This multimillion pound centre will support the provision of advanced first opinion and referral equine services in the Midlands.
Senior Partner Richard Stephenson said: "It was a great honour and pleasure to have His Royal Highness visit our new premises, and our staff eagerly anticipated meeting Prince Charles and showing him the wonderful facilities we now have."
Amongst these are a Fujifilm SonoSite Edge II portable ultrasound system. Richard added: "Pool House is a well-known practice – we’ve been in existence for over 150 years – and we have developed a reputation as a specialist equine imaging centre, with radiography, ultrasound and MRI capabilities. The new facility has been designed to give us increased theatre capacity and stabling, and we needed an additional ultrasound system to match this expansion."
"The demands of equine practice mean that ultrasound is often required in difficult circumstances, and we need systems that can cope with extreme temperatures, dust, straw, mud, water and the occasional knock. Many pieces of equipment used in veterinary medicine were originally intended for a human clinical environment, so can’t stand up to the rigors of our work – they’re simply not fit for purpose. However, SonoSite systems are perfect for us; they’re robust, highly portable and very intuitive to use, which is important for intermittent ultrasound users."
Mark Naguib MRCVS, Public Relations Officer at the BVZS said: "Our conference is the largest gathering of exotic pet, wildlife and zoo vets in the UK and one of the best places to gain CPD in these fields whether you’re a new graduate or an experienced specialist."
The BVZS says it is subsidising the ticket price in recognition both of how the cost of living crisis is affecting the profession, and because after two years of socially-distanced online conferences, meeting in person is more important than ever.
The Society says it believes this is important enough that it is prepared to make a loss on the event in order to provide a real service not just to its members, but also to the whole veterinary zoological community.
The conference will once again feature dedicated streams covering zoo health, nursing, exotic pets and wildlife health.
There will also be a student stream, including back-to-basics exotics talks and a dedicated student networking session.
There will be evening entertainment on the Saturday and the opportunity to socialise and network.
https://www.bvzs.co.uk/bvzs/about/conference-2022
Elanco, a division of Eli Lilly and Company, has launched into the UK companion animal market with a pledge to listen to vets and provide a highly personalised level of support.
The company will initially offer recognised brands such as equine vaccines from the Duvaxyn range, Felocell vaccine for cats and equine wormer Strongid P. It says it is also developing a range of innovative new products designed to address the unmet needs of companion animals, the first of which are expected to be launched during 2011.
Mrs Tina Hunt, a Glasgow Vet School graduate and most recently, Veterinary Business Director at Fort Dodge UK, has been appointed with a remit to build the Elanco Companion Animal Health organisation in the UK. Reporting to Jannes Nijland, Director Elanco Western Europe, she will spearhead the company's growth and relationship building with veterinary practices across the country.
Tina said: "Recent changes in the animal health sector make it an exciting time to be launching a new companion animal brand. The opportunity to be in at the start and to shape a completely new business from scratch was too good to miss. My team shares a passion to combine the best of our experience with new approaches and new ways of working which are more closely attuned to what vets actually want. This means doing things differently and this is a challenge we relish.
We seek a genuine partnership with the profession and look forward to building close, individual relationships with vets and practices, helping them to enable companion animals to live longer, healthier and higher quality lives. While we're a newcomer in this sector, we benefit from the track record and resources available to Elanco, the fifth largest animal company in the world. We're determined to make Elanco Companion Animal Health a trusted and valued partner to vets working in companion animal practice."
Elanco develops and markets products to improve animal health and food-animal production in more than 75 countries. The company employs more than 2,300 people worldwide, with offices in more than 40 countries, and is a division of Eli Lilly and Company, a pharmaceutical corporation. Additional information about Elanco is available at www.elancopet.com and the company can be contacted via email: elancoCAH.uk@lilly.com
Hosted on the Boehringer Academy website, the three-minute quiz involves listening to 15 murmurs and deciding whether each one is clinically significant or not.
After deciding, you'll be told the grade of the murmur and if further investigation should be considered to determine if the dog has cardiomegaly. Boehringer says this is important since dogs with MVD and cardiomegaly are more likely to develop heart failure within 1 to 2 years1.
To register on the Boehringer Academy or take part in the quiz, visit www.boehringer-academy.co.uk.
Reference
PawSquad, which was founded in 2015 by Diwaker Singh and Radu Georgescu, offers veterinary consultations by video and live text chat in the United Kingdom. IVC says it continue to operate as an autonomous entity within the IVC group.
PawSquad CEO, Dr Mark Boddy MRCVS (pictured right) said: “Our network of experienced veterinarians has already helped many thousands of pets in the UK, providing medical advice, emergency triage and preventive health plans. Being part of IVC will allow us to help even more pets and to continue to work positively and collaboratively with the veterinary profession, as well as expand geographically.”
Stuart Caton, Chief Commercial Officer at IVC Evidensia said: "Telemedicine will support the efforts of the group to make high quality veterinary care more accessible to pet owners, lowering the barriers to engagement with the veterinary profession. It’s an excellent acquisition that will further complement the group as pet services grow and evolve in the future. We are delighted the entire PawSquad team will continue with the business supporting their corporate and private clients as before.”
IVC says the accessibility of the PawSquad service encourages pet owners to seek professional advice earlier and more frequently, with around half of all queries being referred for necessary in-clinic follow-up and otherwise providing much valued reassurance and peace of mind.
The company also says telemedicine is particularly appreciated by cat owners or those with nervous dogs, where the stress of a clinic visit can sometimes result in those pets missing out on veterinary care.
PawSquad Chairman and Founder, Diwaker Singh said: “We are pet lovers and launched PawSquad with the objective of making sure that pet owners have instant 24/7 access to quality pet care, accessible from their homes. Towards this end, PawSquad is a great success. The service has grown significantly, confirming there is a clear need for this service. IVC Evidensia’s extensive network will help the business strengthen and grow to even greater heights.”
APPA is an oral, patented, fixed-dose combination of two synthetic secondary metabolites of plant origin, apocynin and paenol.
Under the terms of the agreement, AKL’s unnamed partner will fund a study in dogs with naturally occurring OA. The study will compare the efficacy and efficacy duration of APPA with the current standard of care for treating canine OA: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
David Miles, AKLRD CEO, said: “Just like humans, millions of dogs suffer intolerable pain and disability because of OA and the current treatments just aren’t as effective or as well tolerated as they need to be. We already know from previous canine studies that APPA reduces pain and has an excellent tolerability profile but this exciting new partnership will allow us to go one stage further and assess sustainability of response.”
The randomised study will assess pain and duration of response as the primary endpoint. Secondary endpoint assessment will include adverse events, quality of life, pharmacokinetics analysis and biomarkers that may enable potential identification of factors predictive of response at treatment onset, or that correlate with response magnitude.
Two separate studies on dogs have already been carried out by researchers at the University of Vienna. The first, an 11-week cross-over study of 32 canines diagnosed with established, naturally occurring OA, showed that APPA provides significant symptom relief in clinical canine OA1.
A follow-up, five-week study of 60 dogs with OA compared APPA to the standard of care drug, meloxicam. It concluded that daily oral administration of APPA was effective as a stand-alone alternative to NSAIDs in dogs with naturally occurring OA. Significant benefits were also seen for APPA over meloxicam in orthopaedic examination as well as in lameness and function scores2.
The results will inform the pivotal clinical trial design and AKL says its working assumption is that a 26-week field study would complete the regulatory requirements for commercialisation.
If the study and future testing is successful, AKL estimates that APPA would be well placed to capture a significant share of the global canine OA market, which is estimated to be worth $3billion by 20283.
References
The removal of names from the RCVS Register of Veterinary Surgeons for non-payment of retention fees is now complete, with 386 veterinary surgeons having been removed, compared with 616 last year.
The RCVS says that the administration involved with removing a name for non-payment is time-consuming and costly. Hence, to be restored to the Register, the veterinary surgeon must pay the appropriate annual retention fee, and the restoration fee, currently £294, which multiplies each time if fees are not paid in successive years.
The College writes to members' Register addresses to remind them when fees are due and, where an email address is maintained by the member as part of their formal record, also sends an email. It is, however, the responsibility of members to inform the RCVS Registration Department of any changes to their contact details and to ensure that payment is made. It is illegal for veterinary surgeons to practise or undertake any veterinary-related activities if their name does not appear on the RCVS Register as a home-practising member.
To help ensure that members removed for non-payment are aware that they have been removed from the Register, the full list of those removed for non-payment and not restored by 10 June can be downloaded from RCVSonline. The current status of individual veterinary surgeons can be checked online (www.rcvs.org.uk/checkregister).
A veterinary surgeon whose name has been removed from the Register and who wishes to restore him or herself should view the information on restoration to the Register.
Alternatively, please ring the RCVS Registration Department on 020 7202 0707. Restorations made since 10 June are not shown on this list.
Richard was nominated for his dedication to improving rabbit welfare, in particular for his work in getting a new vaccine in to the UK to protect all pet rabbits against an emerging deadly disease (RVHD2).
Richard qualified from Liverpool University in 1994, obtained his Certificate in Zoological Medicine in 2001 and his Diploma in Zoological Medicine in 2010, while he was an RWAF resident. Richard is also registered as a recognised RCVS Specialist in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine (one of only 30 in the world).
Rae Todd, CEO of the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund said: "We're incredibly proud of Richard for all of his hard work and delighted that he's received recognition for his work. We all owe Richard a huge debt of gratitude for his commitment to the industry and for protecting all pet rabbits. So far, we estimate in the region of 70,000 rabbits have been vaccinated thanks to Richard."
Co-host of the awards, Matt Baker said: "I am truly humbled by the hard work and dedication of individuals and organisations who are passionate about improving animal welfare and would like to congratulate both the finalists and the award winners who are making a real difference to the lives of animals both in the UK and abroad."
Cuneyt Seckin, managing director of Ceva Animal Health, added: "The Ceva Animal Welfare Awards go from strength to strength, both in terms of the number and quality of entries that we receive during the nomination process and the dedication, commitment and enthusiasm of the finalists and winners who often go above and beyond the call of duty in the name of animal welfare."
Other winners this year included:
Welfare Nurse of the Year Award in association with Agria Pet InsuranceAdina Valentine, Blue Cross Animal Hospital in Grimsby
Charity Team of the Year supported by PDSAThe Dog Breeding Reform Group
Charitable Contribution of the Year supported by Blue Cross Helen Whiteside, Canine Research Associate at Guide Dogs
Farm Animal Welfare Award supported by R.A.B.I. and NADISThe University of Nottingham Dairy Herd Health Group
International Cat Care Welfare of the Year AwardMaria Pinto Teixeira from Animals de Rua (AdR) in Portugal
The campaign gives 11 reasons why owners should register their pets with a veterinary practice, and encourages them to visit www.findavet.org.uk to find the right vet practice for them and their pet.:
Just like people, your pet can benefit from regular health checks to help stay happy and healthy.
Emergencies can happen at any time – registering means you’ll have easier access to emergency vet care whenever you need it.
Your vet knows a lot more about your animal than Dr Google and can provide tailored advice for your pet.
Regular weight checks and nutritional advice can help to keep your pet in shape – your practice’s vet nurses can often help with this.
Many vet practices run pet socialisation and training classes where you can meet other pet owners.
Your vet practice will hold your pet’s medical history to help diagnose any problems quickly.
Your veterinary practice can offer great advice about which pet is right for you because they will know you and your family.
Your vet practice is best placed to recommend other services for your animal, whether that’s pet groomers and trainers, or referral to an advanced practitioner or specialist.
Veterinary staff are often animal owners too, so they understand that pets are a much-loved part of the family.
Vets and nurses have made a solemn promise to look after animals under their care; they study for many years and have to keep their knowledge and skills up to date.
There are some medicines that only vets can prescribe, so it helps to be registered with a practice.
BVA President John Fishwick said: "Pets need vets to ensure their lifelong wellbeing, which is why it is concerning that a large number of pet owners in the country have not registered their animals with a practice. It is important that owners have access to reliable advice and veterinary care to be able to best look after their pets, and so we are calling on the profession to get involved in promoting the wealth of benefits that registering with a vet practice provides."
RCVS President Professor Stephen May added: "Owning an animal is a huge responsibility, which is why access to professional veterinary advice is vital. With this campaign we aim to highlight some of the very considerable benefits of registering pets with a veterinary practice, and raise awareness amongst pet owners who have not yet registered of the value of having access to professional veterinary advice, expertise and treatment to keep their animals healthy. We would be delighted if practices across the country would help share these messages on their own social media accounts."
Vets, vet nurses and veterinary practices can help spread the word on the value of registering pets by sharing campaign resources on social media using the hashtag ‘#petsneedvets’, downloading campaign resources and using the opportunity to encourage local pet owners to register with their practice.
To further highlight the value of veterinary care and the special bond between a veterinary professional and the animals under their care, BVA is also encouraging existing clients to share pictures of their pets at the vets online using the hashtags #lovemyvet and #lovemyvetnurse.
The Pets Need Vets campaign stems from the aim of the joint BVA and RCVS Vet Futures Action Plan to develop communications tools to assist the public’s understanding of veterinary costs and fees, and promote the value of veterinary care.
More information on the campaign and shareable resources are available at https://www.bva.co.uk/petsneedvets and www.rcvs.org.uk/petsneedvets
The study was the first to use prospectively collected data to estimate the prevalence of and risk factors for gingivitis in a cohort of domestic cats, using data from 860 cats aged up to six years enrolled in the Bristol Cats Study. Gingivitis was found to be a common condition in cats aged up to six years, with prevalence increasing with age, from 24.5% in cats less than 12 months old, up to 56.3% in cats between five and six years old. Odds of gingivitis in cats aged three to four years were higher in cats fed a wet only or mixed wet/dry diet compared to those on a dry only diet; cats not reported to hunt prey compared to reported hunters; cats reported to dribble whilst being stroked at age six months compared to reported non-dribblers; and cats with orange variants in their coat colour compared to non-orange cats. Sex was not found to be a risk factor for gingivitis (Ed's note: what a relief). Jess Williams, lead author of the study, said: “Periodontal disease is one of the most common conditions in cats, potentially causing issues with eating and behaviours like grooming.
"Our study showed that even young cats may have signs of gingivitis, so it is important to discuss and monitor dental health regularly and early on in a cat’s life, especially for those cats who may be more at risk.”
The study was funded by BSAVA PetSavers.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsap.13737
In the Somerset cull area, TB incidence has fallen from 24% before culling started to 12% in year four of the cull, while in Gloucestershire it has fallen from 10.4% to 5.6%.
The Government says the findings are in line with expectation based on the scientific evidence from the Randomised Badger Culling Trial which underpins the approach to tackling bovine TB – and demonstrate progress is being made in delivering the 25-year TB eradication strategy in England to rid our farmers of the impacts of this terrible disease.
Defra has also announced additional measures being taken to help control the disease, including licences for badger control in 11 new areas and the opening of a new round of applications for the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme grants.
Farming Minister George Eustace said: "Bovine TB remains one of the greatest animal health threats to the UK. There is no single measure that will provide an easy answer which is why we are committed to pursuing a wide range of interventions to protect the future of our dairy and beef industries and eradicate the disease within 20 years.
"No one wants to be culling badgers forever so the progress reported today is encouraging."
BVA President John Fishwick said: "We continue to support a comprehensive and evidence-based approach to tackling bovine TB, including the use of badger culling in a targeted, effective and humane manner. TB is a devastating disease and we welcome the positive results emerging in Somerset and Gloucestershire, where licensed culling has now been in place for four years. The recent results in Dorset, indicating a slight upward trend in the incidence of bovine TB, present some cause for concern and we would like to see further investigation of the cattle and wildlife situation in that area.
"BVA supports the principle of badger controls within the Low Risk Areas (LRAs) of England where there is a demonstrated need and where it is done safely, humanely and effectively as part of a comprehensive strategy. We are largely reassured by the greater clarity provided on the decision-making process on how and where badger controls will be introduced in the LRAs. We recognise the expertise and professional judgement of veterinary and scientific colleagues in government who have made the decision to extend the cull in this area, but we would welcome further evidence regarding the level of TB infection in the wildlife reserve in Cumbria as this becomes available.
"Halting the spread of bovine TB is essential and it is vital that we use every available tool in the toolbox to support the Government’s aim to make England TB free. We therefore welcome both the introduction of tighter cattle controls where needed and the re-commencement of the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme, particularly if used as a ‘firebreak’ to mitigate the spread of the disease into the low risk areas. We would also like to see a commitment to funding of further research in this area."
Photo: Coatesy/Shutterstock
The awards, which recognise the achievements of remarkable people from the veterinary, farming and charity industries, were hosted by TV presenter and animal lover, Matt Baker, and Chris Laurence MBE FRCVS, who was also chair of the judging panel.
Chris said: "Once again the breadth of nominations for the Welfare Awards has amazed and enthused the judging panel. The new categories this year have been well supported and widened the field of nominees as well as increasing the number of nominations. There have been some outstanding finalists and those who have won should be justifiably proud to have done so against some stiff competition. Of course, the real winners in all this are the animals whose welfare has been improved and the message that has given about the importance of animal welfare to those who have come into contact with all the nominees."
The other award winners were:
Vet Nurse of the Year Award in association with Agria Pet InsuranceRachel Wright, TOLFA
Charity Team of the Year Award in association with PDSAEbony Horse Club, Brixton
Charitable Contribution of the Year Award in association with Blue Cross Fiona Gammell, Wicklow Animal Welfare
Farmer of the Year Award in association with R.A.B.I.David Finlay, Rainton Farm, Castle Douglas
Farm Educator of the Year in association with NADISJames Griffiths from Taynton Court Farm, Gloucester
International Cat Care Welfare of the Year AwardIan MacFarlaine, chief inspector of SPCA in Bermuda
Outstanding Contribution to Animal Welfare Award in association with Your Dog and Your Cat Professor Jacky Reid, Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow and CEO of the research company, NewMetrica.
Cuneyt Seckin, managing director of Ceva Animal Health UK and Ireland said: "The vision, dedication and hard work demonstrated by each and every award winner is truly outstanding. We had a brilliant evening celebrating our remarkable winners and would like to congratulate each and every one of them on their fantastic achievement."
Photo: Chris Laurence, Adele Waters (Vet Record), Hannah Capon and Matt Baker.
The stem cells were created as part of a study into feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), which the RVC carried out in association with the Animal Health Trust (AHT), The Beryl Evetts and Robert Luff Animal Welfare Trust (BERLAWT), The Winn Feline Foundation and Boehringer Ingelheim.
The RVC says HCM affects about 15% of the feline population in the UK; translating to over 1 million cats. It is caused by genetic mutations which affect the heart muscle cells.
To date, there are no treatments proven to stop or reverse it, leading to a very poor prognosis for affected cats.
This is partly because a major issue with studying heart diseases at a cellular level is that heart muscle cells do not survive in a laboratory environment. When studying human heart cells, this has been overcome by turning ordinary skin cells into pluripotent stem cells (cells able to turn into any tissue in the body).
These are termed 'induced pluripotent stem cells', or iPSCs. It is then possible to generate heart muscle cells to study from these iPSCs.
The research, carried out by Dr Luke Dutton under the supervision of Professor David Connolly, Dr Jayesh Dudhia and Dr Debbie Guest, as part of his PhD at the RVC in collaboration with AHT, has now identified the conditions required to create iPSCs from domestic cat cells.
While creating iPSCs has been done before in wild cats, the RVC believes that Dr Dutton’s breakthrough in creating iPSCs from domestic cat cells is a world first. It sets the scene for further research into how to turn these iPSCs into heart cells and then, once successful, testing drug therapies that could improve outcomes for cats with HCM.
The researchers say that the translational benefits of this project are potentially very significant, as around 1 in 500 people in the UK have HCM, and the condition manifests in humans in the same way.
If the therapies that researchers test on feline heart cells turn out to be effective, this sets the stage for testing these treatments on humans.
Dr Dutton, author of the study, said: "This is an incredibly exciting project, which is only made possible by the generous funding of the BERLAWT, Boehringer Ingelheim and The Winn Feline Foundation.
"Not only is this study the first reported generation of iPSCs from domestic cats, but these cells can now be used in a novel disease model. This will allow us to study the disease processes present in these cats in ways that have not been possible with the ultimate goal of identifying new therapeutic agents that may slow or even stop the disease process. We would then hope to translate these agents into the feline clinic."
Dr Debbie Guest, Head of Stem Cell Research at the Animal Health Trust, said: "This is the first report on the successful generation of domestic cat iPSCs. These cells not only bring hope to cats suffering from HCM, but allow us to develop new tools to study conditions affecting other tissue types in the future."
For the study, Luisa De Risio, clinical research and excellence director at Linnaeus and a co-investigator, is collaborating with neurology specialists and primary care vets at Linnaeus practices to recruit cases.
Luisa said: “Canine idiopathic epilepsy is a disease that is common in many breeds of dog and can significantly impact the quality of life of both affected dogs and their owners.
"However, there is limited knowledge concerning the role of genetic factors in susceptibility to the disease in most breeds.
“The overarching aim of this large-scale collaborative study is to identify the genetic factors contributing to the risk of developing idiopathic epilepsy as this could help develop tools to lower the incidence of the condition in future generations.
“The study will initially focus on the Border Collie and Italian Spinone, as they can suffer from a particularly severe and life-limiting form of epilepsy, before expanding the study to other breeds in the future.
Dr Sally Ricketts, the geneticist leading the study at the Kennel Club Genetics Centre in the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Cambridge, said: “We are very excited about this collaboration, which will facilitate our sample collections to enable study of this debilitating disease.
For more information on the study, visit www.canine-genetics.org.uk/research/epilepsy.
Photo: Sally Ricketts, senior research associate at the Kennel Club Genetics Centre, Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge; Luisa De Risio, clinical research and excellence director at Linnaeus and Christopher Jenkins, research assistant at the Kennel Club Genetics Centre, Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge.
Bought By Many is a company which, until now, has been using technology and data to find the best value insurance cover for pet owners whose needs are not being met. It claims to have helped 265,000 members to get better deals from existing pet insurance providers in this way.
However, in response to 40,000 pieces of customer feedback, it has now launched its own policies.
The company says that common frustrations with existing policies included: premiums that jump after the first year of cover and continue to increase over the life of a pet; customers receiving no benefit from pet insurance if they do not need to claim; and not being able to switch pet insurers and maintain cover for a pre-existing medical condition.
As a result, Bought By Many has launched three new insurance products which it says include features that no other insurer currently offers:
The company also offers 'Value', 'Regular', and 'Complete' conventional pet insurance products. These, it says, also respond to member feedback – for example, by offering the option of a zero excess or dental cover on certain policies.
Bought By Many has also launched a low-cost Liability Only policy for dog owners that starts at £10 a year.
Steven Mendel, Co-founder and CEO of Bought By Many said: "When we started Bought By Many, we wanted to transform the customer experience of insurance, helping people find the right cover for their unique needs. Our social and digital model allowed us to gather a unique set of data that showed consumers see significant gaps in the insurance currently available for cat and dog owners. These insights led to us creating our own pet insurance product range."
The show follows veterinary surgeons and nurses going about their day-to-day work, consulting and operating on a variety of cases from the routine to the extraordinary.
The ten-episode series stars Cat Henstridge, who many will be familiar with for her social media posts as 'Cat the Vet', and her husband Dave Hough who is the Clinic Director at the practice.
Cat said: "I know from the reactions I get on my website and social media channels that there is a huge level of interest in what we do, and the TV programme will help to bring those real-life stories directly to a younger audience, as well as offering exclusive behind the scenes access to everything that happens in our busy veterinary practice."
Dave added: "We are thrilled to be showcasing the fantastic work of our dedicated and talented team. What we see every day is so varied, and we are driven by our love of pets and the ability to help heal them. It’s a real delight to think that our work will be seen on television, and hopefully inspire the next generation of vets, nurses and support staff to work in this really rewarding profession."
Chris Jordan, veterinary surgeon at Companion Care vets in Chingford, Essex, is the 500th vet to sign up to the RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice (CertAVP), which was launched in 2007.
Having completed his Professional Development Phase in July, Chris is now working towards a designated certificate in Small Animal Surgery. He said: "The qualification looks well structured and I think it will serve me well whether I continue as a general practitioner or take up a more surgery-focused role."
Freda Andrews, RCVS Head of Education, said: "The modular approach means vets have much more choice about how and what they study. All certificates show the modules assessed, so that it is easy for veterinary employers to see what a vet has studied, whether or not they have taken a 'named' certificate."
To gain the qualification, vets must first enrol with the RCVS, and then enter for assessment in a combination of core and optional modules through an RCVS-accredited institution. Vets then have ten years in which to complete the qualification. Study can be entirely self-directed; however, there are a number of courses on offer from educational institutions to help vets prepare for assessment. Distance and online learning is a feature of many of these courses.
Vets who want to pursue an area of interest for continuing professional development without working towards any certificate, can equally enrol for assessment in any of the 85 individual modules currently available; this is done directly through the institutions offering assessment and does not need enrolment with the RCVS. Full details of enrolment and module requirements can be found at www.rcvs.org.uk/modcerts
The campaign comprises a series of short videos featuring equine behaviourist Gemma Pearson MRCVS. The videos demonstrate quick and simple ways of teaching horses to be quiet, relaxed and safe for injections, clipping, worming, examinations and other veterinary procedures.
Equine practices can share the video links with clients here.
According to a paper published in the journal Equine Veterinary Education in January, an equine vet may expect to sustain between seven and eight work-related injuries that impede them from practicing, during a 30-year working life.1
This is far a higher figure than other civilian occupations such as the construction industry, prison service and the fire brigade.
Bruising, fracture and laceration to the leg or the head were the most common injuries reported with the main cause being a kick with a hind limb. Nearly a quarter of these reported injuries required hospital admission and 7% resulted in loss of consciousness.
David Mountford, CEO at BEVA said: "Many accidents reportedly occur when vets are trying to work with horses who have learnt to avoid examination or treatment and where handlers are not in full control. Gemma’s work at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and her amazing videos show how a little preparation can have a big impact on horse, owner and vet safety.”
David Catlow, Blue Cross director of clinical services, said: "These videos are a superb resource to help with behaviour training in horses and to help them remain calm and manageable in all sorts of circumstances. Time spent on behaviour training of horses, using positive reinforcement methods such as these, is time well spent for everyone’s safety. Blue Cross invests a great deal of time in behaviour training on the horses we rehome, and it works."
The seven practical videos cover how clients can train and prepare their horse for:
David Mountford added: "These videos make interesting viewing for vets as well as horse owners and build on Gemma’s eBEVA webinar "Practical Equine Behaviour" and the Guidance on Managing Equine Risks that BEVA has produced.”
You can watch the videos here.
Photo: Equine vets Malcolm Morley and Gemma Pearson
At present veterinary surgeons must destroy Schedule 2 controlled drugs in the presence of and directed by either an inspector appointed under the Veterinary Medicines Regulations, another veterinary surgeon independent of the practice where the destruction takes place, or a person legally authorised to witness the destruction of controlled drugs such as a Police CD Liaison Officer (CDLO).
This is something which may be helped by the launch of VetSurgeon Connect, a new map-based service on VetSurgeon.org designed to help members of the profession collaborate in a wide range of areas, including controlled drug disposal. VetSurgeon Connect is expected to launch next week.
Meanwhile, the VMD notes that there is a shortage of CDLOs and there are areas of the country where there are no local inspectors, or independent vets who can perform the task. Hence the survey to reveal the size of the problem.
The survey, which should take no more than 15 minutes, is open to all UK registered veterinary surgeons and closes on the 6th June. Here's the link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SHKTBYH
Any questions about the survey can be directed to: the VMD legislation team on 01932 338316 or controlleddrugssurvey@vmd.defra.gsi.gov.uk
Amanda Boag, RCVS President, said: "We understand that this is a concerning situation for many in the profession who are worried about the impact of the shortage of isoflurane on both elective and emergency operations.
"We are also concerned to hear that some vets are worried that they may be disciplined by the RCVS for clinical decisions and outcomes that may arise from the shortage, and so we are keen to stress that we understand that members of the profession can only do their best under the circumstances presented to them and that, provided they can clinically justify the decisions they have made, keep detailed notes, gain informed consent and follow the prescribing rules, then there is very unlikely to be an issue of professional misconduct."
If you have questions about the shortage in relation to the Code of Professional Conduct and its supporting guidance, you can contact the RCVS Standards and Advice Team on 020 7202 0789 or advice@rcvs.org.uk.
For further information about the shortage and alternative sources and products, the RCVS recommends visiting the Veterinary Medicines Directorate website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/veterinary-medicines-directorate.
The company says industry estimates are that 12 million accessible breeding ewes (91%) are not vaccinated against enzootic abortion in the UK, and that this should concern all practitioners with sheep clients.
Any flock with an abortion rate of over 2% could, it says, be suffering from the disease, and at a cost of £85 per aborted ewe, those are losses producers can ill-afford to ignore.
Stephenie Clarke from Ceva said: "Abortion remains one of the most significant reasons for loss in sheep flocks and an abortion storm can lead to crippling results on farm.
"Enzootic abortion caused by C. abortus remains the main cause of ovine abortion in the UK1 and once in a flock, takes time to control as exposed ewes can become latently infected."
Assure Ewe is a subsidised blood testing scheme open to all flocks with 50 or more breeding ewes. In contrast to other schemes, evidence of an abortion does not need to have taken place.
Blood samples should be collected from six ewes, with full farm and vet details also supplied. Upon results, Ceva says it will share information with the participating veterinary surgeon to discuss with the farmer.
Stephenie added: "Assure Ewe is a very user-friendly, simple scheme that will help facilitate conversations between vets and farmers while, at the same time, providing useful testing information to vets. Ceva encourages evidence based veterinary decisions, and this is just one example of such an initiative."
If C. abortus is identified in a flock, a veterinary-devised plan combining vaccination with Cevac Chlamydia, biosecurity and only purchasing stock from accredited flocks will assist disease control and eventual eradication.
For further information about the scheme, contact your Ceva territory manager.
Freelance Surgical says electrosurgery has yet to take off in the veterinary profession in the way that it has in human surgery because many veterinary surgeons are still unfamiliar with the technology and have concerns about safety.
In fact, the company says, it can make surgery more efficient, faster and safer.
In the new series of videos, Alasdair Hotston Moore covers the background of electrosurgery, an overview of the Gima Diathermy unit and a practical demonstration of how to use the equipment correctly and safely.
Bilitis Hammond, Veterinary Specialist at Freelance Surgical said: “With the GIMA electrocautery units being so popular, we were surprised to find there was very little training on best use available online.
"We wanted to offer some short bitesize videos that show surgeons what this machine can offer so they are using it to its full potential and safely.
"We feel these videos will be a huge asset to everyone in practice. “
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfKRtTQ2EA16cP-gfkqSVdA
https://www.freelance-veterinary.co.uk/surgery/electrosurgery
To win, OVs are asked to submit a question to a speaker of their choice by Monday 12 August.
The question judged the most interesting will win the free ticket and five runners up will each receive a 50% discounted ticket. In each case, the OV can choose their preferred day to attend.
The full programme can be found at: https://officialvet.com/programme/ and questions can be submitted to enquiries@improve-ov.com or by private message through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/officialvet/
Improve says this year's speakers will address an increasing threat from notifiable diseases in the UK, with evidence of M. bovis infection linked to a raw pet food diet identified in cats, an outbreak of equine viral arteritis in Dorset and cases of African swine fever recently reported in western Europe. The programme includes small animal and farm animal focused lecture streams on both days, an equine stream on the first day and a series of specialist workshops on the second.
Dr Andrew Soldan (pictured right), Veterinary Director at APHA, said: "Notifiable diseases are an ongoing threat to the health and welfare of animals and our farming industries in the UK. Animal keepers and vets play a vital role in their early detection. We’re particularly concerned by the risk of African swine fever following the disease being found in wild boar in Belgium last year.
"Small animal and mixed practice OVs can help us reduce the risk of ASF infecting UK pigs by informing pig keepers of the risk and advising them of the importance of not feeding kitchen scraps and catering waste to pigs.
"We’re currently in the vector season so bluetongue is another disease to look out for in cattle and sheep. Providing advice to livestock farmers on how they can minimise the risk of its introduction through vaccination and checking the source of imported animals is another important role for OVs."
David Babington MRCVS, Business Development Director at Improve International, said: "OVs play a crucial role in monitoring our exposure to notifiable diseases and in alerting us to possible outbreaks. For this reason, providing a full update on the current disease status is an important element of this year’s programme, though we will also cover other important topics, including illegal puppy imports, pet travel and, inevitably I’m afraid, Brexit."
For more information on the Official Veterinarian Conference and exhibition or to register visit: www.officialvet.com.
Elanco Animal Health has announced that there have been extensions to the withdrawal periods for Dectomax (doramectin) 10 mg/ml Solution for Injection and Micotil (tilmicosin) 300 mg/ml Solution for Injection.
For Dectomax injectable, meat withdrawal for cattle and sheep will be extended to 70 days and pigs to 77 days. For Micotil, sheep milk withdrawal will be extended to 18 days and milk from cows during the dry period or from pregnant heifers should not be used for human consumption until 36 days after calving.
Elanco is reminding veterinary surgeons and SQPs that they may continue to prescribe according to the current label but it is good practice to implement revised withdrawal periods. The company is also taking this opportunity to highlight the importance of getting into the habit of double-checking withdrawal periods when administering drugs, because they do change from time to time in the light of new knowledge.
The charity-run Vetlife helpline, which offers 24/7 confidential support, says it had 2775 contacts from members of the profession last year, up 160% on the previous year.
Vetlife Operations Manager Joanne Driver said: "We’re aware that for many the impact of seasonal work pressures for vet practices and the stresses of the already hectic Christmas period do not simply disappear when January arrives. When paired with mental health issues or personal worries, it can continue to feel overwhelming.
Vetlife helpline is a safe place to talk for those who are struggling, and our volunteers can signpost callers to resources and our health and financial services.
"It can be hard to spot colleagues who are struggling or to find ways to offer the help they need. By supporting Vetlife you can help us ensure there is a friendly anonymous voice at the end of the phone or via email for everyone in the veterinary community who needs it. Vetlife is largely run by volunteers and we rely on your support and donations to keep the services running.
"Please make a meaningful resolution this year and support Vetlife through a donation, by becoming a member or by joining as a volunteer."
If you would like to support Vetlife, there are a number of ways to help:
DonateAs a registered independent charity, Vetlife relies on the generosity of the people in the veterinary community and veterinary organisations to be able to continue its work. The simplest way to donate is online at: www.vetlife.org.uk/support-us/donate/
VolunteerVetlife is almost entirely managed and run by its volunteers. To learn more about volunteering for Vetlife Helpline or as an Area Representative, visit www.vetlife.org.uk/support-us/volunteer/
Become a Vetlife MemberVetlife members are an essential link with the veterinary community, helping it to make sure everyone knows about the support services that it offers. You must be a veterinary surgeon to become a Vetlife member. You can complete the Vetlife membership form at: vetlife.org.uk/support-us/become-a-vetlife-member/
Vetlife Helpline is available on: 0303 040 2551 or email via www.vetlife.org.uk