The BSAVA and the Small Animal Medicine Society (SAMSoc) have released an updated PROTECT ME poster with more antibiotic use recommendations.

The poster was put together by a team of 55 specialists and general practitioners led by Fergus Allerton.

It includes an outline of the new European Medicines Agency advice on categorising antibiotics, a new section on wounds and surgical site infections, updated advice on life-threatening infections and identifying/treating sepsis, and more advice for owners.

Fergus said: “The latest iteration of the PROTECT ME poster incorporates updated information and offers recommendations to support vets to optimise their antibiotic use.

"I hope this will be a valuable resource for vets in practice.”

The new posters will be distributed with Companion in December.

Free printable posters are available from: www.bsavalibrary.com/protectme

Printed copies can be purchased from the BSAVA store: www.bsava.com/store.

BSAVA members are also able to request free printed copies.

Enalees, a French company specialising in the design, development, production and marketing of veterinary molecular diagnostic tests, has opened a subsidiary in North Yorkshire.

Enalees offers a variety of point-of-care isothermal PCR animal diagnostics tests for canine, feline and equine infectious diseases, including parvo, leptospirosis, babesiosis and borreliosis.

The company says its tests are highly specific and sensitive and can detect the presence of a virus, parasite or microbe at a very early stage, without the use of expensive and complex equipment, within 30 minutes.

Lauren Craig is the General Manager of the new subsidiary. She said: “I will be coordinating the launch of the UK subsidiary and working with veterinary professionals to deliver Enalees’ unique portfolio offering in diagnostic testing and in clinic rapid PCR tests.

“I am incredibly excited for the challenge ahead and looking forward to working with a fantastic team with an important mission in this key market.”

www.enalees.com

Eastcott Referrals, in Swindon, has launched a £500,000 Emergency and Critical Care (ECC) unit being led by David Mackenzie, an advanced practitioner in ECC and RVN Harriet Deering, the clinical lead.

Eastcott says all staff working in the ECC unit have received specific intensive care training and will be supported by discipline-specific specialists at all times.

The service will be run by three ECC/medicine vets during the day and three ECC vets at night, supported by four day nurses and two night nurses.

David said: “We’ve created a purpose-built intensive care unit with all the latest ICU equipment, including our own laboratory; critical care cribs; temperature, humidity and oxygen-controlled intensive care kennels and an ICU ventilator.

“This means we have the facilities to care for the most severely injured and critical cases.

“We also have a high-quality team of enthusiastic, dedicated ECC vets and nurses to lead the service. Everyone has a background of ECC work and a true passion for it.”

Harriet said: “By having all the specialist disciplines available at the practice, we can offer a more holistic service to emergency patients. For example, if a dog is involved in a road traffic accident, the ICU can stabilise it and give emergency care and pain relief. 

“Dentistry can then repair jaw and mouth injuries; orthopaedics can repair any other broken bones and soft tissue can assess and repair any damaged organs.  This is all supported by our dedicated anaesthesia service and advanced imaging capabilities.

“The ICU also provides a calm environment for critically ill and injured patients to recover following surgery or other planned treatments from other disciplines.”

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

Next week, Princess Anne will unveil a new life-sized bronze of the Household Cavalry horse Sefton at the Royal Veterinary College in North Mymms, Hertfordshire.

The statue of Sefton is sited outside the College's Teaching and Research Centre, standing on the footprint of the former Sefton Equine Hospital, a facility which has now been relocated to a new Equine Referral Hospital on campus. 

Sefton suffered terrible injuries in the Hyde Park bombing of July 1982 in which four men and seven horses died. In the aftermath of the bombing, as the most severely injured horse, his story of recovery captured the nation's hearts and the horse came to symbolise the resilience that is characteristic of the armed forces.

Many who knew and rode Sefton have provided the detailed briefings necessary for the sculptor, Camilla Le May, to capture the character and spirit of a great horse. Camilla said: "It was fascinating to talk to those who rode and knew Sefton well and this, along with studying old photos, enabled me to find out some of his individual traits such as the way he often tilted his head, looking back over his shoulder, which I chose to represent in this work. He was by all accounts a strong character and quite a handful, especially in his youth. Perhaps it was partly this strength of character that helped him pull through his appalling injuries." 

Professor Josh Slater, head of the equine clinical group at the RVC, said: "The College has a proud tradition of furthering care and developing innovative treatments through dedicated equine veterinary surgeons and nurses. We were proud to have received a grant from The Horse Trust in 1986 to build our former equine hospital in Sefton's memory. Whilst we may have moved our practice to bigger and better facilities this new statue will serve as a reminder of the bravery and resilience of Sefton that inspired so many."

The new statue was commissioned to recognise and honour the life-time achievements of one of the College's longest servicing senior academics Professor Peter Lees, who retired in 2010. It was funded by RVC Honorary Fellow and Chairman of Norbrook Lord Ballyedmond OBE.

Professor Stuart Reid, Principal at the RVC, said: "I would like to thank the generosity of our friend Lord Ballyedmond for his kind donation in recognition of our esteemed colleague Professor Lees that has enabled us create this statue in memory of a great horse."

Stone Lion Veterinary Hospital, a first opinion and referral practice in Wimbledon, has announced that European Specialist in Veterinary Neurology Dr Sergio Rodenas, DVM DipECVN has joined the team to work alongside the Hospital's existing Veterinary Neurologist Dr Clare Rusbridge BVMS PhD DipECVN MRCVS RCVS and European Specialist in Veterinary Neurology.

The practice says that this will allow it to offer a full neurology referral service five days a week.

Sergio joins Stone Lion from his current post as Clinical Instructor in Neurology and Neurosurgery at the Veterinary College, St Hyacinthe at the University of Montreal. Before moving to Canada, he worked at the Southern Counties Veterinary Specialist (SCVS), a small animal specialist referral practice in Ringwood, Hampshire. He qualified at the Veterinary School, University of Extremadura, Spain, in 1996 and has also worked in both Spain and France.

The Stone Lion Veterinary Hospital is part of the Goddard Veterinary Group. It offers referrals in neurology, ophthalmology and physiotherapy. The Neurology Referral Practice is run by Clare Rusbridge and was established in 1997. She said:  "Neurology is our busiest referral practice, drawing patients from across the South East of England and sometimes further afield. We see it as a growth area and wanted to offer our clients a five day a week service to make it easier for them to come to us. Sergio's experience especially in spinal surgery will be a huge asset to us and will enable us to meet this goal. We're delighted to welcome him."

Sergio added: "I am delighted to join the Neurology Service at the Stone Lion Veterinary Hospital. The facilities, team and professionalism of the staff and the track record of the Goddard Veterinary Group will make an excellent environment in which to practice small animal Neurology at the highest level and to offer the best care to patients."

The Stone Lion Veterinary Hospital can be contacted on 020 8946 4228.

CVS is launching an app which will allow veterinary locums to see available shifts at its practices, negotiate rates, book shifts, message practices and submit invoices for payment.

The new app has been specifically developed for CVS, is unique to the group, and is owned by the company.

It is powered by LocumBell technology.

When registering on the app, locums can input their work preferences - including their skills, desired travel radius and preferred shift times - so that they are only served up shift advertisements relevant to them.

Users can also set up notifications for upcoming jobs.

The app then allows locums to set minimum shift rates, submit the rate they would like to receive for a shift and negotiate their fees directly with a practice.

Shifts can be then be booked or cancelled on the app at the touch of a button.

All upcoming booked shifts appear on the users’ calendar.

Once a shift has been completed, locums can submit the invoice for their work using the app.

The app allows locums to see every CVS practice invoice and its status, which CVS says will allow queries to be resolved quicker and payments issued faster.

The app is being rolled out to all of CVS's practices from this August.

Amy Hughes, Head of Recruitment at CVS, said: “Locum administration can be time-consuming – as locums first have to identify work, liaise with a practice and our central support team, to negotiate and book a shift, then complete all invoice paperwork.

"We wanted to remove that pain and make it easier for locums to work with us. 

The app is available for Apple devices on the App Store and for Android devices on the Play Store.

For any technical difficulties or assistance, contact: support@locumbell.com or call 0161 556 7685.

The RCVS Disciplinary Committee has ended an inquiry against Hampshire-based veterinary surgeon Jose Ignacio Messa MRCVS, after finding no case of serious professional misconduct against him. 

The case against Jose Ignacio Messa MRCVS related to two heads of charge against him.

The first charge was that, on 13th September 2015, Mr Messa failed to provide adequate and appropriate care to Barney, a border collie. The second charge was that on 14th September 2015 Mr Messa failed to ensure adequate and appropriate on-going care for Barney after his examination of him, including failing to take sufficient steps to ensure that Barney was referred urgently to the care of a referral practice and failing to ensure there were adequate arrangements in place for his ongoing care.

Barney was presented to the Basingstoke practice where Mr Messa was employed having suffered a severe 'stick injury' to his jaw on 12th September. 

The Committee heard that, on 13th September, Mr Messa re-examined Barney, administered medication and then discharged him to be cared for at home by his owners. During the examination the owners alerted Mr Messa to the condition of the skin on Barney’s neck, but the Committee heard Mr Messa had felt the area and reassured them it was not something to be concerned about.

The Committee heard that at some point on 13th September, after he was discharged, Barney developed a foetid smell from his mouth caused by an infection and the next day his owners went back to the practice because Barney’s condition had deteriorated – he was unable to walk and had laboured breathing.

On 14th September Mr Messa admitted and sedated Barney and examined him again, noting a hole in the side of his throat that was infected. He recommended referring Barney to a referral practice for further treatment, which was agreed by his owners.

The Committee heard that the referral practice was contacted by a veterinary nurse at the practice and that an appointment for 9am on 15th September 2015 was booked directly with the owner. It also heard that, during his time at Mr Messa’s practice, Barney did not receive intravenous fluids or any further antibiotics.

Barney’s owners said they met with Mr Messa again at around 5pm on 14th September when they came to collect Barney, this was disputed by Mr Messa, and the Committee were not satisfied so as to be sure that it had been Mr Messa who had met the owners and discharged Barney although the Committee found that all the witnesses had been honest and reliable.

Barney was admitted to the referral practice on 15th September but, as a result of sepsis, he suffered a cardiac arrest and died at 10.30pm.

In respect of the first charge the Committee concluded that, on 13th September, Mr Messa made only a rudimentary examination of Barney, and the absence of such basic clinical examination of the temperature, the respiration rate and the pulse of Barney was a failure on the part of Mr Messa and that, furthermore, he did not choose the best course of antibiotic treatment for the wound and infection.

In respect of the second charge Mr Messa admitted that he did not provide fluid therapy to Barney on 14th September before he was discharged.

With reference to the remaining aspects of the charge the Committee took into account the Code of Professional Conduct, particularly in respect of the need for veterinary surgeons to refer cases responsibly and the Code’s supporting guidance on referrals.

The Committee determined that, having delegated the arrangements of the referral to a veterinary nurse, Mr Messa made no attempts to follow up and ensure it was a same-day appointment when this would have better suited the severity of Barney’s condition. The Committee found that he was unaware of Barney’s location or of the time of the appointment and did not make provision for antibiotic or fluid therapy.

Having found the majority of the charges against Mr Messa proven, the Committee then considered whether this amounted to serious professional misconduct. 

Disciplinary Committee member Stuart Drummond, who was chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: "In the light of the facts found proved and considering that disgraceful conduct in a professional respect is that which is conduct falling far below that expected of a veterinary surgeon, the Committee had concluded that the heads of charge, when taken individually, or collectively, do fall below the standard expected.

"However, as a matter of judgement, the Committee did not conclude that Mr Messa’s conduct fell far below the requisite standard and therefore did not amount of disgraceful conduct in a professional respect.

"Whilst the Committee did not find Mr Messa’s actions fell far below the requisite standard, there were concerns expressed about several aspects of this case. There were a number of missed opportunities which occurred; in particular the Committee notes the failure of the care plan and to take adequate steps to ensure that the referral process has been timeously effected."

Hill's Pet Nutrition is offering a series of free webinars about feline medicine, delivered by some of the best-known experts in the field.

The first presentation on feline liver disease will be delivered by Danièlle Gunn-Moore BVM&S BSc PhD MACVSc MRCVS, on the 26th January 2011. Martha Cannon BA VetMB DSAM(fel) MRCVS (pictured right) will present the next two webinars on Renal disease on 2nd March and Chronic Diarrhoea on 4th May. Both speakers are RCVS Specialists in feline medicine. Norman Johnston BVM&S, Dipl. AVDC, Dipl. EVDC, MRCVS, will be discussing stomatitis in the cat - a particularly problematic disease - on the 18th May. Norman is an RCVS, American and European Specialist in Veterinary Dentistry. The series will end on 8th June with Duncan Lascelles BSc, BVSc, PhD, CertVA, DSAS (ST), DECVS, DACVS, Associate Professor in Small Animal Surgery at North Carolina State, talking about osteoarthritis in the cat.

The events kick off at 8.30 pm and are hosted by the Webinar Vet (www.thewebinarvet.com). One initial registration provides access to the complete series, with scheduled e-mail reminders sent out prior to the latest webinar. To register, go to www.thewebinarvet.com/hills and enter your details as well as the code hillsnl.

Webinars are ideal for time pressed individuals who may not always be able to travel to a distant venue, yet still offer a 'real- time' and interactive experience. No special equipment is required, other than a reasonable standard PC or MAC and a broadband connection. The events are open to both vets and nurses but early registration is advisable to take full advantage of the whole Hill's Feline webinar series.

Elisa Best, a referral practitioner at Rowe Veterinary Referrals in Bristol, has received a 'Vet of the Year' award from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) at the House of Lords, for her work getting members of the public to support centres rescuing rhinos and other threatened African wildlife.

Elisa, pictured right next to Bill Oddie, is the founding member of a craft conservation charity called Blankets for Baby Rhinos. In less than three years the group has amassed a Facebook community of around 3,500 members, primarily knitters, crocheters and crafters, to make blankets and other items to supply to wildlife centres taking in orphaned and sick rhinos in Africa, as well as other wildlife threatened by poaching.

Originally from South Africa, Johannesburg-born Elisa had planned to work as a vet treating wildlife but found herself working in small animal practice in Cape Town before moving to the UK.

Still, colleagues and friends often told her of the injuries they saw inflicted on rhinos targeted for the illegal trade in their horns, so she and a friend decided to help. 

After building a following and supplying thousands of blankets for a growing number of wildlife orphanages in Africa, she wanted to harness the enthusiasm of members to help meet the other practical needs of the centres, as well as helping rangers and dogs working in anti-poaching units.

Now a registered charity, members supply all kinds of equipment including animal feed, medicine and veterinary supplies to a wide list of centres, as well as food for anti-poaching dogs while continuing to run appeals which crafters can assist with. Currently they are asking knitters to knit hats, scarves and blankets in black or dark colours for rangers, so they can keep warm at night without being spotted by poachers.

James Sawyer, UK Director of IFAW, said: "Elisa’s pioneering approach to harnessing practical public support to help rhinos and other rescued African wildlife is really impressive and she is a great example of animal welfare in action. We hope her efforts will inspire the next generation of animal welfare and conservation campaigners. She is a very deserving winner of IFAW’s Vet of the Year Award."

Belfast-based Des Thompson MRCVS was presented with the first ever RCVS Queen's Medal by Her Majesty at Buckingham Palace this afternoon. 

Des, pictured right showing off the new medal with his wife Rosalie, received two separate nominations for the medal, both citing his decades of active involvement in veterinary politics which includes being president of the RCVS, the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA), the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) and the Northern Ireland Veterinary Association, among other organisations.

Also cited was his willingness to help other members of the profession, particularly young vets at the beginning of their careers, through his involvement with organisations such as the Young Vet Network in Northern Ireland and the Veterinary Benevolent Fund.

The Queen's Medal was launched in 2013, with the approval of Her Majesty as Patron of the RCVS, and is now the highest award that can be bestowed upon a veterinary surgeon in recognition of a particularly outstanding contribution to the profession. In receiving the medal, Des was joined by Professor Stuart Reid, current RCVS President, Colonel Neil Smith, immediate past President, and Gordon Hockey, RCVS Registrar.

Des said: "It was a complete honour and a wonderful experience to be received by Her Majesty at Buckingham Palace today, and I'm thrilled to have been awarded the RCVS Queen's Medal. Her Majesty was interested to hear about Northern Ireland, and the fact that I've been practising there since I qualified."

The Kennel Club has announced the results of some research which shows that children's pester power was behind the decision to buy a dog for one in four households¹.

One in ten said their children chose the breed or crossbreed that they ended up buying. One in ten also said they buy dogs as presents, something which the Kennel Club highlights as a concern in the run up to Christmas.

The Kennel Club's Discover Dogs survey, which has been conducted to highlight the event of the same name which takes place at Earls Court on 9th and 10th November, has also revealed that too many people are buying a dog without realising that there are great differences between the care needs of the different breeds and crossbreeds. One in ten admitted that they did no research about their chosen breed but bought their puppy because of the way that it looked. A further 40% said that they chose their puppy because they liked the way that the breed looked overall.

According to Kennel Club Breed Rescue organisations, 'wrong breed' and 'can't cope' account for 15% of the dogs that need to be rehomed, a situation that could be easily avoided with the right research². Only 17% of people in the Kennel Club's Discover Dogs survey say that their choice of dog was influenced by whether it would suit their lifestyle.

To try and address this issue, the Kennel Club has launched a Discover Dogs homework pack for children, to help them to do vital research about dog ownership.

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: "Children have a major influence on their parents' decision to buy a dog in the first place, and then over which type of dog they buy. In the lead up to Christmas we want families to be thinking carefully about whether a dog is right for them, and if so which breed would suit their lifestyle, rather than buying on a whim, and this is what the Discover Dogs event is all about.

"We have released the Discover Dogs homework packs to help children get all of the information that they and their parents need to make the right choice about their lifelong companion. This ranges from the type of dog they buy, where they buy it from, and what that dog will need throughout its life."

Children under 12 years old go free to the Kennel Club's Discover Dogs event, where they will be entertained in the Young Kennel Club Kids' Zone with fun dog displays, face painting, treasure hunts and much more.

The Young Kennel Club is open to children aged 6-24 years old and it helps young dog lovers to learn new skills, understand more about dogs, to build confidence and to make new friends. The homework pack can be found at www.discoverdogs.org.uk/buyingadog.

Millpledge has launched Dermafuse Tissue Adhesive, an n-butyl cyanoacrylate medical adhesive used to bond tissue together following veterinary procedures.

Dermafuse contains a blue dye to help users see where product has been applied.

On contact with body tissue, Dermafuse changes from liquid to solid state by polymerizing within seconds to seal the wound.

Millpledge says the adhesive stops minor bleeding and binds wound edges, which may eliminate the need for sutures or bandages. In some instances it also acts as a barrier to keep foreign matter from entering the wound. The tissue adhesive is sloughed as healing occurs.

Each 3g bottle contains approximately 175 drops. Four sterile applicator tips are provided with each pack.