The project was launched as a joint initiative between the RCVS and the BVNA in 2016. Its objectives included highlighting veterinary nursing as a career, encouraging more people into veterinary nursing, improving retention, expanding the scope of the VN role, and providing more opportunity for career progression.
The report begins by highlighting perhaps the biggest challenge facing the profession, that in 2019, 25% of veterinary nurses said they plan to leave the profession in the next five years, largely because of poor pay, because they don't feel sufficiently valued, lack of career opportunities and because of a poor work/life balance.
The main achievements of the project, which should certainly help with some of these issues, include:
Jill Macdonald, VN Futures Project Coordinator, said: "The report is a culmination of years of hard work, putting in place measures to champion the veterinary nursing profession and safeguard it for the future. Through the introduction of initiatives like the School Ambassador Development Programme and the introduction of the CertAVN, to name but a few, we have put in place steps to inspire the next generation of veterinary nurses and support the training and development of people currently working in the profession."
You can read the full VN Futures Interim Report at https://www.vnfutures.org.uk/resource-items/vn-futures-interim-report-2021
The RCVS is reminding veterinary surgeons to complete their registration process by confirming they have met the requirement for continuing professional development (CPD) and declared any outstanding convictions.
The College says that although the deadline for completing the annual renewal was April 2014, there are still some vets who, despite having paid on time, have not yet fully completed the registration process. This includes declaring that they have met the minimum requirement of 105 hours of CPD over a three-year period.
Failing to confirm that the CPD requirement has been met means that the College may request the individual's records as part of its annual monitoring of CPD compliance.
As of this year, veterinary surgeons must also declare any convictions, cautions and adverse findings since 1 January 2006 - or lack thereof - to complete the registration process.
Convictions disclosure forms and a document explaining the new protocol are available to download. The College also has a convictions helpline on 07818 113 056 which is open Monday to Friday, 11am to 4pm.
Those veterinary surgeons who have yet to complete their registration should contact the Registration Department as soon as possible on 020 7202 0707 or registration@rcvs.org.uk for assistance from a member of the team.
To carry out the practice of veterinary medicine, a veterinary practitioner must be registered in the jurisdiction in which they are practising ie a veterinary practitioner who practises veterinary medicine in the Republic of Ireland must be registered with the VCI; likewise, a veterinary surgeon who practises in Northern Ireland, England, Scotland or Wales, must be registered with the RCVS.
EU Directive 2005/36EC enables a veterinary surgeon who is lawfully established and registered in an EU member state to provide services on a temporary and occasional basis in another member state. This service allows registered veterinary surgeons to occasionally practise in other countries in the European Union for short periods, up to a maximum of 30 days per year.
From 1st January 2021, the Directive will no longer apply to veterinary practitioners from the Republic of Ireland who may want to provide veterinary services in the UK and that they would therefore need to be registered with the RCVS even if provision of these services is temporary and occasional.
However, in October 2019 the Presidents of the RCVS and the VCI signed a Mutual Qualification Recognition Agreement. The agreement means that the degree in veterinary medicine from University College Dublin can be recognised by the RCVS, and the current eight RCVS-recognised UK veterinary medicine degrees can be recognised by the VCI. The recognised qualifications are accepted as the basis for registration to practise veterinary surgery by the RCVS in the United Kingdom and veterinary medicine by the VCI in the Republic of Ireland.
The VCI and the RCVS emphasised that regardless of whether a trade agreement has been signed between the EU and the UK by 1 January 2021, this will have no bearing on the Mutual Qualification Recognition Agreement currently in place.
Niamh Muldoon, CEO and Registrar of the Veterinary Council of Ireland, said: “This historic agreement will enable graduates of Irish and UK veterinary schools to continue to seek to practise in the other country when they wish. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with our colleagues in the RCVS in the future for the benefit of the profession in both countries.”
Mandisa Greene, President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons said: “I am very glad to be able to affirm our continuing working partnership with our friends and colleagues in the Republic of Ireland. We know that veterinary surgeons based both in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have clients and undertake work on both sides of the border, and this Mutual Recognition Agreement will help to ensure that UK and Ireland-qualified veterinary surgeons are able to register in each other’s jurisdictions where required. I too look forward to continuing to work closely with the VCI both on a bilateral basis, and via pan-European institutions such as the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe.”
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has refused to release the McKelvey Report in full, despite Freedom of Information requests made by VetSurgeon.org and others.
According to the College, it had always been the intention of RCVS Officers that the full report, which considered the building works in the Lower Ground Floor of the RCVS offices in Belgravia House, and the implementation of a new database, would be published.
However, on the advice of solicitors (Penningtons), only the recommendations of the Report were published initially, in November.
This publication followed discussion of the full report (one sentence was redacted on legal advice) by RCVS Council on 3 November.
Freedom of Information requests for the full report were then received by the College, so further, external senior legal advice was sought.
This advice, from Counsel, confirmed the original view from solicitors that it would be inappropriate to publish the report in full because it includes personal data, which ought not to be made public, under the Data Protection Act.
The College claims the meat of the report is in the recommendations, which account for approximately 50% of the report, and which are being taken forward by Officers and RCVS Council, with plans to put an Audit and Risk Committee in place taking priority.
The recommendations of the report, which were adopted by Council, were published online on 11 November and are available to download from the 'Related documents' box, above right.
Plans for the introduction of a disciplinary mechanism for Registered Veterinary Nurses (RVNs) have been agreed by the RCVS Veterinary Nurses Council.
RVNs agree to account for their professional conduct and keep their skills and knowledge up to date: over 70% of eligible veterinary nurses have now joined the non-statutory Register.
The Veterinary Nurses Council agreed to a period of nearly three years between the opening of the Register and the College putting in place a disciplinary mechanism. This was to give RVNs time to get used to their new rights and responsibilities. Plans are now in place to introduce a disciplinary system from September 2010.
Charges could be brought against a veterinary nurse if found guilty of fraudulent registration, criminal convictions which render him or her unfit to practise as a veterinary nurse, or allegations of disgraceful professional conduct.
The sanctions would be the same as for veterinary surgeons, ie to remove a nurse's name from the Register (with the nurse eligible to apply for restoration after 10 months), or to suspend the nurse, with his or her name returning to the Register immediately after the period of suspension. A veterinary nurse would not be able to carry out Schedule 3 tasks while removed from the Register.
Complaints would initially be dealt with by the Veterinary Nurses Preliminary Investigation Committee (VN PIC), which will assess whether the complaints should be taken to the hearing stage. Three RVNs will sit on this committee. They will be joined by three members of the veterinary PIC, including either the RCVS President, or one of the Vice-Presidents, and one Lay Observer.
Meanwhile three RVNs will join existing members of the RCVS Disciplinary Committee (DC) to form a VN DC, to adjudicate on charges against a veterinary nurse. These individuals will not currently sit on VN Council. If the case were against a VN, the sitting panel would include at least one veterinary nurse, one veterinary surgeon and a lay person acting as chairman. A legal assessor would also sit with the Committee to offer advice.
If a case were to concern both a veterinary surgeon and a veterinary nurse, the preliminary investigation would be carried out in tandem but with separate disciplinary hearings.
Applications are invited for RVNs to sit on the new VN Preliminary Investigation or Disciplinary Committees. Anyone who would like further information should contact Lesley Evans, Manager, Executive Office (l.evans@rcvs.org.uk or 020 7222 2001) by 31 May 2009.
The College says it will, however, continue to operate as close to normality as possible, with the main support services for veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses such as advice, lifelong learning (including qualifications and the new 1CPD platform), finance and Practice Standards available as usual over the phone, on email or via the website.
The College’s main statutory activities around accreditation, registration and regulation of the professions will also be largely unaffected, with most Committee, Sub-Committee and working group meetings held by telephone or video conference.
Apparently, however, the April meeting of RCVS Council was going to be too big to be held remotely, so it has been cancelled.
The things that were up for discussion, such as the standard of proof and the report of the Legislation Working Party, will be moved to a subsequent meeting. Should there be any urgent business to consider, Council members have been asked to remain available via email on the date originally scheduled.
The College says it will be deciding whether to proceed with forthcoming DC hearings on a case-by-case basis, to balance maintaining the health and welfare of all involved with the College’s responsibility to protect animal health and welfare and public health.
The College is having to postpone or cancel an increasing number of its events; latest updates and advice for the profession is at: www.rcvs.org.uk/coronavirus.
RCVS Chief Executive Lizzie Lockett, pictured right, said: "We have been planning for this eventuality for some time, so whilst Monday’s announcement from UK Government came a little sooner than expected, we are in a strong position to be able to operate as close to normal as possible.
"We have an excellent and highly committed team of staff and Council members at the College, who I know will continue to work hard from kitchen tables, studies and living rooms over the coming days and weeks to serve the veterinary professions and the animal-owning public.
"Whilst we are fortunate that much of our work can be carried out remotely, we fully appreciate that this is not the case for most veterinary professionals who themselves are currently facing many significant challenges in their daily work to care for the nation’s animals whilst also prioritising the health and welfare of their own teams."
The College is urging all veterinary surgeons, nurses and practices to check they have supplied it with their most up-to-date email address via www.rcvs.org.uk/myaccount so it can relay its latest advice as the situation evolves.
The RCVS has been out promoting the profession, the Practice Standards Scheme (PSS) and its new 'Find a Vet' search tool to animal owners at BBC Countryfile at Blenheim Palace last week.
The RCVS stand was designed to look like a veterinary practice, complete with waiting room, consulting room, prep room, operating theatre and RCVS Accredited Practice logos.
The team from the College handed out around 1,500 ‘Find a Vet’ canvas bags containing 'Find a Vet' and Practice Standards Scheme leaflets and merchandise, and persuaded over 200 people to take part in special ‘Find a Vet’ and PSS-themed games and competitions.
These included having to find a veterinary surgeon or nurse around the showground (volunteers from RCVS Council and VN Council, including RCVS President Chris Tufnell and VN Council Chair Liz Cox, along with David Catlow, Neil Smith, his dog, Fire, Lucy Bellwood and Amber Richards).
The College reports that there was also a continual stream of children eager to pretend to be veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses for the day and have a go at the on-stand ‘animal examination’ and ‘animal surgery’ activities. All this gave rise to plenty of photo opportunities, which parents and competition entrants were encouraged to share on social media, to help spread the word about the College’s activities.
Ian Holloway, RCVS Head of Communications said: "This was the first time the RCVS had been to such a large-scale and high-profile public event, and it provided a superb opportunity to explain to animal owners who we are and how we can help them.
"We had a great deal of interest in our new Find a Vet service, and people also seemed reassured that there was a scheme in place to accredit veterinary practices around the country. Having attended both the London Pet Show and BBC Countryfile Live this year, we now plan to increase the number of animal owner events we attend next year, to further raise public awareness of the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme and our Find a Vet service."
For more pictures of the event, see: https://flic.kr/s/aHskEQkDPc
The plenary speaker was Professor Rory O’Connor, Chair of Health Psychology at the University of Glasgow’s Institute of Health & Wellbeing whose talk: "When it is darkest: understanding suicide risk" opened the day with an outline of his 25 years of work looking into suicide prevention.
Rory discussed his recent investigation into the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on people’s mental health and wellbeing, and how to reduce the risk of suicidal ideation turning into suicidal action.
He said: “In the last 10 to 15 years there has been an increased focus in particular on psychological and psycho-social interventions for helping people who are suicidal.
"Although suicide is complex, interventions, even brief interventions, can be effective.”
Rory was followed by presentations from a number of teams, including those who'd been awarded the MMI’s Sarah Brown Mental Health Research Grant in 2019 and 2020:
The full report of the day’s talks can be found here https://www.vetmindmatters.org/resources/report-mind-matters-initiative-research-symposium-2021
The Disciplinary Committee heard that Miss Oakes had signed a Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) Veterinary Surgeons Residential Kennel Inspection Form which indicated that there were 55 greyhounds in the kennel, when there were in fact more; that she had stated that the kennels were in an acceptable condition, when they were in fact not; and that she knew the form was inaccurate and/or was dishonest in relation to what she had indicated on the form.
The kennels in question, Rough Cottage, were owned by Louise Eccles and her husband, Rod Eccles. Mrs Eccles was licensed by GBGB as a trainer, allowing her to train and race greyhounds and making the kennels accountable to inspections by veterinary surgeons.
At the time of the form in question, Miss Oakes had been attending Rough Cottage for about a year-and-a-half on a monthly basis, up through August 2016. At that point, on or around 1 August 2016, Mrs Eccles had left Rough Cottage for personal reasons.
Miss Oakes subsequently visited the premises on 14 August 2016 along with Amanda Gething of Northern Greyhound Rescue, when she learned that rather than there being 55 dogs, there were more than 80.
On 16 August, she and Amanda Gething returned to Rough Cottage with Lucille Cavadino, from Lancky Dogs, a greyhound rescue organisation. They became aware of the existence of kennels on the premises that were not of acceptable standard, but Miss Oakes found that the dogs housed in these kennels were fit and healthy.
Miss Oakes also spoke to Mr Eccles around this time, and although he had plans to rehouse some of the dogs she was concerned that he might change his mind. Miss Oakes took the decision to complete and sign the kennel inspection form that Mr Eccles had handed to her, knowing that the details contained therein were incorrect. She stated that the reason that she did this was to appease Mr Eccles so that he would not hinder the plans to remove and rehouse the dogs. She admitted to the area GBGB Stipendiary Steward that she had signed the form and that it contained incorrect information.
At the beginning of the hearing Miss Oakes admitted all the charges except for the final one, namely that she had been dishonest about what she had indicated on the form. When she gave evidence during the hearing, however, she admitted that she had been dishonest and so all charges were found proved.
The Committee then turned to deciding whether these charges, having been found proven, would result in a finding of disgraceful conduct in a professional respect against Miss Oakes. The Committee considered her motives in signing the form were to try and safeguard animal welfare, but considered that she was misguided in how she chose to achieve that aim. The Committee, therefore, found that signing a form that is known to be misleading or inaccurate is in definite breach of the Code of Professional Conduct, and concluded that her conduct constituted disgraceful conduct in a professional respect.
When considering a suitable sanction, the Committee took into account a number of mitigating factors, including some 62 testimonials that were submitted in favour of Miss Oakes, and the fact that she believed she was acting in the best interests of the animals’ welfare.
Chitra Karve, Chair of the Disciplinary Committee, said: "So far as mitigating factors are concerned, the Committee is satisfied that the Respondent’s motivation for what she did was governed by her overwhelming wish to promote the health or welfare of the greyhounds at Rough Cottage.
"The Committee is satisfied that no actual harm or risk of harm to any animal occurred in this case. There was no financial gain to the Respondent and the Committee has been told that she charged no fee for her extensive efforts in organising or assisting with the removal and rehousing of the greyhounds from Rough Cottage.
"The Committee considers that this was a single and isolated incident and that the risks of similar behaviour being repeated in the future are low."
Chitra added: "The Committee has decided that it will be sufficient to protect the welfare of animals, to maintain public confidence in the profession and to declare and uphold proper standards of conduct, for the Respondent to be given a formal warning as to her future conduct."
The Veterinary Nurses Council of the RCVS is seeking nominations from veterinary surgeons and VNs for its Golden Jubilee award by 8 May 2012.
The award recognises an exceptional contribution made to the veterinary nursing profession and/or a positive contribution to animal welfare. The Golden Jubilee award was inaugurated to mark the 50th anniversary of veterinary nurse training, in 2011, and the first award was presented to Jean Turner in 2011 for her lifetime contribution to veterinary nursing.
Liz Branscombe, Chairman of the VN Council said: "This is a prestigious award and a great opportunity to recognise someone who has made a positive impact on our profession.
"VN Council feels strongly that the award should be accessible to a wide spectrum of individuals, so nominees could come from veterinary nurses or veterinary surgeons involved in clinical practice, research, teaching or politics - in fact, any aspect of veterinary nursing."
Both veterinary surgeons and VNs are eligible to make nominations, or to be nominated for the Golden Jubilee award; nominations should be received by 8 May 2012. More information, together with the nomination form, can be found at www.rcvs.org.uk/jubileeaward.
The award will be presented at RCVS Day on 6 July 2012.
Dr Crawford sent the email to his client, Mrs X, on 15 July 2014, the day on which Mrs X’s horse was due for insemination using horse semen supplied from a horse in Germany. However, the semen had arrived without the Intra Trade Certificate, a requirement for intra-EU inseminations, and so Dr Crawford proceeded to contact the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for alternative authorisation.
Just after 4:30pm on that day, Mrs X received a text from Dr Crawford advising her that he had received authorisation from the AHVLA, and would forward to Mrs X the AHVLA authorisation email. It later transpired that that the email had in fact been fabricated by Dr Crawford using an email that he had previously received from the AHVLA regarding another matter.
Dr Crawford faced the following charges:
Fabricating an e-mail purporting to be from the veterinary officer at the AVHLA, authorising use of semen from a horse for insemination, when in fact he had not received such authorisation.
Dishonesty in relation to the e-mail described above.
His conduct gave rise to spread of infectious disease which had the potential to affect equine animal health and welfare in the region.
Dr Crawford admitted the first two charges, but denied that his actions had given rise to the risk of disease.
The Committee found the first two charges proved, and moved on to determine the facts of the third charge. They took into account that Dr Crawford had received verbal confirmation that the semen was safe, and that the health papers had been stamped accordingly. He had not, however, seen a copy of this certificate and so there was no guarantee that the semen was safe to use at the time he sent the fabricated email. On consideration of the facts, the Committee found this charge proved, as Mrs X’s mare could have been infected and subsequently could have adversely affected equine animal health and welfare in the region.
They also found that his entire course of action had fallen far short of what is expected of a veterinary surgeon, and that it amounted to disgraceful conduct in a professional respect.
When determining sanction, the Committee took into account a number of aggravating factors, namely the risk of injury to animals, an element of pre-meditation, a disregard for the role of the AHVLA, impersonating a fellow veterinary surgeon, and intending to deceive a veterinary surgeon as well as a member of the public.
It did also, however, take into account the mitigating factors – that there was no injury to the animal, and that it was a single isolated incident from which Dr Crawford did not stand to make any financial gain.
The Committee therefore decided to order the Registrar to suspend Dr Crawford’s registration for 12 months.
Ian Green, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: "The Committee did consider whether to remove Dr Crawford from the Register. However, in light of the significant mitigation in this case, the fact that this was an isolated incident in an otherwise unblemished career, together with his acceptance from the outset that he had been dishonest and his assurance that he would never behave in this way again, the Committee decided that in all the circumstances to remove him from the Register would be disproportionate."
Dr Crawford can lodge an appeal with the Privy Council within 28 days of being notified of the Disciplinary Committee's decision.
At the start of the hearing the RCVS applied for it to take place in the absence of Mr Dobson, who had failed to respond when informed about the hearing. The application was granted by the DC on the basis that Mr Dobson, by refusing to respond to communications from the College – including by letter, telephone and email – had voluntarily waived his right to attend.
There were three sets of charges against Mr Dobson. The first charge was in June 2018, while he was not on the Register of Veterinary Surgeons, Mr Dobson had carried out an equine pre-purchase examination (PPE) and used the postnominals MRCVS to sign the associated PPE certificate and covering letter.
The Committee found this charge proven after it was presented with evidence of the certificate and covering letter alongside the fact that Mr Dobson had been removed from the Register on 1 June 2018 for non-payment of the annual renewal fee needed to remain on the RCVS Register. He was only restored to the Register upon paying his outstanding fee in late November 2018.
The second charge was that Mr Dobson did not have any professional indemnity insurance (or PII) or other equivalent arrangements in between June 2018 and August 2020. He also failed to provide adequate details of his PII when requested by the RCVS.
The Committee was presented with evidence that Mr Dobson had failed to confirm that he had PII arrangements or other equivalent arrangements in place prior to August 2020 and that he had failed to respond to numerous requests for evidence from the College. On this basis the Committee found the charges proven.
The third and final charge was that Mr Dobson had failed to respond to numerous requests from the RCVS, including: failing to provide written comments on concerns relating to the equine PPE; failing to provide written comments on the concern that he had carried out the PPE and used the postnominals MRCVS while not on the Register; failing to provide details of his continuing professional development (CPD) for the previous three years; and failing to provide copies of his Day Book and/or Controlled Drugs Register. All elements of this charge were found proven when the Committee was presented with evidence of numerous attempts to contact him that went unacknowledged and unanswered.
Regarding the first charge, the Committee recognised that Mr Dobson had not intentionally allowed his registration with the College to expire and that it was down to administrative error. However, it also considered that he had not responded to or taken action upon receiving numerous reminders to pay his fees. It considered that Mr Dobson had therefore acted recklessly in not only allowing his registration to expire but in continuing to practise veterinary surgery while not registered, a criminal act in contravention of the Veterinary Surgeons Act. The Committee therefore found that the first charge amounted to serious professional misconduct.
The Committee also found that the remaining charges constituted serious professional misconduct.
Cerys Jones, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf said: "The respondent demonstrated a pattern of behaviour in not responding, which was sustained and persistent. He asked for extensions of time but did not make good on his assurances that he would provide information. Due to the length of time during which the respondent failed to comply with the requests, as well as the proliferation of issues in respect of which he did not comply, the Committee was of the view that he demonstrated a wilful disregard of the role of the RCVS and the regulatory processes. This was particularly serious in light of the reliance which the RCVS places upon its members to cooperate with providing it with information relating to their professional practice which is relevant to the RCVS’s regulation of the profession.
"There was no harm caused to animals or the public, and the Committee acknowledged that practice circumstances have been made more difficult in general by the Covid-19 pandemic. However… the respondent’s failures to comply were serious and undermined the functions of the RCVS. The Committee was satisfied that the respondent’s failures fell so far below what was expected as to amount to serious professional misconduct."
Having found that all the charges amounted to serious professional misconduct the Committee then considered the most appropriate sanction for Mr Dobson. In terms of aggravating factors, the Committee considered Mr Dobson’s recklessness in failing to renew his registration and practising while it was lapsed, his pattern of not responding to the RCVS, the fact that financial gain was obtained as a result of misconduct, a wilful disregard to the RCVS and regulation, and limited evidence of insight. In mitigation the Committee considered Mr Dobson’s previous good character, a long and otherwise unblemished career, the fact that no animals were harmed and increased demands on time and processes due to Covid-19.
However, taking all of the information into account, the Committee decided that removal from the Register was the appropriate and proportionate sanction due to the sustained and prolonged nature of the misconduct.
Cerys Jones said: “The respondent demonstrated a wilful disregard of the role of the RCVS and the regulatory processes by way of his disgraceful conduct. In addition, his lack of engagement with the hearing process indicates to the Committee that he is not engaging with his regulator and, along with the limited insight and lack of remediation with respect to the disgraceful conduct, this demonstrates a lack of insight into the seriousness of his actions or their consequences.”
The Statutory Membership Examination must be taken by all individuals educated outside of the UK whose veterinary qualification is not recognised by the RCVS. Passing the exam allows them to join the UK Register, and practice as a veterinary surgeon in the UK.
The exam has existed in its current format for over 30 years, and the review was implemented to ensure the examination remains fit for purpose, and sits in line with international best-practice and the College’s current Day-one Competences.
The College says the review was also designed to make sure it is using the most appropriate means of assessment methods, to best prepare candidates for success, and to ensure candidates can work in the UK to the best of their ability.
The written examination will now consist of two parts; a clinical Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) paper (in a single best answer clinical vignette format) and an open book examination, which will be used to ascertain the candidate’s knowledge of the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct.
The Clinical, Practical Examination will now exist in the form of a multi-dimensional Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). This examination is set to measure a range of clinical, technical and professional skills including clinical reasoning, communication, professionalism, and ethical awareness. Following a tender process, Glasgow Veterinary School has been awarded the contract to host the OSCE examination for five years from 2019 to 2023.
RCVS Examinations Manager, Victoria Hedges, said: "The review of the Statutory Membership Examination has provided us with the opportunity to ensure that we continue to test the skills and knowledge needed to work effectively in a veterinary practice in the UK in a robust manner, and bring it in line with the final year examinations delivered at UK vet schools. In designing the examination, the RCVS has considered international best practice, in addition to approaches to regulatory examinations within both the veterinary and medical sectors."
A comprehensive handbook regarding this new examination will be available on the Statutory Membership Examination section of the RCVS website (www.rcvs.org.uk/statutory-membership-exam) shortly.
If you have any questions, please get in contact with Examinations Manager, Victoria Hedges: v.hedges@rcvs.org.uk
The RCVS is calling for its members to nominate veterinary surgeons and non-veterinary surgeons who merit the award of Honorary Associateship or Honorary Fellowship.
Honorary Associates are awarded annually to people, not necessarily vets, by reason of their special eminence in, or special service to, the veterinary profession. Council has agreed that these should only be people ineligible for election as Honorary Fellows.
Honorary Fellowships can be awarded to up to three veterinary surgeons in any year for their service to, or special eminence in, the cause of veterinary science. Nominees for Honorary Fellowships must be members of the RCVS and have been a member, or held a registrable qualification, for at least 20 years.
Nominations must be received by the President, Mr Peter Jinman, by Friday 3 September 2010. Members can obtain nomination forms from the RCVS Executive Office (0207 202 0761 or executiveoffice@rcvs.org.uk).
All nominations need to include the particular reasons why the honour/award should be conferred, along with supporting statements from two referees, at least one of whom must not be a working colleague of the person nominated.
Nominations will be considered at the meeting of the Nominations Committee on 14 October, and awards made at RCVS Day on 1 July 2011. Details of Honorary Fellowship and Honorary Associateship award holders can be found in the Register of Veterinary Surgeons, with the addition since 2 July 2010 of Dr Tony Lawrence and Professor Martin Shirley (Honorary Associates), and Professor Elizabeth Simpson and Professor Peter Roeder (Honorary Fellowships).
Vets who want to stand as election candidates must submit their nomination forms by 5pm on Wednesday 31st January 2024.
There are places for three elected candidates on Council.
This year, the RCVS has put together downloadable information packs for prospective candidates.
The pack explains the role of an RCVS Council member and the candidate nomination process, and contains the candidate nomination and candidate information forms.
The RCVS Council pack is available to download from rcvs.org.uk/vncouncil24.
Eleanor Ferguson, RCVS Registrar and Returning Officer for both elections, said: “RCVS-registered veterinary surgeons of all backgrounds, at all career stages, and with all levels of experience are eligible to stand in the elections.
"So, if you want to help shape the future of veterinary regulation and our Royal College initiatives and activities, please consider standing in next year’s elections.”
Veterinary surgeons who are interested in standing for RCVS Council and who have any further queries should contact Dawn Wiggins, RCVS Council Secretary, on d.wiggins@rcvs.org.uk
The survey was held between the 1st and 5th May and was sent to the 3,139 UK veterinary practices for which the RCVS holds a unique email address. In total it gathered 251 responses (a response rate of 8%) compared to the 532 responses to the initial survey conducted between 3rd and 7th April (a response rate of 17%).
The main changes compared to last month's survey were:
Lizzie Lockett, RCVS CEO, said: "This latest survey has identified some positive trends in terms of a slight uptick in business, including turnover, and fewer incidences of staff having to take time off with COVID or COVID-like symptoms.
“I am glad to see that the framework we published in April has, so far as we can see, provided veterinary professionals with greater guidance and reassurance regarding the fact that if it is feasible to do something safely under social distancing guidelines, then they can go ahead, if they choose to.
"We left plenty of scope for veterinary professionals to use their clinical judgement as to what services actually offer, depending on their facilities, level of staffing, availability of protective equipment, local disease pressures and so on.
"However, it is also clear that we are, by no means, out of the woods and that veterinary businesses are still struggling financially, with some of them reporting a very acute impact of the coronavirus and the associated restrictions on their businesses.
“We will continue to monitor the situation via these regular surveys, with the next one planned for early June. I would urge as many practices as possible to continue to complete them, so that we can build up a stronger evidence-base on how veterinary businesses have been affected. This information is not only vital for our own policy decisions but also allows us to present a stronger case to the Government and other public bodies where we wish to influence the decisions they make that will impact the veterinary professions and businesses.”
The survey results can be read in full at www.rcvs.org.uk/coronavirus-resources.
Each charge related to fraudulent pet insurance claims that Mr Johnston had made for the treatment of animals when he was in practice in Banbridge, County Down, two of which were fictitious, and where he had arranged for the insurance claims to be diverted and paid into a personal bank account, rather than the practice’s bank account.
At an initial hearing, which concluded on April 2022, Mr Johnston had admitted all the charges against him as well as admitting that his conduct was dishonest and amounted to serious professional misconduct.
The Committee was satisfied that his conduct amounted to serious professional misconduct, with Committee Chair Paul Morris saying: “The Committee has no hesitation in concluding that the respondent’s dishonest conduct will have severely undermined the confidence of the public in the veterinary profession and, further, that his conduct fell far short of the standards and conduct properly to be expected of a member of the veterinary profession.
"The Committee is satisfied that this conduct by the respondent brought the profession into disrepute.”
The proceedings were then adjourned to allow a psychiatric report and other mitigation to be prepared.
At its resumed hearing in November 2022 the Committee considered what sanction to impose in relation to Dr Johnston’s actions.
At this point, the Committee decided to postpone its decision on sanction for a period of two years on the condition that Dr Johnston enter into undertakings to the Committee including refraining from any form of gambling, subjecting himself to a close regime of support and supervision, and repaying some of the sums he had defrauded.
The hearing reconvened in October 2024 to decide on an appropriate sanction.
The Committee noted that Mr Johnston had complied with the undertakings and provided the Committee with the interim reports required of him.
He also continued with the therapeutic interventions and programmes specified, as well as implemented measures designed to minimise the risk of a relapse into gambling.
The Committee also noted that reports from the gambling support services, to which Mr Johnston had signed up, all spoke positively about his involvements and confirmed the progress he had achieved in managing his addiction.
The Committee also took into account a psychiatric report as well as evidence under oath from Mr Johnston’s wife who confirmed his compliance with the undertakings.
As a result, the Committee was satisfied that the prospects of a repeat of the conduct which led to the charges laid against Dr Johnston were now greatly reduced.
The Committee said it was less impressed with the evidence provided by Mr Johnston.
While he had largely complied with the letter of the undertakings he gave in 2022, it remained troubled by his apparent unwillingness or inability, on account of lack of effort, to fulfil the assurances previously given that he was in the process of changing his name to Johnston, from Fegan, on official documentation in order to be consistent with his legal name, when he had not done so.
The only formal name change in place was on the RCVS Register, and he had failed to alter his name on his driver’s licence, on his registration with the Veterinary Council of Ireland, his passport, bank accounts, and one of his email addresses.
As a result, the Committee did not find Dr Johnston to be an entirely satisfactory witness.
Paul Morris, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: “Having made the progress that he has over the period since the commission of the charges found proved in 2019, the Committee considers that the imposition of a sanction of suspension on top of the period of postponement would be excessive, in the particular circumstances of this case.
“For the same reasons, as stated above, it is considered that it would be excessive now to impose a sanction of removal from the register.
“That process of reasoning has driven the Committee to the conclusion that the sanction of a reprimand and warning as to future conduct is what the facts and circumstances of this case call for.
"That is because the respondent can be under no illusion about the outcome were he to appear again before this Committee.
"A failure to take advantage of the exceptional course adopted by this Committee on this occasion would be regarded as a serious aggravating factor were he to appear before the Committee at any time in the future.”
https://www.rcvs.org.uk/concerns/disciplinary-hearings
Vet Futures, the joint initiative by the RCVS and BVA to stimulate debate about the future of the profession, is running an essay competition with a prize of an all-expenses-paid trip to the London Vet Show (London Olympia, 19th-20th November).
To win, you need to submit an essay of 1000 words or less which outlines an idea that will transform the veterinary/veterinary nursing profession by 2030. The College suggests that entrants might might look at a new business model, a new approach to education, a technological innovation or perhaps a way that the working lives of those in the practice team could be improved.
Anyone with an interest in the veterinary profession can enter the competition, including veterinary surgeons, nurses, practice managers and students.
The entries will be judged by the Vet Futures Project Board, which includes the Presidents and Chief Executives of both the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the British Veterinary Association.
Entries will be anonymised then scored on a range of criteria, including originality, potential impact for the future and realistic prospects of change. The winning entry will be placed in a time capsule, to be opened by the veterinary profession in 2030.
The closing date for entries is midnight on Monday 31 August 2015, and the winner will be notified on Monday 7 September 2015.
The full rules and details of how entries can be submitted can be found on www.vetfutures.org.uk/essaycomp.
At the roundtable, Liz Barton MRCVS, Head of Communications at Vet.CT, spoke about the application of AI in clinical practice, including in preventative medicine, diagnostics, treatment and prognostics.
Liz highlighted how the use of AI tools in clinical practice for tasks such as pattern recognition had led to many unforeseen and unexpected benefits, for example by picking up things that humans may not.
Dr P-J Noble, Senior Lecturer in Small Animal Science at the University of Liverpool, explained how AI tools had proven useful in processing, assessing and annotating qualitative data gathered through the university's Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (SAVSNET) once they were programmed to recognise certain patterns, saving lots of research time and costs.
Dr Chris Trace MRCVS, Head of Digital Learning at the University of Surrey, spoke about AI use in higher education and how it has already started to be used beneficially both as a teaching and learning aid, as well as for assessment and feedback.
In the afternoon session, groups of delegates were asked to discuss practical questions over AI use in the veterinary professions and how it might be regulated.
There were discussions on how to help vet and VN students make the most of AI in learning and assessment, responsible use of AI in clinical settings, the risks of not using AI, how veterinary professionals can work with animal owners and keepers to ensure the safe and productive use of AI, and whether AI-led devices should be regulated.
Lizzie said: “This was a really positive and exciting event that involved a heady mix of trepidation over the risks and implications of AI now and into the future, and optimism over the beneficial impact it could have for education, diagnosis, treatment and patient outcomes.
"The discussions have certainly given us at the College a lot of food for thought on how we can put in place guardrails and guidelines on the appropriate use of AI in the veterinary sector.
“This is an area of technology that is evolving so rapidly that it would not be effective for us to put in place specific guidance for the use of AI tools, but instead we will be looking at how we can regulate the use of AI in the round and ensure our principles are sufficiently future-proofed to keep up with the pace of change.
“Any regulation will start with first principles, such as transparency and honesty around the use of AI in veterinary practice, the minimisation of potential risks, and the continuing importance of professional accountability for decision-making, even where such decisions may have been heavily influenced by the use of AI tools and AI-generated data.”
The input gathered from the roundtable will now be considered by a range of RCVS committees over the coming months.
A full report of the event will be published this summer.
Professor Sandy Trees has been invested as the new President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons during RCVS Day, held on 3rd July.
Sandy is an Edinburgh graduate, qualifying from the Dick Vet in 1969. After graduation, he undertook a mixture of research posts at home and overseas, plus a spell in general practice, before completing his PhD in 1976, also at Edinburgh. He then spent some time in the animal health industry before moving into academia in the early 1980s, starting as a lecturer in veterinary parasitology in Liverpool University's Faculty of Veterinary Science, based in the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. He was awarded a personal chair in veterinary parasitology and became Head of the Parasite and Vector Biology Division in 1994. Sandy held the post of Dean of Faculty from 2001 until 2008, and still teaches BVSc, MSc and PhD students.
Sandy's broad veterinary political experience includes spells on the BVA's Veterinary Policy Group and Education Group, President of the Association of Veterinary Teachers and Research Workers, Vice-President of the European College of Veterinary Parasitology and Chairman of the Heads of Veterinary Schools. Serving on RCVS Council since 2000 as one of the Liverpool veterinary faculty's appointed members, Sandy has been a member of the Education Policy and Specialisation, Planning and Resources, and Preliminary Investigation Committees.
RCVS Day also brought other changes to the RCVS Officer team: Jill Nute, outgoing President, became Senior Vice-President, Peter Jinman took up the role of Junior Vice-President, and Dr Jerry Davies was confirmed as Treasurer for another year.
Dr Bob Moore stood down as Senior Vice-President, with Jill Nute commenting that: "Bob has been an extremely valued member of the Officer Team and I would like to express my grateful thanks for the unstinting support he has given me during my term as President."
Retiring Council members included David Harding, Nigel Swayne and Brian Jennings, a Privy Council appointee.
As part of the AGM, newly-elected Council members Chris Tufnell and Chris Gray were welcomed. It was also announced that Professor Stephen May had been appointed for a further year by the Royal Veterinary College, Professor Stuart Reid had been appointed for a further four-year term by the University of Glasgow, and likewise Caroline Freedman by the University of Edinburgh. Dr Frank Taylor, whose role as Head of Bristol Veterinary School is due to conclude at the end of the month, will stay on Council until a successor is appointed.
The President then made her outgoing address, in which she described how she had been keen during her presidential year to ensure that the College is "open, approachable, accountable and transparent," citing the work of the Corporate Governance Group as a good example of activities to this end: "Under the guidance of Sir Anthony Holland, Chairman of the Group, we have robust procedures in place for managing conflicts of interest and have put in place arrangements to keep corporate governance under regular review," she said.
Discussing the activities of the College during the year, she made mention of work with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate to produce the Register of Veterinary Practice Premises and with the Office of Fair Trading regarding monitoring the reintroduction of prescription charges. She also touched on the review of the Practice Standards Scheme and the work of the 24/7 Working Party. She conceded that the College faced a challenge with regards to out-of-hours cover, which the majority of vets questioned in a recent survey would like to maintain: "The question is, how can this be achieved within the law [Working Time Regulations] and without a hike in charges that might, perversely, have a negative effect on animal welfare by reducing take-up of veterinary services?" she asked.
Finally, Jill paid tribute to the hard work of College and Trust staff, Council members and her fellow Officers: "One thing you learn as President is that you are just part of the bigger picture and things can only be achieved with the support and collaboration of those across the profession."
Incoming President Sandy Trees described Jill Nute as having "presided over the College with utter fairness and even handedness, working incredibly hard for the interests of the College and its members, certainly delivering on your aim for openness and accessibility". He looked forward to his own presidency with "honour, excitement and trepidation".
Richard was elected to RCVS Council in 2020, having previously served as an elected member from 2008 to 2016.
Over the years, he has also been a significant and valued contributor to VetSurgeon.org, and his insight will be missed.
RCVS President Mandisa Greene said: “We thank Richard for his service to the RCVS over the past year and in his previous terms. We particularly thank him for his contribution to a number of committees he has served on during both his periods on Council including the Disciplinary, Finance & Resources and Preliminary Investigation Committees. We wish him all the best for the future.”
Professor Stephen May has now taken up the remainder of Richard’s term on Council, to July 2024, as he received the next largest amount of votes in the 2020 RCVS Council election.
Two vacancies have arisen for veterinary surgeons to join the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' Veterinary Nurses Council.
The positions, which are open to veterinary surgeons not currently serving on RCVS Council, would be particularly well suited to those veterinary surgeons who have an interest in the nursing profession and some experience of working with nurses. However, applicants need not necessarily be politically involved with the profession at this point.
VN Council Chairman Liz Branscombe said: "Veterinary nurses play a vital role in the practice team and, with the opening of the non-statutory Register in 2007, the VN profession is now recognising its responsibilities in terms of maintaining professional standards, skills and competence.
"Now, more than ever, it is important that vets from all sectors of the profession take the time to get involved with the regulation and development of the role of the veterinary nurse."
Applications are invited from all veterinary surgeons, although those with some experience of working with veterinary nurses would be most relevant.
The four-year posts will require an annual time commitment of approximately six to ten days.
For an application pack, please contact Annette Amato, Deputy Head of Veterinary Nursing, on 020 7202 0713 or a.amato@rcvs.org.uk. The deadline for the receipt by RCVS of completed application packs is 30 April 2011.
The RCVS has announced the results of the 2015 RCVS Council and Veterinary Nurses (VN) Council elections.
Turnouts in both elections rose this year, with 4,838 veterinary surgeons (18.1%) and 1,379 veterinary nurses (11%) voting, which compares to 4,137 (16.1%) and 1,157 (10%) in 2014. The College says these represent the highest numbers of vets and VNs ever to vote in RCVS elections, noting however that there are more vets and veterinary nurses on the Registers. Average turnouts over the past ten years are 17.4% (4051 veterinary voters) and 9% (833 VN voters).
Current members Niall Connell and Lynne Hill were returned to two of the six available seats on RCVS Council, with 2,575 votes and 1,889 votes respectively (the four other current members of Council eligible for re-election will all be retiring this year). Peter Robinson (2,308 votes) was elected again, having previously served on Council in 2013/14.
Joining Council for the first time will be Timothy Greet (2,550 votes), Joanna Dyer (2,383 votes) and Katherine Richards (1,905 votes).
Disappointing news, however, for the RMB brigade this year: Tom Lonsdale scored 374 votes, down 13.5% on 2014, despite the increasing number of voters.
The two available places on VN Council were taken by new member Lucy Bellwood (914 votes) and existing member and Vice-Chair, Elizabeth Cox (630 votes).
Turnouts in both elections rose this year, with 4,838 veterinary surgeons (18.1%) and 1,379 veterinary nurses (11%) voting, which compares to 4,137 (16.1%) and 1,157 (10%) in 2014. These represent the highest numbers of vets and VNs ever to vote in RCVS elections, although there are increasing numbers of vets and veterinary nurses on the Registers. Average turnouts over the past ten years are 17.4% (4051 veterinary voters) and 9% (833 VN voters).
RCVS Registrar Gordon Hockey, said: "My sincere thanks to all those who stood for election this year and to all those who voted, and many congratulations to the successful candidates. Once again we have an excellent mix of people joining Council, who will be able to bring a diverse range of skills and experience to Council discussions and activities. I very much look forward to welcoming them to Council at our AGM in July."
Chair of VN Council Kathy Kissick, said: "It's encouraging that voter numbers have risen slightly in this year's election, especially in such an auspicious year where the introduction of the new Royal Charter for the RCVS means that we are now formally regulated by the College and recognised as true professionals in our own right. My congratulations to both Lucy and Liz on their success."
In addition to their usual written biographies and manifesto statements, all candidates produced a 'Quiz the candidates' video this year, where they answered questions put to them directly by fellow members of the professions. Still available to watch via the RCVS website and YouTube channel, the 11 RCVS Council candidate videos have been viewed 2,967 times, and the three VN Council candidate videos 509 times.
Once again veterinary surgeons and VNs could cast their votes by post or online, with the former remaining the more popular method. A higher proportion of veterinary surgeons (30%) voted online than did veterinary nurses (23%).
The 2015 RCVS and VN Council elections were run on behalf of the RCVS by Electoral Reform Services.
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a consultation on reforming the governance arrangements of the RCVS.
The consultation follows a period of discussions between the RCVS and Defra about how the College might best modernise Council.
The consultation gives the public and profession the opportunity to have their say on what reforms would best prepare the College for the future. It discusses the appropriate size and composition of Council, including the proportion of elected members, how veterinary schools should be represented, increasing lay membership, and ensuring appropriate veterinary nurse representation. It also examines how flexibility can be built into the reforms in case of future changes, such as the possibility of new categories of associate. Responses to the consultation will inform the College’s work with Defra to determine the precise details of any new governance arrangements.
The College says any reform should meet its unique requirements as a Royal College that regulates and the criteria already agreed by the College: Council’s decision-making role would be strengthened, for instance, by increasing the number of Council meetings per year. This would reduce or remove the need for a separate Operational Board in order that the CEO reports directly to Council.
Any reforms also need to ensure that Council has sufficient members to populate the College’s committees and Presidential team, and follow the government’s five principles of better regulation, by being proportionate, consistent, accountable, transparent and targeted.
RCVS President Bradley Viner (pictured top right) said “I am delighted that Defra is consulting on RCVS governance and the minister has the full backing of RCVS Council in so doing. This consultation is an opportunity to hear the voice of the profession and the public about an appropriate structure and oversight of the RCVS, reflecting the uniqueness of being a Royal College that regulates. Consulting on this important issue is in keeping with our desire to become first rate in what we do, building on other measures to modernise and improve the workings of the College.”
From this summer, all new veterinary graduates have had to be enrolled on the VetGDP when they start their first job as a qualified vet. This means that veterinary practices and other workplaces wishing to employ new veterinary graduates will need to become, or be working towards becoming, an RCVS-Approved Graduate Development Practice or Workplace. To date, over 1,800 VetGDP Advisers around the UK have registered for the training to help develop their new graduate colleagues.
All new veterinary graduates and their VetGDP Advisers will be able to use the new e-portfolio platform to record and monitor the graduate’s progress as they work through the programme.
Dr Linda Prescott-Clements (pictured right), RCVS Director of Education, said: “We recognise how important it is to support new veterinary graduates as much as possible during their first job as a fully-qualified veterinary surgeon. The transition from study to work can be a daunting one, and we wanted to create a resource that would help new graduates record and reflect on their journey through the programme and provide a space for the VetGDP Adviser to monitor and support their graduate as they progress.
“We believe the VetGDP programme will have a positive impact on graduates’ development and their confidence during their first role. The new e-portfolio will be a key resource for employers to help them support the professional development of the newest cohort of veterinary professionals.”
The RCVS will be holding two online workshops to provide VetGDP Advisers and veterinary graduates with support and advice about using the e-portfolio. The workshop dates and times are:
Further information and the online booking form can be found at https://www.rcvs.org.uk/vetgdpworkshops.
Some graduates may have completed forms to record their activities and progress as part of the VetGDP platform launch interim measures provided earlier this summer. Anyone who has manually completed any forms is encouraged to get in touch with the VetGDP team by emailing vetgdp@rcvs.org.uk who will be able to help transfer the data onto the e-portfolio if required.
Further information about becoming an RCVS-Approved Graduate Development Practice or Workplace can be found at www.rcvs.org.uk/vetgdp