailments not being properly treatable by antibiotics. The Alliance is urging the government to take urgent action to reduce antibiotic use in both medicine and farming.
The issue was further highlighted at this year's World Health Assembly (WHA) Conference when attendees confirmed that a catastrophic post-antibiotic age - in which minor, common infections could again become killers - is a real possibility unless urgent action is taken.
At the conference, the Netherlands' Minister of Health, Edith Schippers said: "People are getting seriously ill and are dying as a result of skin infections and diarrhoea. Common surgeries like knee replacement will become potential killers because of secondary infections that are untreatable. This is a global problem on a par with, if not more serious than, nuclear security, international terrorism and climate change."'
In a letter to David Cameron on 13th May 2014, the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics said: "It simply does not make sense to be feeding nearly half of all the antibiotics used in this country to farm animals, just so that they can be kept in high numbers indoors, often in conditions which carry with them the risk of high levels of disease."
The Alliance says the measures the Prime Minister is due to announce must include the urgent phase-out of the routine preventative use of antibiotics in farming.
Alison Craig, Campaign Manager for the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics said: "Our near European neighbour the Netherlands has phased out routine preventative use of antibiotics in farming by government taking strong and decisive action and industry taking voluntary measures - so why can't we do the same in the UK?"
In 2007 the Netherlands was one of the world's heaviest users of antibiotics in food animals. In 2009 the government decided to decrease farm use of antibiotics by 50%. This was achieved by 2013.
Alison continued: "It is alarming that, in this country, we don't even yet know how many people are already dying due to antimicrobial resistance. By contrast, in the Netherlands they know that there are 2 million hospitalisations per year due to resistance.
"If the Prime Minister knows that there will be 'unbelievably bad consequences' for families, why is his government being so slow about getting a grip on the problem?"
Vygon Vet has launched two new 'procedure packs' containing disposable essentials for unblocking a tomcat or performing a spay or minor surgery.
The KatKath Urinary Catheter Insertion Pack contains a catheter, a drape towel, polypropylene suture, lubricating gel, a Luer-slip syringe and a clear tray. The complete set costs £10.99.
Vygon Vet General Manager Chris Kenyon, said: "Not only does our KatKath pack ensure everything that's needed is in one place and sterile, it can also save vets up to 50% compared with prices if they buy similar products separately. It's a win-win situation."
The Spay Tray and Minor Operations Set (pictured right) includes a selection of forceps, a Mayo Hagar needle holder, a scalpel, a pair of dissecting scissors, a hand towel, drapes, a tray and five radiopaque swabs.
Chris said: "Our Spay Tray and Minor Ops Sets are produced to the highest standards using top quality materials. Having the required items in one pack eradicates the need to go through the expensive process of washing, re-packing and re-sterilisation, and from an admin point of view invoicing is easy with one single code covering all the different pack parts."
The Spay Tray and Minor Ops Sets are available for an introductory price of £12.50 for a limited period.
In the blurb, Vygon Vet says the benefits of its procedure packs include:
The company is also offering a retrieval service through which the instruments from up to ten packs can be disposed for £14.50.
For more information, visit www.vygonvet.co.uk, telephone: 01793 748900 or visit Vygon Vet at the forthcoming BSAVA Scottish Congress (29-31st August at the Edinburgh Conference Centre).
There are 15 candidates contesting six places in the RCVS Council; 16 if you include the perennial Dr Lonsdale. Three are existing Council members eligible for re-election and the remaining 13 candidates are not currently on Council:
Ballot papers and candidates’ details are due to be posted to all veterinary surgeons eligible to vote during the week commencing 13 March, and all votes must be cast, either online or by post, by 5pm on Friday 28 April 2017.
Once again the College is inviting members of the profession to ‘Quiz the candidates’ by putting their questions directly to all those standing for election. Each candidate will then be invited to choose two questions to answer from all those received, and produce a video recording of their answers. Recordings will be published on the RCVS website on Thursday 16 March.
The biographies and statements for each candidate in the elections can be found at www.rcvs.org.uk/vetvote17.
Eleanor Ferguson, RCVS Registrar, said: "This year we will be publishing the candidate biographies and statements online ahead of the start of the official voting period. This is to allow both veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses to be better informed about the candidates and their reasons for standing before they put their questions forward.
"We would strongly encourage all members of the professions to review the candidate profiles and pose questions for them to answer. We hope it will spark some interesting debates about how the profession is regulated."
You can email your question (NB only one per person) to vetvote17@rcvs.org.uk, post it on the College’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/thercvs) or on Twitter using the hashtags #vetvote17, by midday on Monday 27 February.
HSR, which provides emergency and routine specialist orthopaedic and neurology services, now offers video consultations with a specialist and a pet transportation service. It has also introduced strict strict biosecurity and operational preventative measures.
Clare Hamilton, Managing Director, says, “Our priority is to continue to offer gold-standard service for both routine and emergency orthopaedic and neurological cases whilst doing our utmost to limit the spread of Covid-19 as much as possible. We are to all intents and purposes, ‘business as usual’ with additional hygiene measures to protect clients and staff”.
HSR is asking clients that if there is a chance that they have Covid-19 and/or have come into contact with anyone with the virus they do not attend the hospital in person, but instead contact via email or telephone to discuss their pet’s treatment on an individual basis. Clients visiting the clinic are being asked to wait in their cars until their appointment, whereupon the animal is collected from the car by one of the team for its clinical examination. The vets are then speaking to the clients by telephone to discuss and gain consent for any further investigation or treatment.
For vulnerable clients who are self-isolating and in need of their services, HSR is offering a pet ambulance service for collection and drop off of pets. They will then have a video consultation with the specialist. Medications will be posted out and advice given over email or telephone.
Clare added: “We are doing all we can to support colleagues and clients in what are unprecedented circumstances. We recognise the strain on many practices having to reduce the number of appointments in the face of staff shortages. We want to reassure vets that we are happy to offer advice and support with cases, and continue to take referrals during this difficult period. We also have free online CPD for practices via our website as meetings are postponed or cancelled”.
The practice advises clients and referring vets to check for further developments on social media, or sign up to their email list for updates.
The initiative comes after BEVA's new nurse committee ran a survey which found a poor understanding within the profession and amongst clients of what equine nurses can do.
Nurses said they believed they could be given more responsibility and do more within their roles and that there was a lack of opportunity for progression.
BEVA President David Rendle, who is championing this initiative, said: “RVNs are a significant an asset to any equine practice.
“They have invested a lot of time and effort to become highly skilled but in some instances their significant attributes are not being utilised to the full.
“Allowing RVNs to perform the clinical tasks that they are qualified to carry out under Schedule 3 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, will provide better job fulfilment and career development as well as free up veterinary surgeons to carry out other tasks, all increasing the efficiency of the veterinary team.
“I feel, and the RVN survey results would seem to confirm, that veterinary surgeons and practice managers do not appreciate how much veterinary nurses are allowed to do in equine practice.
"We all know veterinary nurses have the ability; look at what they do in small animal and human nursing, but we have felt unnecessarily constrained by Schedule 3 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 and the associated RCVS guidelines.
"If you actually look at Schedule 3 it is clear that we can and should be letting our qualified equine nurses do far more.
“There are so many things in equine practice that nurses do better than vets.
"In addition to performing clinical tasks they can add wider value; they are generally (or are perceived by clients to be!) more patient, empathetic and caring so we should utilise these skills and get nurses to take on some of the roles that take more time and require longer client interactions – discussing parasite control programmes, running weight loss clinics, reviewing healthcare plans, making follow-up phone calls and visits to name just a few.
"Nurses can take a lot of pressure off vets and can add a significant revenue stream for the practice.”
On the 9th February, the BEVA will be hosting an online discussion forum for all members of the practice team to discuss the role of nurses and how their skills, experience and knowledge can be better-used.
It's free for BEVA members: https://www.beva.org.uk/Home/Events/BEVA-Events/Event-Details.aspx?eventDateId=1716
Marie Rippingale Chair of the BEVA Nurse Committee said: “Last year’s recruitment and retention survey revealed that 50% of nurse respondents were earning less than £25,000 per annum and 48% of nurses said they were likely to look for a new job in the next two years.
"When asked their top reasons for leaving, salary was the biggest reason, and common themes on what would help the retention of nurses included salary, work-life balance and career progression.
“The review of Schedule 3 is important so we can encourage delegation of tasks to RVNs.
"This will allow RVNs to demonstrate their value and worth, earning money for the practice and achieving job satisfaction at the same time. This will contribute positively towards the current retention crisis.”
To find out more about what equine veterinary nurses can do in practice visit https://www.beva.org.uk/nurses
Photo: Liphook Equine Hospital.
The survey of 102 UK veterinary students, which was carried out by Charlotte French MRCVS (pictured right) in 2020, also revealed that 74% of respondents had engaged in extracurricular CPD whilst at university, including university presentations, online conferences, webinars and in-person congresses.
98% said they were willing to be involved in extracurricular CPD if it was available.
Charlotte said: "Students are interested in CPD and their career progression, they just need a little extra help in finding the right providers and sources."
The company points to an increasing trend across Europe towards feeding raw diets to pets, with 4% of UK cats and 10% of UK dogs now being fed raw meat and animal by-products.
The webinar, which will also look at the role of testing, offers an opportunity to learn more about the pathogens and parasites associated with raw feeding and the role of the right test at the right time.
Horiba says it's not just pets that need testing, but the raw materials used in their food.
Ian, who is Head of ESCCAP (the European Scientific Council for Companion Animal Parasites) UK & Ireland, said: “The recent trend of increasing raw feeding opens up new opportunities for pathogen transmission.
"Where raw feeding is taking place, adequate tapeworm and protozoal parasite prevention is essential to reduce zoonotic risk and economic losses.
“Testing forms an essential part of their control, and understanding this role and the diagnostic test options available will prove valuable to all veterinary professionals.”
Following Ian's presentation, there will be an open Q&A session.
Horiba’s team of veterinary specialists will also be available at the end of the webinar to discuss and advise on any testing needs, including its veterinary PCR system, the POCKIT Central.
To register, visit: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4306408134214190348
The event aims to deliver the latest knowledge on parrot nutrition and welfare and provide an opportunity to collaborate on education and potential next steps for research.
The full programme is as follows:
Sarah Hormozi, Head of Science & Education at PFMA said: “We are hoping to make it a worthwhile event, where parrot experts, welfare groups and parrot food industry can share their knowledge and experience.
"Through discussions we will come up with collective decisions and steps forward to improve the health and welfare of parrots that are kept in captivity, especially from a diet and nutrition perspective."
For ticket prices and to register: https://www.pfma.org.uk/pfma-parrot-symposium-2022
The Privy Council has dismissed the appeal of a Lincolnshire veterinary surgeon against the RCVS Disciplinary Committee's decision to strike him off the Register in January 2011 for serious professional misconduct.
At a two-week Disciplinary Committee hearing in January, Joseph Lennox Holmes of Waltham Veterinary Clinic, Grimsby, was found to have advised on and undertaken surgical procedures without sufficient clinical grounds or consideration of alternative treatment options; failed to obtain the informed consent of his clients; undertaken procedures outside his area of competence; failed to refer or discuss the option of referral to a specialist; and, failed to provide his patients with adequate pain relief. These findings related to two separate complaints and a total of 31 charges, of which 28 were found to amount to serious professional misconduct.
The Appeal was heard by Baroness Hale, Lord Wilson and Lord Kerr on 1 November 2011, and their judgment was delivered on Tuesday by Lord Wilson.
There were two principal parts to Mr Holmes's appeal: firstly, that RCVS procedures for investigating and determining complaints were biased against him and infringed his human right to a fair hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal; and, secondly, a number of complaints about the DC's findings and conclusions.
According to the RCVS, their Lordships recognised that the College's regulatory framework was constrained by the existing Veterinary Surgeons Act and "support[ed] statutory reform so as to enable members of the disciplinary committees to be chosen from outside the council"; but, they were satisfied that the College had made "strenuous attempts" to ensure its disciplinary procedures were fair and in accordance with human rights legislation.
They also remarked that the College had made "elaborate efforts" to separate the membership and work of the three RCVS Committees that produce guidance, investigate complaints and adjudicate on complaints, respectively. Their Lordships considered that "a fair-minded and informed observer [having considered all the facts] would not conclude there was a real possibility that the DC was biased against Mr Holmes".
Their Lordships also dismissed all of the 'deficiencies' that Mr Holmes had sought to identify in the DC's findings and conclusions. They generally preferred the College's evidence, witness accounts and expert witness testimony, and felt the DC had correctly considered the multiple charges before it.
They also found that the expertise of the DC in assessing the standards of the profession was "entitled to substantial respect" and agreed that the only sanction appropriate to Mr Holmes' "catalogue of egregious misconduct" was the removal of his name from the Register.
"[This sanction] was the only disposal which could properly reflect the primary need to serve both the interests of animal welfare and the reputation of the veterinary profession," they concluded.
Their Lordships' decision is now subject to approval by the Crown, following which, Mr Holmes would be removed from the Register and no longer entitled to practise as a veterinary surgeon.