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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lohmann Animal Health has launched AviPro IBD Xtreme vaccine against Infectious Bursal Disease — also known as Gumboro Disease — in broilers, commercial layers and breeders.

According to Lohmannn, it is highly effective against the vvIBDV (very virulent IBD virus), it breaks through high levels of maternal antibodies, and controls mortality with no loss of flock performance.

Since the 1980s the acute form of IBD has caused significant economic loss to the poultry industries in several countries. The vvIBDV, a more aggressive form first described in Europe in 1986, is now widespread throughout the world and can cause losses of 30-60 per cent in layers and 5-25 per cent in broilers.

Chicks are most susceptible between one and six weeks. Early in their lives they are protected by maternally-derived antibodies (MDAs), but these antibodies will neutralise live IBD vaccines when they are given too early. However, being highly invasive, the AviPro IBD Xtreme vaccine is able to overcome these MDAs so can be given earlier to provide greater protection from an early age.

Exact timing of vaccination depends primarily on the level of MDAs and the breakthrough titre of the vaccine on the one hand, and the virulence of the field virus and infection pressure on the other.

When compared with four of its main competitors in a trial with SPF birds AviPro IBD Xtreme outperformed them. It had the highest number of sero-positive birds, the highest mean ELISA-antibody titre seven days after vaccination and the best protection against clinical symptoms and mortality after a challenge with vvIBDV,” commented Brigitte Othmar, regulatory affairs manager at LAH.

“With the addition of AviPro IBD Xtreme, Lohmann Animal Health has now completed its range of live IBD vaccines and is able to provide its customers with the appropriate solution for any Gumboro problem,” she added.

AviPro IBD Xtreme can be applied via the drinking water or eye-drop and is presented in vials of 1,000 and 2,500 doses.

More information on this vaccine can be found on the Lohmann Animal Health website http://www.lah.de/.

Veterinarywoman.co.uk and XLVets are hosting ‘Veterinary Women in Leadership’, a day of online talks from inspirational figures in the profession on Tuesday 29th September from 1pm to 7pm.

The speaker line-up includes performance coach and head of training at VDS training, Carolyne Crowe, Jamie Callan, Professor of Leadership & HRD and Director of Equity & Diversity at Newcastle Business School and Laura Whyte, who was HR Director at the John Lewis Partnership and is now a Non-Executive Director with a number of organisations including XLVets, the British Horseracing Authority and the Ministry of Defence.

A number of women from industry and practice will also share their experiences and perspectives in short sessions entitled ‘If you can see it, you can be it!’ to reflect how veterinary women can tackle challenges and make the most of opportunities.

The event is being steered by Liz Barton, the editor of Veterinary Woman, and Kerrie Hedley, the Chief Operating Officer at XLVets. Liz said: “We’ve been working hard to develop resources for women in the profession for the last few years and it’s wonderful to see so many women coming together and providing the skills and inspiration that will help other women aspire to leadership roles.”

Kerrie, who will be running a workshop on 'Overcoming Stereotypes: What does the future leader look like?' added: "From the research I undertook last year we know that there is a stereotypical perception of what a leader looks like in the profession, for example a requirement to work full time. This workshop is about crushing that stereotype and defining what the future leader could look like. I'm really excited to be supporting women to develop innovative solutions in their leadership journey and look forward to seeing what we can achieve at this inaugural event."

The event is open to anyone in the profession – vets, RVNs, practice managers, whether from independent or corporate practice, industry or academia. Registration costs £45, inclusive of VAT and £20 for students if booked at the early bird rate before 31st August.

Recordings will be available to anyone who registers but can’t attend the whole six hours.

Registration is now open at https://bit.ly/VeterinaryWomenInLeadership.

Warwick John Seymour-Hamilton, a former veterinary surgeon who was struck off 27 years ago, has had his ninth application to be restored to the Register rejected on the basis that he would pose a risk to animal welfare if he were to practise as a veterinary surgeon.

Mr Seymour-Hamilton made previous unsuccessful applications for restoration in 1995, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Mr Seymour-Hamilton was originally removed from the Register in 1994 following an inspection of his veterinary practice premises in Orpington, Kent, that found that the condition of the practice, including the equipment and facilities, were of such a risk to animal health and welfare that it brought the profession into disrepute.

In considering his current application, the Committee had to take several factors into account, including: whether Mr Seymour-Hamilton had accepted the findings of his original hearing; whether he demonstrated insight into his past conduct; protection of the public and the public interest; the future welfare of animals committed to his care should he be restored; length of time off the Register; his conduct since removal; and evidence that he’d kept up-to-date in terms of the knowledge and skills required of a practising veterinary surgeon.

Mr Seymour-Hamilton accepted the facts of the original charges but did not accept the conclusions of the two veterinary surgeons who inspected his practice, who, he claimed, had falsely accused him.

As a result, the Committee concluded that Mr Seymour-Hamilton did not accept the seriousness of the original findings against him, nor had he demonstrated any insight into either the original charges, nor what was required of him to enable a successful application for restoration.

Judith Webb, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: “The Committee is driven to the conclusion that the applicant has displayed total disregard for rules and regulations. In his evidence he stated that he is professionally competent to spay a cat  and  he had done so in Calais. This was in recent years and whilst struck off by the RCVS, and after more than 25 years out of the profession. He was unable to see that he had done anything wrong in this.”

As to protection of the public and the future welfare of animals committed to his care, the Committee found that Mr Seymour-Hamilton continued to display a lack of understanding of the role and purpose of regulation. He had shown no insight into previous decisions or of what was required of him to enable a successful restoration, despite being given advice in that regard. He presented no compelling evidence to indicate that he would be safe to practise veterinary surgery were he to be restored to the Register.  

Regarding Mr Seymour-Hamilton’s conduct since removal from the Register, the Committee found he did not demonstrate sufficient relevant conduct in relation to his fitness to practise. The Committee noted that, on previous occasions, he had indicated he had illegally practised veterinary surgery and admitted using his own animals to experimentally administer new and untested remedies.

The Committee found that, in relation to the 27 years since removal from the Register, Mr Seymour-Hamilton had not undertaken the prolonged, intensive and formal retraining needed to ensure he was now fit to practise. It also found that, since the last restoration hearing in 2020, Mr Seymour-Hamilton had undertaken very little continuing professional development, maintaining that he was too busy with his work relating to herbal remedies to attend formal veterinary training.

Judith Webb added: “He claimed that he does not find it difficult to keep up-to-date, because he is able to perform online searches if he is in need of information. He thinks that he is competent to operate even after 27 years out of the profession, and maintains that he could operate now. In the view of the Committee, the applicant is totally unaware of current veterinary principles such as it being an evidence-based profession, use of clinical audit and reflective learning. He does not appear to have accepted the purpose of the regulator in protecting public interest, including maintaining public confidence in the profession, nor its role in upholding professional standards and promoting animal welfare. 

The Committee considers that where some 27 years have passed since the applicant has practised, there will inevitably be a serious risk to the welfare of animals if he is restored to the Register. In addition, the Committee is firmly of the opinion that it would not be in the public interest for the application for restoration to the RCVS Register to be granted in this case.”

The full documentation from the restoration hearing can be found at: www.rcvs.org.uk/disciplinary

The Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill introduced as a private members Bill earlier this year by Winchester MP, Danny Chambers MRCVS, has passed into law.

The new law allows the Government to: 

• raise the minimum age at which dogs and cats can be imported into the UK (as pets) from 15 weeks to 6 months.
• ban the import of heavily pregnant dogs and cats — specifically animals more than 42 days pregnant.
• prohibit the import of dogs and cats that have undergone mutilations (such as ear-cropping, tail-docking, declawing of cats).
• limit how many pet animals may be brought into the country under non-commercial rules to no more than 5 animals per vehicle, or 3 per foot/air passenger.

• require that the owner travels with the pets, or within 5 days of the pets arriving.

Danny said: “As a vet, I've treated many dogs with cruelly cropped ears or docked tails, leaving them physically scarred and emotionally traumatised.

"Knowing this Bill will help us put a stop to this abuse and have a bigger impact on animal welfare than I could possibly have achieved in a lifetime treating individual animals, demonstrates how important this legislation will prove to be.

"Thanks to the support of organisations like the BVA and other animal welfare nonprofits, we got the Animal Welfare Bill through the Commons, through the Lords, and today passed into law." 

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Charitable Trust has announced 'Open Educational Resources to help new practitioners cope', a new initiative that will focus on the needs of veterinary graduates starting out in practice

The project will be jointly funded by the Higher Education Academy and JISC, who have agreed to provide a maximum of £25,000.

The project will identify the key needs of today's new veterinary graduates, and review what available ('open educational') resources already exist or can be adapted to meet those needs. The project will also encourage the sharing of these resources, and other ways of making these more accessible to new veterinary surgeons.

Nick Short, RCVS Trust trustee and Head of eMedia Unit at the Royal Veterinary College said: "New graduates moving from university to veterinary practices can face significant challenges, whether these come from long hours, demanding clients or finding that limited supervision may be offered by their employers. Veterinary practice by its nature can be emotionally fraught as well as intensely rewarding, as it involves, for example, helping clients make decisions about the treatment or euthanasia of pets, or advising farmers about valuable livestock. This means it's important that appropriate support is available to new practitioners."

The Trust will work in partnership with UK veterinary schools and other organisations on this project, and will aim to complement the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' Professional Development Phase (PDP) for new graduates, and in particular the set of 'Year One Competences' that new graduates are expected to achieve within approximately their first year in practice. Supervision during the PDP is provided by the vet's employer and progress towards achieving the Year One Competences is monitored by their RCVS-appointed Postgraduate Dean, so the Trust's project will look at what other resources are available or could be adapted to support new graduates as they attain this level of competence.

A project co-ordinator is being recruited to work until September on the project, after which the findings will be disseminated through a report and associated workshop. Further details about the project and the project co-ordinator role can be found at www.rcvstrust.org.uk/graduateoer

Vetlife is inviting veterinary surgeons to come and take part in a sponsored cold water dip at Walpole Bay Tidal Pool, Margate, at 12:30pm on Friday, May 17th.

The Walpole Bay Tidal Pool is the biggest in the UK, covering four acres.

Everyone taking part is being challenged to raise at least £100 for Vetlife, to go towards its helpline, health support and financial support for the veterinary community.

Sea temperature at this time of year is a decidedly brisk 10 degrees Celsius, but Vetlife says the dress code is reasonably relaxed: anything from a swimming costume to a full diving dry suit!

https://events.more-human.co.uk/event/1713190086537x259173669533122560

Rob Rayward, an RCVS Orthopaedic Specialist at Davies Veterinary Specialists, Hertfordshire, is preparing to grease up and swim the murky waters of the English Channel this month, to raise funds for the Christian charity Derek Prince Ministries UK.

Rob is undertaking the 35km swim as a part of a Channel Swim Relay Team and has been in training for his chilly trip across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes for the past year. He is hoping to raise £1500 for the charity, which provides Christian teaching materials in over 1000 languages to Church leaders and Christian communities around the world. They also provide food and education to poor widows and orphans in Ethiopia.

Rob said: "Despite being a small animal vet I'm definitely not planning on doing the doggy paddle. All members of the team have different strengths and weaknesses but for me the cold water is proving to be a real challenge. It is likely to be about 16C on the day but as well as the cold we may have to swim part of it in the dark. Many people are aware that the Channel has debris floating in it but few are aware that we may also face jelly fish, basking sharks and if really lucky, sewage! We anticipate it taking us approximately 14 hours to complete the crossing but weather and tidal conditions can have a major impact on our time."

Rob will be completing his challenge when the conditions are favourable at some point between 19^th and 28^th July.

To sponsor him visit his JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/rob-rayward.

All donations are gratefully received.

Vets Now has won the 'Social Entrepreneur of the Year' award in the Scottish Business Awards for Pet Blood Bank UK.

The charity was initiated by a Vets Now employee, Wendy Barnett, following a change in legislation which created the opportunity to establish a pet equivalent of the human national blood transfusion service. After a trial through Vets Now, Pet Blood Bank UK was set up in 2007 as an independent charity, with a loan and ongoing fundraising support from Vets Now.

Pet Blood Bank UK collects blood from donor dogs, processes it and supplies it to the veterinary profession to use in cases such as traumatic injuries or where major surgery is required.  Last year 164 specially organised dog donor sessions were held where owners are encouraged to bring along their dog to 'donate a pint'.  Each donation has the potential to save up to four lives. Nearly 9,000 units of blood have been collected in the past five years.

The charity, which has an education and animal welfare remit, charges veterinary practices just the costs incurred in collecting, processing and storing the blood. As well as providing blood, the Pet Blood Bank UK team are experts in transfusion medicine and receive numerous calls through their advice service. Regular lectures, educational talks to the profession and guidance is given to enquiries from all over the world on how to set up a blood bank.

Wendy Barnett, who is now Head of Clinical and Professional Services at Pet Blood Bank UK, said: "At the heart of our charity is a real desire to ensure that should a dog need blood there is a supply available and I'm delighted that our work, and the support of our many doggy donors and their owners, has been recognised through this award. 

"Literally thousands of dog lives have been saved as a result of the service and this has been a real collective effort with Vet Supervisor Jenny Walton and the team here contributing to our success. However, we can't rest on our laurels. Demand from vets has been such that we've had to increase our donor sessions considerably. Like humans, there is a less common dog blood type and we desperately need dogs with negative blood type - such as Greyhounds, Weimaraners, Flat Coat Retrievers, Airedales, Boxers, Dobermans and German Shepherd Dogs to donate at our sessions." 

Richard Dixon, founder of Vets Now, said: "Wendy was instrumental in setting up the charity and through her vision and leadership donation sessions have grown from one to three a week, with a 38% increase in donations year on year. We are proud of what Wendy has achieved and the role that the charity now plays in providing much needed blood and guidance to veterinary practices the length and breadth of the UK."

Bayer is highlighting a new study which, the company says, proves that a 'metaphylactic' treatment approach to coccidiosis - when the animal has been infected, but before the disease has had chance to take hold - produces the best long term results¹.

The research spanned a two year period where heifer calves on two farms that had previously experienced problems with naturally acquired coccidiosis, were divided into two groups. One group was treated with Baycox and one group remained untreated. The calves were then monitored for two years to gather the long term results following the coccidiosis treatment.

Sharon Cooksey BVSc, MRCVS, Bayer Animal Health Group Product Manager said: "The results demonstrated that treatment with Baycox at the right time significantly reduced the average age to first service by 24 days in comparison with the non-treated control group.

"Other key long term benefits following treatment included positive effects on certain fertility parameters, including overall pregnancy rate, the first service conception rate and average services per conception as well as a significant reduction in oocyst shedding in the treatment group." 

Sharon says the take home message of the new research is the paramount importance of getting treatment right at the right time, before coccidiosis develops and causes any long term implications: "The positive impact on heifer development from correct subclinical coccidiosis treatment is clear to see in this research, with the reduction of days to first service alone being a powerful reason for farmers to seek veterinary advice."

Reference

1. Veronesi F, Nisoli L, Diaferia M, Falcini R, Ficola E, Fioretti DP (2013) Influence of metaphylactic treatment with Baycox® Bovis on the reproductive performances of Fresian heifers: a preliminary study. Parasitol Res.

Ceva Animal Health has announced that it will be bolstering its spring Feliway TV advertising campaign with a campaign across the London Underground to help extend its reach to light TV viewers.

The campaign will once again feature the brand's 'That Purple Cat' character. Highlighting stress-related feline behaviour problems and encouraging cat owners to talk to their vet about Feliway, the advertisement will appear on channels such as ITV2, E4, More4 and Channel 4 (London only) from 14 February until 27 March.

The campaign will also be running on 50 high impact TV screens on the London Underground from 28 February until 13 March and 18 April until 1 May. So, according to the company, the ad will not only reach over 1.2 million people who commute and use the Underground every day, but will also be seen by millions on one of the busiest days of the year on the Underground, the Royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

Julia Wood, product manager at Ceva Animal Health, said: "By extending our advertising campaign across the London Underground we are complimenting our TV campaign and targeting commuters with busy lifestyles - who spend little time watching TV - during a unique point in their day."

To support the campaign, Ceva is offering veterinary practices free merchandising material including client leaflets, double sided A3 posters and A5 window stickers. A range of offers are also available for free mini merchandisers and digital photo frames in return for purchasing product. In addition, Ceva is running a prize draw for £250 worth of Champneys Spa vouchers for that 'purrfect' pampering session.

For more information, please contact your Ceva account manager or call 01494 781510.

The RCVS has launched a revamp of its website, www.rcvs.org.uk, now redesigned to make it easier for people find what they want, faster.

The redesign includes an overhaul of the layout, structure and navigation of all the College’s websites: Professionals, Animal Owners, Find a Vet and RCVS Knowledge. 

Some of the main changes are:

• A new level of navigation at the top of every page to make it easier to switch between the College’s different sites (similar to the BBC website).
• A greater focus on important content and services straight from the homepage, including latest updates from 'external' sites like Mind Matters and Vet/VN Futures.
• A dedicated site for the College’s Find a Vet service, with further improvements that make it easier to find veterinary practices, veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses.
• New 'mega menus' and improved search tools.
• Page design and layout more in line with current best practice, to make reading easier and navigation simpler.
• A 'mobile first' approach to design to ensure the website works optimally on all mobile devices, as well as desktop.

Ian Holloway, Head of Communications, said: "We’re delighted to be launching our new-look site today and hope all the improvements we’ve incorporated will make using the site a much better experience for veterinary professionals and animal owners alike.

"Working closely with our website provider, NetXtra, over the past nine months, we’ve been able to develop a new-look site with vastly improved design, structure and navigation, whilst avoiding the major expense of building a completely new website from scratch.

"We’re very grateful to them, and to all those vets, vet nurses and members of the public who have helped us with user-testing and content mapping to improve the site as much as possible for everyone who uses it."

Anyone with any comments or feedback about the new-look site is invited to send it to communications@rcvs.org.uk.