The RCVS is seeking the views of veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses and members of the public about proposals for a new Royal Charter which would clarify and underpin the role of the College and give it formal recognition as regulator of the veterinary nursing profession.
The new Charter, approved at a meeting of RCVS Council in November, would replace the 1967 Supplemental Charter, with the most far reaching change being a proposal to make veterinary nursing a formally regulated profession on a similar footing to veterinary surgeons. Veterinary nurses would become associates of the College and have the post-nominal letters RVN. The List and the Register of Veterinary Nurses would also be effectively combined, meaning that the 1,100 listed veterinary nurses would join the 10,500 already on the Register.
Under the proposals registered veterinary nurses would continue to need to fulfil certain responsibilities, including abiding by the Code of Professional Conduct and completing an average of 15 hours a year of continuing professional development, and would be subject to RCVS disciplinary procedures.
What's new is that individuals struck off from the Register for serious professional misconduct would no longer be able to give medical treatment or carry out minor surgery under veterinary direction.
As well as changes to the regulation of veterinary nursing, the proposed Charter would also more clearly state the role and remit of the RCVS, for example, in advancing standards through the promotion of continuing professional development and the Practice Standards Scheme.
Professor Stephen May, a member of RCVS Council who led the Legislation Working Party that developed the new Charter proposals, said: "The proposed new Charter represents an historic opportunity to affirm the role of the RCVS, and to provide a modern framework for the future regulation of the professions. I call on veterinary surgeons and nurses, together with other interested stakeholders, to read the consultation documents and support our proposals."
Speaking about the need for change, RCVS President Neil Smith added: "The consultation paper explains why it is time to replace the 1967 Charter with a new version which sets out the role of the College. The present Charter doesn't explain what objects the RCVS should set out to achieve, and it is silent about veterinary nurses. The remit of the College should include being the regulator for the veterinary nursing profession, and we want a new Charter to recognise registered veterinary nurses.
"We hope that the new Charter will provide a solid basis for the work of the College for years to come. We would urge members of the professions and the public to let us know what they think and help us to make sure that we have got it right."
The consultation paper, which contains further details about the proposed Charter, is available to download at www.rcvs.org.uk/consultations. Those who wish to have their say must respond to b.myring@rcvs.org.uk with their comments by Friday 7 February 2014.
The RCVS will also be organising a meeting and a webinar during the consultation period for those who wish to ask questions about the proposals. Those interested in attending a meeting should email b.myring@rcvs.org.uk. The webinar will be held early in 2014 - further details will be on www.rcvs.org.uk in due course.
MSD Animal Health's equine division has launched a new series of materials to support its Keeping Britain's Horses Healthy Campaign.
For veterinary practices, there's a Vet Reception Pack designed to help receptionists educate owners why they should vaccinate and the benefits of preventive healthcare.
For yards, there are posters giving guidance and advice on prevention of Infectious Respiratory Disease and the steps which should be taken to control a potential outbreak. They can be tailor made for an individual yard.
Peter Young, MSD Animal Health Equine Business Manager said: "Our first wave of support materials focused very much on equine vets and owners - helping raise awareness of the importance of preventive healthcare and driving owners towards vets for advice. This phase of materials helps support yard owners and receptionists, aiming to fill some of those communications gaps where advice and guidelines on individual horse's vaccination requirements and yard protocols can play a vital role in preventing the spread of disease and controlling outbreaks."
Keeping Britain's Horses Healthy is a national campaign to educate horse owners on endemic infectious disease, vaccination, herd immunity and the importance of preventative healthcare. It includes a range of educational materials for veterinary surgeries and direct to owners. The campaign is supported by a national PR, advertising and social media programme, together with a dedicated website www.healthyhorses.co.uk. The website, aimed at driving owners back to their veterinary practices, includes a vet finder, exclusively for equine practices, and healthcare information.
For full details of the launch programme, talk to your account manager, call 01908 685685 or visit www.healthyhorses.co.uk.
Zoetis Business Consulting has announced the launch of Profitsolver, a software tool designed to boost practice profits.
The software has already been rolled out in the US, where Zoetis says that it has delivered an average of £103,000 extra profit to veterinary practices within a year.
Profitsolver uses the practice's actual data - not benchmarks or accepted norms - to enable the practice to manage costs, set prices and gain return on investments. By using an activity-based costing model and using a variety of data such as practice costs, which staff perform which part of the procedure, how long the procedure takes and what equipment and materials are used, Profitsolver calculates the correct pricing to both cover costs and deliver a predetermined profit margin.
Zoetis says that Profitsolver helps practices to understand how the overall practice profit is being generated. For instance, for price sensitive procedures such as vaccination, the practice can match their prices with the competition, but maintain their profit margin by increasing the price for other clinical services.
Nick Steele, national consulting manager at Zoetis said: "Veterinary practices have no standard method for pricing their services and they are often unable to determine which services make money and which don't. This hampers the practice's ability to accurately value the business and, as a result, profit levels tend to be low for many practices. Profitsolver can turn this situation around and already has a very successful track record in the US."
Zoetis piloted the UK version of Profitsolver with John Goulding at St Georges Veterinary Group. He said: "By and large the veterinary profession still relies on the mark-up of medicines where profits are concerned. Even practices that have made a concerted effort to move away from this type of pricing structure are still making their money from the sale of medicines rather than from vets' fees. For years I have wanted to know exactly how to price our services and this new Profitsolver software does just that.
"Most costs have an element of staff time, an element of fixed assets or equipment and an element of disposable items. Profitsolver takes all of these into account, adds the predetermined profit margin and produces an accurate pricing structure for each procedure undertaken within the practice.
"It's important to take the time at the start to put accurate data in from the practice's latest set of accounts and the Zoetis business consultant will guide practices through this to make the initial set up as easy as possible. For instance, for major pieces of equipment such as X-ray machines, you have to work out how many times a year you are likely to use them.
"By using Profitsolver, we worked out that if we do exactly the same amount of work as last year we can increase our bottom line by at least £200,000 for our 18 vet practice. Since last November, when we installed Profitsolver, we have completely changed our pricing structure moving away from focusing on medicines and the size of the animal to rethink how we charge our clinical care.
"An unexpected benefit is that Profitsolver has made me much more confident about the prices we charge to clients as it is all broken down, so we can see exactly how the invoice is made up. I would be at a loss without it now."
For more information about Profitsolver, contact your Zoetis account manager.
David says that whilst he was out there, he was told about attacks by Russian forces on stables in Bucha, Irpin and other equestrian premises north of Kyiv.
Ukraine vet Anatoly Levitsky who is working in Kyiv, said: “Not very big horse club was not far from Borodianka and owners were using their horses for hippotherapy of children with different pathologies.
"When war started, the lady who owned the stable and her child emigrated to Poland and her husband was conscripted into Ukrainian army.
"When Russian bandits in army uniform came to the village, they set fire to the stable and started shooting the horses that tried to escape.”
“Some horses ran away, others were wounded, and some were burned down.
"After the building was burned, Russian soldiers went away and horses that escaped were wandering around the village and trying to find the feed.
"Step by step, people living in the village collected the horses and keep one or two horses in their yards.”
David said: “It is hard to understand what could motivate anyone to perform these deliberate acts of cruelty.
"Random shootings, stabbings and burnings are widely reported and pictured on social media, we have no idea how many horses are dead and how many injured, but it has to be a significant number.
“Some of the lorry drivers I have met coming out have been shot at, shelled and beaten up, evacuating surviving horses.
"They are taking risks that we would consider totally unacceptable to move animals out and supplies in.
"I have nothing but admiration for the bravery of the Ukrainian people.”
“Ever conscious that there is an equal humanitarian need you feel very small and rather cowardly that you aren’t permitted to go into Ukraine to help the people and animals that require treatment.”
The British Equine Veterinary Association and American Association of Equine Practitioners are working together to support vets in Ukraine.
They say that they are not allowed to provide direct practical help, but they are doing what they can to get veterinary and humanitarian supplies to the vets they are in contact with.
They are also working to establish safe stables in the West of Ukraine to get horses and their owners away from likely areas of combat in the East.
Previously people have had no option but to turn horses into the woods prior to fleeing or they have stayed to look after their animals despite the risks to themselves.
BEVA, in association with the British Equestrians for Ukraine Fund, is calling for urgent support to help fund veterinary treatment, supplies and the safe relocation of Ukraine’s endangered horses.
To do this they need your urgent support. To make a donation visit https://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/support-us/appeals/british-equestrians-for-ukraine-fund.
To find out more you can listen to a podcast from David Rendle here https://beva.podbean.com/e/bevapod-episode-13/
Photo: Stabling reportedly burned down by Russian soldiers
Founded in 1922, the practice has come a long way from the days when its founder, Tom Patterson did his rounds on a motorbike with a sidecar.
It's now a successful farm and small animal two branch practice with over 60 staff.
To celebrate its centenary, Shepton Vets published a book called '100 years of Shepton Vets' and held a large summer party.
In September, the practice will be holding a 100km fundraising cycle ride to raise money for the Farming Community Network charity.
The farm animal practice has also organised the ‘Tour de Yorkshire,’ a trip to visit three farms based in Yorkshire who are modernising and adapting their dairy businesses to be resilient and successful in the changing industry.
Senior director, Paddy Gordon, said: “Turning one hundred is important. We may have grown substantially but we haven’t lost the family and community feel. We want to bring our community, near and far along with us on this celebration.”
It may not be quite the same as a telegram from the Queen, but VetSurgeon.org wishes Shepton Vets a very Happy Birthday!
Congratulations to VetSurgeon members Mike Martin, Malcolm Ness and Mark Patteson, who were amongst the winners of the 2010 BSAVA Annual Awards.
Mike Martin actually collected two awards this year: The Dunkin Award for the author of the most valuable article published in the Journal of Small Animal Practice (Canine dilated cardiomyopathy: a retrospective study of signalment, presentation and clinical findings in 369 cases), and the Blaine Award presented by Royal Canin for outstanding contributions to the advancement of small animal medicine or surgery.
Malcolm Ness won the Simon Award for outstanding contributions in the field of veterinary surgery.
Mark Patteson picked up the Melton Award, presented annually by Royal Canin for meritorious contributions by veterinary surgeons to small animal veterinary practice.
Other winners included Iona Mathieson (Frank Beattie Travel Scholarship), Anne Vaughan-Thomas (deceased) (Amoroso Award), David Church (Woodrow Award), Luke Gamble (J.A. Wright Memorial Award), Olaf Reinhard Schaaf (Petsavers Award) and Steve Withrow (Bourgelat Award).
Dechra Veterinary Products is offering CPD sessions as podcasts for the first time, as part of a new series of presentations on canine hyperadrenocorticism.
The Cushing's Challenge series, which will also be available as webcasts with supporting notes, is designed to challenge vets to update their knowledge on the syndrome.
There will be six presentations released on the company's online learning resource, The Dechra Academy, starting this month.
Dechra Veterinary Products Brand Manager, Craig Sankey said: "Although Cushing's is a common canine endocrinopathy, it can be challenging to diagnose and can mimic non-adrenal disorders. Test results can also sometimes be inconclusive which is why we've developed this series of CPD sessions to support veterinary professionals who want to update their knowledge.
"The Cushing's Challenge series will be the first time Dechra has used podcasts to deliver CPD, which can be downloaded and listened to on any MP3 player. They can also be viewed on a PC or tablet as a webcast with each of the presentations varying in length, from around 12 to 25 minutes long. By offering the presentations in both of these formats, we are able to offer flexible support to help busy veterinary professionals with CPD.
"The first episodes will focus on pathophysiology, clinical signs and routine lab tests with successive presentations released in the coming weeks. The next two in the series will cover diagnostic tests and then differentiation tests."
CPD certificates will be available at the end of the series via email.
The free-of-charge CPD is accompanied by client support materials for practices as part of Dechra's new Vetoryl campaign.
The Cushing's Challenge CPD is available at www.dechra.co.uk/academy,
Ceva Animal Health has launched a new TV advertising campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of the veterinary behavioural product, Feliway.
The new advertisement, features the new 'Feliway' purple cat playing happily in the home with its family.
The advertisement will appear on the major UK channels including More 4, E4, ITV 1, Sky Channels and the Discovery Channel for one week from 16th September 2013, with an additional three weeks coverage during October 2013. Behind the scenes' footage of the filming of the advertisement can also be viewed on the Feliway YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtAXd5mReYc6JGufxRirvng?feature=watch
A Feliway video on demand and YouTube campaign will be available to viewers between 16th September 2013 and 21st October 2013 and will be repeated between 15th November 2013 and 2nd December 2013.
An Adaptil video on demand campaign will be aired between 21st October 2013 and 11th November 2013 to raise awareness of Adaptil in the run up to and during the firework season. The video on demand will be available across ITV player, Sky Anytime On Demand, 4oD and YouTube.
For more information, call 01494 781510 or contact your local Ceva territory manager.
Matt, who contracted Lyme disease early last year, has been out giving interviews about how he was bitten by a tick, his experience with Lyme disease and why he is supporting the Big Tick Project. He said: "It was a really scary time for me and my family, and I was shocked to find out that a tick bite in Chiswick – such a tiny creature – caused me to end up needing heart surgery. Even though I am free from Lyme disease now it really has impacted me. I still have to take daily medication and I now adjust my lifestyle in a number of ways."
Amanda Melvin, Marketing Manager at MSD Animal Health said: "This recent campaign is part of a series of high profile media campaigns that we’ve organised to help pet owners understand the risks posed by ticks and the importance of seeking advice from vets. Vet are central to this campagn.
"During our attendance this summer at DogFest and Countryfile Live we asked pet owners about their awareness of the risks. While this was very rough data the message that came back consistently was that many pet owners didn’t realise that not all flea treatments could also provide protection against ticks.
"We are therefore urging them to talk to their vet and vet nurses to better understand the treatments they are paying for. The conversation is important as the risks can be high."
For further information, visit: www.bigtickproject.co.uk
The survey is conducted every four to five years and asks vets to answer questions about a variety of subjects including demographic data (for example, socio-economic background, educational attainment, race/ethnicity, disability), work-related data (for example, employment status, location of workplace, type of workplace, hours of work, position in practice) and information about professional achievement (for example, hours of continuing professional development (CPD) undertaken and extra qualifications earned).
The survey, which is conducted on the College’s behalf by the Institute for Employment Studies, also ask respondents about their views on different aspects of their profession, including career plans, challenges facing the profession, and wellbeing.
This year, the survey also asks for your view of the RCVS, including its values, how it should communicate, and what it should prioritise in future years.
Lizzie Lockett, RCVS CEO (pictured right), said: "The results of the Surveys form a very important ‘snapshot’ of the profession at a given point in time, but they also prove useful for years to come in terms of how the College develops its regulatory and educational policy, the areas it chooses to focus on and the issues it chooses to tackle.
"The ensuing reports are also used by a myriad of other individuals, such as those in academia, government and representative bodies, as well as journalists. It’s therefore really important that we have as accurate a picture as possible. So although completing the Surveys is entirely voluntary, we strongly encourage members of the professions to take the time to complete them. It will, ultimately, help the development of appropriate and supportive policies for your profession."
In addition to the main survey, there will be an additional survey for MsRCVS who practise overseas. This survey aims to better understand why they continue to retain their MRCVS status, what this status means in the countries in which they work, global attitudes towards the RCVS and how the College could improve its communication with them.
To claim the free product, visit www.daxocox.co.uk/trial and use the stock selector to pick the dose sizes to suit the patients you think Daxocox could help.
Animalcare Marketing Manager James Beaumont explained: “When you consider that recent data shows that up to 20% of dogs over one year of age could have some form of OA1, the scale of problem becomes clear – as does the threat to the welfare of our canine companions from OA pain.
“Owners already giving Daxocox to their OA-affected pets, have seen first-hand how it can significantly improve their quality of life.
"90% said that their dog’s osteoarthritis improved, with 84% reporting that their dog’s quality of life improved from “poor or fair” to “good, very good or excellent.”2
James added: “In a study carried out by Animalare, 88% of owners said that weekly NSAID dosing would be easier to remember, or mean they were less likely to miss a dose or that it would control their dog’s pain more effectively.3
“Used as a first line treatment for OA, Daxocox can provide a solid foundation to long-term pain management that suits vets, dogs and their owners.
"As such, we’re confident that once practices have tried it, it will become their canine OA NSAID of choice.”
For more information, visit www.daxocox.co.uk
References
BCF, the veterinary imaging company, has launched a competition in which you can test your knowledge on a series of x-ray and ultrasound images for the chance to win a Sony Cyber Shot digital camera.
Visit the BCF website to enter - www.bcftechnology.com/
Entries to be in by 31st May 2011 and the winner will be drawn at random on the 6th of June 2011.
Companion Care Vets has been named as one of The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies To Work For, the first veterinary organisation to receive the accolade.
Companion Care, which has 90 surgeries across the UK (the majority within Pets at Home stores) launched its joint venture partner model in 2001. The group received a "first class" one-star status from The Sunday Times, and was ranked at number 69 overall, a position determined by employee views, staff policies, processes and services.
Best Companies Accreditation is based around employee engagement and listed companies are noted for "excelling in every area throughout the workplace." Particularly recognised is an organisation's commitment to its most important assets - its workforce.
Jane Balmain, Managing Director of Companion Care Vets said: "We value every member of our team who have all worked tirelessly over the past 11 years to help our expansion into the market leader we are today. Without the commitment and expertise of every person within the organisation this would not have been possible and for us to receive this recognition, and on our first try, is outstanding."
Jane added: "To be the first veterinary organisation to receive Best Companies Accreditation is an honour and we will strive to continue to provide an exceptional working environment for our teams."
As part of the survey process 79% of Companion Care Vets' employees said their jobs are good for personal growth, 76% felt their jobs were secure and a fantastic 81% said colleagues are committed to taking care of each other.
With 109 Joint Veterinary Partners and a further 867 employees in the group, Companion Care Vets is one of the largest veterinary employers in the UK. The company plans to have 200 surgeries in place by 2015 which will create a host of career opportunities for vets and veterinary support teams around the UK.
The RCVS has clarified its role concerning new UK veterinary schools, saying that it has no mandate to control student or graduate numbers.
Responding to calls from the profession that it should comment on the desirability of any change in the number of schools or graduates, the College has confirmed that whilst it is committed to setting, upholding and advancing the standards that any new UK veterinary degrees would need to meet in order to be approved by the Privy Council, it has no role in capping student numbers.
The College also points out that the free market and mobility of workers in the EU makes any control at the level of a sovereign state effectively meaningless with respect to workforce management. However, the College says it is committed to ensuring that standards are maintained, and to continue working with bodies such as the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education, which evaluates veterinary degrees across Europe.
The College also seeks to support healthy debate through providing information on the state of the profession - an example of which is the survey that it recently commissioned from the Institute for Employment Studies on job availability for veterinary graduates over the last five years.
The headline results from that survey were released in the summer, and showed that increasing graduate numbers over the last five years have so far appeared to have had little impact on veterinary job prospects, with 94% of graduate respondents seeking a role in clinical practice obtaining work within six months of starting to look.
The full RCVS Survey of Recent Graduates report is now available, and also shows that, of the 43% of veterinary surgeons who graduated in the last five years who responded:
The answers were analysed by year of graduation, veterinary school, age and gender, and the full report is available online at www.rcvs.org.uk/publications.
Dan (MRCVS) & Kirsty (RVN) Forster, the husband and wife team behind Isle of Wight-based The Mobile Vet are celebrating a Queen's Award for Enterprise.
The Mobile Vet offers a mobile service in custom-designed vehicles and also has a fully-equipped surgery based in Newport where further consultations, operations and diagnostics can be performed, giving clients the option to choose between a home visit or a more traditional form of veterinary care for their pets.
News of the award landed on their doormat recently, in a letter saying: "I am delighted to inform you that Her Majesty The Queen has been graciously pleased to approve the Prime Minister's recommendation that your organisation should receive a Queen's Award for Enterprise in Innovation this year."
The Queen announced the winners of the awards as part of her 90th birthday celebrations yesterday, and Kirsty & Dan have been invited to Buckingham Palace to meet her at an official reception in July.
Dan said: "We have been fortunate enough to receive excellent feedback from our clients since starting our business & enjoy an immense amount of job satisfaction with the way we work. A nod from Her Majesty is truly the crowning glory for our business. It just goes to show what can be achieved with exceptional hard work and effort, the love & support of family/friends & a formidable staff. This award is for all these people that help to make our business great!
"We are very much looking forward to meeting the Queen and can't quite get our heads round it. Kirsty has spent hours looking for a dress and I am brushing up on my royal etiquette!"
It was the only organisation from the veterinary profession to be shortlisted.
The Antibiotic Guardian Awards were introduced this year by Public Health England (PHE) and aim to champion UK organisations and individuals who have demonstrated achievement in tackling antimicrobial resistance at a local, regional or national level.
BEVA first launched its Protect ME antimicrobial campaign in 2012 to coincide with European Antimicrobial Awareness day. The Association has launched additional resources each year to facilitate compliance and educate the public about the importance of antimicrobial awareness.
Mark Bowen, President of BEVA and co-author of the Protect ME toolkit, said: "It is a great achievement for a veterinary organisation to be recognised alongside the human health sector which invariably has significantly more resources to support antimicrobial stewardship. Protect ME has had a fantastic uptake from the equine profession and are proud of the impact that it is having. BEVA is grateful to all who have contributed to its success, especially Wendy Furness and Jacky Paton of the Scarsdale veterinary group, Derby who trialled it prior to launch and adopted it fully within the practice."
The BEVA Protect ME toolkit is free to BEVA members and can be downloaded at www.beva.org.uk.
The veterinary buying groups VetShare and London Vet Forum (LVF) have announced that they have merged to become the VetShare Buying Group.
VetShare Buying Group says that merger will ensure it has the resources and capabilities to compete in an industry that is increasingly made up of larger merged animal health suppliers.
The venture was prompted by a decision by London Vet Forum to offer itself up for a merger or sale with the aim of attracting better discounts for its members. It then interviewed a shortlist of candidates and says VetShare come out on top principally for its clarity and competitive discounts negotiated with the manufacturers.
In addition, VetShare and LVF shared some ways of working - members handle their own wholesaler invoice with the wholesaler-practice relationship remaining intact, allowing discounts to be rebated as a separate transaction. This means that members can continue to do business as before, while also benefiting from being part of the new, larger buying group.
Vet Ruth Gray, VetShare Director, said: "We are very pleased to have been chosen by the LVF directors to take their members into the future. We are the only major buying group without reps on the road and yet are now perhaps the largest buying group in the UK. We started VetShare initially to help our own practice achieve better discounts with the assumption that if we set up the perfect model for us then it would probably also be perfect for others. In hindsight, I think our assumption was right and this merger will mean even better discounts with new and exciting opportunities for existing members of both groups".
For more information on membership and the merged group, visit www.vetshare.co.uk or call Ruth on 0800 7566636.
Sue, who is President of the European Society of Dermatology and an RCVS Specialist, says in a video interview that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is making otitis externa cases difficult to resolve and that vets can help overcome the problem by rethinking their first line prescription choices.
In the video, created in conjunction with Elanco Animal Health (maker of Osurnia), Sue said: "It’s a sad thing to say but if everybody did manage cases of otitis externa appropriately first time, I probably wouldn’t have a job at all."
"Many of the cases I see as a referral clinician are longstanding cases with very severe, multiply-resistant infections. If we get these cases right on the first occasion with appropriate prescription of drugs, and we don’t hurt dogs so we can give ongoing treatment, then we’d never ever see pseudomonas infection again."
Sue believes part of the problem is that veterinary surgeons are incorrectly saving some of their best first-line treatments for difficult cases. This is perpetuating the antimicrobial resistance problem as cases are being inadvertently mismanaged.
She said: "Florfenicol, which is the active antibiotic in Osurnia, has excellent gram positive activity which makes it an ideal first line choice. However, there’s a misconception that florfenicol is a fluoroquinolone - which it isn’t - so vets are incorrectly ‘saving it’ rather than using it on the first occasion."
Sue also highlights that poor compliance, resulting from the patient’s behavioural problems associated with ear phobia, also has a long-term impact:
"We’ve seen many 'well behaved' dogs that have bitten their owners as a result of fear aggression; we’ve had dogs that have pinned their owners against the wall. I would argue very strongly that if you use long-acting products in dogs on the first occasion then you avoid creating that problem and these dogs don’t become difficult to medicate on a long-term basis."
Sue summarised two factors that vets need to consider when deciding on the appropriate treatment: the right active ingredients to target common first-line pathogens; and the method of application. She urged vets to consider using a long-acting product applied within the practice, removing the need for home treatment to reduce stress for both owner and the dog, improve long-term compliance and maximise clinical outcomes.
To hear Sue’s tips on how to treat cases of otitis, watch the video here – www.osurnia.co.uk
At the same time as paying the fee, all veterinary surgeons must annually confirm their Register and correspondence details, declare any convictions, cautions or adverse findings and confirm they are compliant with RCVS continuing professional development (CPD) policy.
The deadline for completing the annual renewal, 1 April 2019, has now passed and all veterinary surgeons who are yet to pay their fees must do so before the end of May 2019. As of 1 June 2019, any non-payers will be removed from the Register.
If paid by 30 April 2019, the annual fee is £340 for UK-practising veterinary surgeons, £170 for veterinary surgeons practising outside the UK, and £56 for non-practising veterinary surgeons. Following this date, the fee goes up by £35 across all these groups and veterinary surgeons will have until 31 May 2019 to pay.
If the renewal fee is not received in full by 31 May 2019, then non-paying veterinary surgeons will be removed from the Register. In order to restore their name to the Register, a restoration fee of £340 will need to be paid, in addition to the appropriate retention fee. During this time they will not be able to use the postnominals MRCVS and UK-practising vets will need to cease practising.
Annual renewals can be completed online on the RCVS website and all the information needed to complete the annual renewal is in the renewal notice that has been sent to veterinary surgeons. Those who need any help or have any questions about completing their renewal and paying fees should contact the RCVS Registration Department on 020 7202 0707 or registration@rcvs.org.uk.
The four-day course, which is organised by Embryonics, will take place in Cheshire and runs from Monday 24 February to Thursday 27 February.
The course will cover the five-step Dutch method of foot trimming, which Ceva says is the most successful tried and tested method of trimming for reducing the incidence of lameness in the herd.
Course tutors include John Dawson MRCVS BVMS CertCHP Dip Cattle footcare and a Ceva representative will also present information on how the management of pain and inflammation fits into a comprehensive lameness treatment programme. The practical course is a recognised route to becoming a NACFT (National Association of Cattle Foot Trimmers) licensed foot trimmer.
Peter Keyte, ruminant business unit manager at Ceva, comments: "We would like to encourage livestock vets, farmers and professional foot trimmers to work more closely together, as a team, to help prevent lameness in cattle. We are therefore delighted to be supporting the industry by sponsoring this course, which will help raise welfare standards across the industry."
For further information on the Professional Foot Trimming course, please visit www.embryonicsltd.co.uk.
For the study, titled “RHDV2 epidemic in UK pet rabbits. Part 1: clinical features, gross post mortem and histopathological findings”1, veterinary surgeons were encouraged to submit case histories and the results of post mortem examinations of pet rabbits that died suddenly. Samples taken during the post mortem were sent for histopathological examination.
Frances Harcourt-Brown, corresponding author for the paper, said: "Case histories, macroscopic findings and histopathology results were available from 300 rabbits that died suddenly.
"Of these, 185 (62%) died from RHD and showed characteristic histopathological features of RHD including apoptosis and variable lytic and coagulative hepatocellular necrosis, with varying distribution.
"Interestingly, macroscopic evidence of disease was not present in all cases – for example, gross liver abnormalities were only reported in 30% of cases, despite all cases showing hepatocellular necrosis on microscopic examination.
"Rapid death and death of other rabbits in the household were common features of RHD.
"Histopathology was also useful in yielding valuable information about other causes of death in the rabbits that did not die from RHD.”
Nicola Di Girolamo, editor of JSAP said: “This is a terrible disease that is currently spreading in areas of the world that were free from it until recently. Having more evidence on the type of clinical presentations and lesions that should be expected with this disease in rabbit patients is going to be of tremendous value for clinicians. Given that there is not always macroscopic evidence of RHD, histopathology is key for the diagnosis of RHD in pet rabbits.”
The full article can be found in the July issue of the Journal of Small Animal Practice which is free for BSAVA members.
It can also be read online here: https://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsap.13141
Reference
Photo: BSAVA
An international group of scientists has published new results that herald a breakthrough in finding a vaccine against the most commonly diagnosed infectious disease of horses, strangles.
UK experts from the Animal Health Trust collaborated with scientists from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), the Karonlinska Institutet Medical University and Intervacc AB, on the project - the results of which could benefit humans as well as animals.
Professor Andrew Waller, Head of Bacteriology at the AHT, said: "We have been working towards developing a vaccine for 7 years, and finally it seems as if all the hard work is paying off. We've already developed better ways of diagnosing exposure to the infection, and now, with the success of creating a safe and effective vaccine, it looks as if we're finally bringing together the tools necessary to eradicate this terrible disease."
The vaccine consists of seven different Streptococcus proteins and results from early tests published in PLoS Pathogens have been incredibly positive showing a high level of protection and no side effects. It is hoped that the strangles vaccine could be commercially available in the near future.
Streptococcus equi, the bacterium that causes strangles, shares 80 per cent identity with Streptococcus pyogenes - the leading cause of bacterial pharyngitis, tonsillitis and rheumatic fever in humans, which kills thousands of people each year. Scientists hope that the knowledge gained through developing the strangles vaccine will also help in developing vaccines to combat these human conditions.
Research leader, Professor Bengt Guss of SLU, said: "This is a most exciting project, where research is generating new applications and knowledge that can be used to develop vaccines against these important bacteria. This is particularly important considering the increased number of infectious diseases caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria."
The vaccine development work was only made possible thanks to information from the Streptococcus equi genome sequencing project funded by The Horse Trust.
The Horse Trust's Chief Executive Brigadier Paul Jepson, said: "We are absolutely delighted that by pulling apart the genome of this plague of the horse world scientists have generated a truly safe and effective strangles vaccine. That this work could also benefit other animal and human health is beyond our wildest hopes."
Full text of the research findings can be found in PLoS Pathogens online at http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1000584
Free places on Vétoquinol's webinar: 'Chronic Pain in the Geriatric Dog: Decision Making and Risk Management' are going fast, according to the company, and those wishing to attend are being advised to register as soon as possible.
Vétoquinol says that at one point, 200 vets registered in just 3 hours, demonstrating the extent to which vets are finding this to be a challenging topic when it comes to managing their day to day case load.
The webinar takes place at 8.30pm on Wednesday 15th June 2011 and the talk is being delivered by Dr. Jo Murrell, Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Anaesthesia at Bristol Vet School and holder of The European Diploma in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia. She said: "Decision making can be a complex business when so many factors have to be taken into account. We all see geriatric dogs with painful conditions reasonably frequently and concurrent diseases are common. I will be aiming to describe a way to balance out the risks and benefits, to take into account client's concerns and develop a more logical, rational approach to treatment."
To register for the free webinar go to www.thewebinarvet.com/vetoquinol. Enter the code veto11 to obtain the webinar free of charge.
The BVA is now reaching out to non-members with a three-month, no strings attached, free trial. The offer ends on 31 August.
Over the past few years the BVA membership package has changed significantly in response to the needs of veterinary surgeons across the UK at all stages of their careers.
Harvey Locke, BVA President, said: "The well-documented stresses that put members of our profession at risk of mental health problems are unacceptably high. With their focus on conflict resolution and individual support, however, we hope the BVA legal services will come to be seen as a safety net for BVA members should things go wrong at work.
"These kinds of employment issues can be hard to talk about so we hope by highlighting a few stories it will encourage others to seek the help they need from the BVA.
"The three-month free trial is an opportunity for the BVA to reach out to non-members and show them the impact of our complete membership package - from the legal and employment services and free and discounted CPD to our popular publications and money-saving financial services."
A new animal welfare report by the PDSA has revealed that millions of pets are more aggressive, overweight and misunderstood than ever due to fundamental gaps in pet owners' animal welfare knowledge.
The PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) report, which captures the views of pet owners, the veterinary profession and children, reveals that 1.3 million dogs across the UK are displaying problem behaviour. It also highlights the consequences of an obesity epidemic affecting 18.5 million dogs, cats and rabbits, and draws attention to the 11.2 million pets not registered with a vet and therefore at risk of disease due to not being vaccinated or neutered.
The BVA is urging veterinary surgeons and nurses to read the report which identifies where owners are misinformed or unaware and highlights areas that everyone can work on with their clients to help achieve better wellbeing for pets.
Peter Jones, President of the BVA, said: "This is another excellent report from the PDSA offering real insight into clients' motivations. Understanding what drives owners' attitudes, as well as helping them to understand key health and welfare issues, should help us to clarify misconceptions in the consulting room and hopefully change behaviour at home.
"On the positive side, with pet obesity ever rising it is good to see that there is a slight increase in the proportion of owners starting to recognise obesity in their pets. This is, no doubt, in part due to the tireless work of charities like the PDSA and the veterinary profession as a whole.
"Sadly, despite most owners' awareness of the ill effect that bad nutrition has on their pet this has not led to them cutting out pet treats. The fact that few can identify a healthy body shape shows that much remains to be done.
"The section on preventive healthcare remains worrying with many owners seemingly not believing in the concepts of microchipping, neutering and vaccination. Vets have a real responsibility to help communicate these issues to the pet owning public for the benefit of both clients and their animals.
"The report very clearly identifies where owners are misinformed or unaware and highlights areas that vets in practice can work on with their clients to help achieve better wellbeing for pets.
"The report is very clearly laid out and well worth a read. We would encourage all vets to take a look and identify any new educational resources to promote in the practice, in newsletters and on websites in addition to the ones they already make available to clients. The AWF leaflets, the PDSA's own website, and the Education Alliance are all good starting points."
Click here for the report.