The programme, which was developed in collaboration with the NHS Leadership Academy, is designed to teach a number of skills that underpin good leadership, including decision-making, resilience, implementing an inclusive culture and encouraging reflective learning approaches. It comprises two free-to-access courses and an optional paid for assessment.
The College says that one of the programme's most popular aspects is its audio drama, which follows the lives of veterinary professionals living in the fictional county of Glenvern. The stories that depict the characters’ working lives seek to reveal the diverse leadership challenges that veterinary professionals face on a day-to-day basis. This in turn prompts the listener to reflect, consider how they would respond, and learn from their own experiences as well as those of other people.
The first course was piloted this summer, with over 550 veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses, students and practice managers helping the College to develop and refine the material, whilst a group of learners are currently piloting the second course in the series.
Simon Patchett MRCVS, who works at Vets Now 24/7 Emergency and Specialty Hospital, Glasgow, said: "This course really highlighted leadership qualities that are often taken for granted. The course demonstrates that you do not need a status position in order to demonstrate effective leadership even though status positions are often where we look for leadership. I would recommend this course to both vets and nurses in clinical practice - it's a real eye opener, and as a result of doing the course perhaps we can see less age-restricted approach to leadership within the veterinary profession?"
Given the overwhelmingly positive feedback received on the first course the RCVS has now opened the programme to all veterinary professionals.
The programme is now accepting registrations for a new cohort of learners to begin the first of three courses on 26th November. A ‘sign-up’ email will be sent out to all veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses ahead of the course starting.
Director of Leadership and Innovation at the RCVS, Anthony Roberts, said: "I am very pleased to be able to announce the launch of this programme. I would urge anyone with an interest in developing their leadership skills, as well as those looking to refine their longstanding leadership skills, to take part. The feedback we have received on the first course in this programme [please see Notes to Editors] has shown us that this MOOC has a far-reaching application, and is both educational and enjoyable. Whether you are a vet, veterinary nurse, practice manager or student, this programme will be relevant and useful in your professional career."
For more information, visit: www.rcvs.org.uk/leadershipmooc or email: leadership@rcvs.org.uk
In trials, Credelio killed more than 98% of ticks within 24 hours1, and more than 99% of fleas within 12 hours with all fleas killed within 24 hours, for one month2.
Credelio is available in two vanilla-yeast-flavoured tablet strengths and is approved for kittens and cats from 8 weeks of age and older and 0.5 kilograms or heavier.
The tablets are well-accepted by cats: in a three-month field study pet owners were 100% successful in administering the product, replicated each consecutive month3.
Elanco says the new product will be of particular interest to the one in three cat owners who currently use a topical spot on or collar that - according to its research - would prefer to give their cat a tablet when it comes to tick and flea control4.
Victoria Sumpter, Companion Animal Technical Marketing Manager at Elanco UK & Ireland said: "Not only can it be stressful to give a tick and flea treatment to a cat, it can completely disrupt a cat’s daily routine.
"With Credelio, treating a cat for ticks and fleas doesn’t have to be a big to-do. The chewable, vanilla-yeast flavoured tablets are widely accepted by cats, so owners have the flexibility to treat with or immediately after food in a way that suits their cat’s needs."
For more information, visit: www.credelio.co.uk
References
The charity, which was set up over 120 years ago, says the number of calls and emails it gets from industry professionals seeking help has increased 500% over the last 5 years; it has received more than 1,500 calls and emails over the past 12 months.
Lynne Hill, Chief Executive of Linnaeus said: "The veterinary industry is fast-paced and, at times, an extremely stressful environment, so the support on offer from Vetlife is particularly valuable and its worth is demonstrated by the significant increase in contact being made to it.
"We hope this donation will help Vetlife continue to provide the excellent service and support they have given to vets and nurses for so long."
Vetlife President Geoff Little said: "This donation from the Linnaeus Group is extremely generous. We have seen a dramatic rise in calls and emails to the service over recent years. So much so, we have recruited additional volunteers to cope with the additional contacts. It’s extremely gratifying to see the number of volunteers who are so willing to put something back into their profession and to help others.
"At Vetlife, we provide support in the shape of three core services, which are the Vetlife Helpline, which provides independent, confidential support 24/7, 365 days a year; Health Support, run by mental health professionals; and Financial Support, which provides assistance to vets or their dependents who find themselves in difficulty.
"This support from Linnaeus will help us to bridge the gap as the need for support continues to grow."
Anyone who needs support can contact the Vetlife Helpline on 0303 040 2551 or anonymously via www.vetlife.org.uk.
Photo: Vetlife President Geoff Little receives the £60,000 donation from Lynn Hill at Linnaeus.
The plans developed by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), an agency of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), involved the creation of a new role of Certification Support Officers (CSOs), non-veterinarians who would support the work of Official Veterinarians (OVs) in the signing of export health certificates for products of animal origin such as meat, dairy, processed products and animal by-products.
The proposals for the creation of CSOs by APHA has arisen due to concerns about the growth of exports in recent years and the potential for an up to 300% increase in products requiring OV certification if the UK has to certify exports of products of animal origin to the EU once the UK leaves the EU. Under APHA’s plans CSOs will work under the direction of veterinary surgeons and support their certification work (for example, verifying temperature checks), although the final certification will always need to be signed by OVs. The role will not involve certification relating to live animals or germinal products.
At the RCVS Council meeting on Thursday 1 November 2018 Council members agreed to facilitate APHA’s proposals and to make changes to the RCVS requirements so as to allow CSOs to support OVs in their certification work.
Amanda Boag, RCVS President, said: "As we have stated in our recent statement on ‘no-deal’ Brexit, it has been estimated that there would be 325% increase in veterinary certification requirements if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, and with these proposals Defra and APHA are preparing for this by increasing the support available for Official Veterinarians. Furthermore the proposal is in line with the concept of a vet-led team, with veterinary surgeons focusing on tasks only vets can do, whilst delegating some tasks to suitably trained and quality-assured members of our teams.
"We appreciate that there were some concerns over the level of education and training required by CSOs and are glad that the APHA has accommodated those views by increasing the level of education to three A-Levels (or equivalent in Scotland) and clarifying the nature of the training required by CSOs.
"By signalling its support for the proposals, RCVS Council has been assured that the integrity and value of the veterinary signature will be upheld and we are glad that we can play a key role in helping the veterinary profession prepare the UK for leaving the EU."
The RCVS position statement on the potential impact of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit scenario is available at www.rcvs.org.uk/brexit
PBD says Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a growing problem for zoos and wildlife parks, especially with the disease’s potential to spread from one species to another, creating a natural reservoir that is difficult to control.
bTB in zoos came to public attention last year when Devon’s Paignton Zoo detected a single case in one of its antelope. Without access to a test that would deliver rapid results, the zoo had to cull the remaining 10-strong herd of Kafue Flats lechwe.
PBD says the Actiphage test can identify bTB and other mycobacterial diseases in animals before clinical symptoms of infection are observed. It can detect with high specificity the presence of any mycobacteria in animal blood within 6 hours in comparison to culturing mycobacteria, which can take up to 12 weeks.
The technology has been successfully applied to blood samples from 17 different species so far, including deer, goats and badgers as well as exotic animals such as lions, giraffes, antelopes, elephants, tigers, kangaroos and camels. Trials have confirmed PBD Biotech’s assay can detect live mycobacteria in blood or milk samples at very high sensitivity, of less than 10 mycobacterial cells per ml of sample.
The test is being presented to delegates at the British Veterinary Zoological Society (BVZS) Congress in Birmingham today by Dr Ben Swift, Research Fellow at the Royal Veterinary College and R&D Director at PBD Biotech.
He said: "The Actiphage detection method provides a major step change in the detection of viable mycobacteria and has the potential to revolutionise the control and understanding of mycobacterial diseases in zoo animals, wildlife and a range of other species.
"The use of bacteriophage means the test can detect mycobacteria before an immune response is fully developed, giving vets, zoo-keepers and other exotics experts a head-start on the race to catch bTB and other diseases in the hope of preventing the unnecessary cull of protected animals."
In total Mr Hendrie Smith had faced eight charges against him, all of which related to him undertaking the euthanasia of a German Shepherd named Bouncer during a home visit in January 2017.
The charges alleged that when John Hendrie Smith undertook the euthanasia of Bouncer he had:
1. failed to ensure he was sufficiently prepared for the euthanasia in that he failed to attend the visit with a muzzle and failed to attend with any sedative and the means of administering sedative;
2. failed to delay the euthanasia until he was in possession of the above items;
3. undertook the euthanasia by means of an injection without first sedating Bouncer;
4. failed to provide Bouncer’s owner with an adequate explanation of the procedure. Including:
a. failing to explain that the procedure involved an attempt at injection directly into the heart;
b. failing to explain that an injection into the heart without sedation is (except in extreme circumstances) not an accepted means of euthanasia;
c. wrongly stated that Bouncer would not feel the injection;
d. failed to provide an explanation of the risks;
e. failed to explain the risks and signs of narcotic excitement;
f. failed to explain the risks of injection into the heart without sedation;
5. failed to obtain Bouncer’s owner’s informed consent for the procedure;
6. failed to make any clinical records in respect of the procedure;
7. provided inadequate veterinary care to Bouncer and caused him unnecessary suffering; and
8. failed to communicate with Bouncer’s owner.
Having considered evidence about the case from Bouncer’s owner, his owner’s former partner, two expert witnesses and Mr Hendrie Smith, the Committee found all of the charges against Mr Hendrie Smith proven, with the exception of charge 4(e) on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence against him on this particular charge.
In considering whether the charges that were found proven amounted to serious professional misconduct, the Committee heard further evidence from the College’s two expert witnesses, and submissions from both the College and Mr Hendrie Smith. Having considered the evidence and submissions, the Committee concluded that in relation to each of the charges found proven, Mr Hendrie Smith’s conduct had fallen far below that which was to be expected from a veterinary surgeon and was therefore serious professional misconduct.
The Committee went on to consider what sanction was appropriate following its earlier findings against Mr Hendrie Smith. The Committee took into account a number of mitigating and aggravating factors. In mitigation the Committee considered that this was a single, isolated incident and that Mr Hendrie Smith had been a practising veterinary surgeon for 65 years and had an otherwise unblemished career with no adverse professional findings against him. It also took into account testimonials from professional colleagues, clients and his local community.
However, the Committee also considered the aggravating factors which included actual injury and unnecessary suffering to an animal, a blatant disregard of the systems that regulate the veterinary profession including the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct and its supporting guidance relating to euthanasia, informed consent, preventing unnecessary suffering and working within one’s area of competence.
In explaining its decision to direct his removal from the Register of Veterinary Surgeons, the Committee noted Mr Hendrie Smith’s lack of insight into his behaviour, which included denying that he was at fault, challenging several of the Committee’s findings and disputing that an intracardiac injection into the heart of a dog without administering sedation or anaesthesia was wholly unacceptable, despite expert opinion to the contrary.
Chitra Karve, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: "The respondent, in his oral evidence, admitted that he was not really a small animal vet, and had not been dealing regularly with small animals for a significant period of time. His specialisation in recent years was with large farm animals. The Committee considered that the respondent had, and still has, no concept of the difficulties now recognised as inherent in the procedure he performed, or the risks of pain and suffering it posed to the animal."
She added: "The Committee has found that the respondent’s conduct in attempting an intracardiac injection without prior sedation or anaesthesia caused appalling pain and suffering to Bouncer, as evidenced by his screaming, and was wholly unnecessary. The respondent accepted that he had a sedative in his car, but chose not to postpone attempted euthanasia so that he could sedate his patient first.
"The respondent explained in his oral evidence that he had, in the past, euthanased over 200 dogs by intracardiac injection without sedation or anaesthesia. The Committee concludes that this was the respondent’s customary method of euthanasia, and he did not understand why it was wholly unacceptable for a reasonably competent veterinary surgeon to carry out euthanasia in this way. Given his lack of insight, the Committee considers that there is a risk that, if the respondent were to be asked to euthanase a dog in the future, he would be likely to use his customary method, and thereby cause injury and suffering to another animal."
In determining the sanction the Committee decided that, because there had been a serious departure from the professional standards set out in the Code, serious harm was caused and there was a serious risk of harm to animals in the future, that removing Mr Hendrie Smith from the Register was the only means of protecting animals and the wider public interest.
Mr Hendrie Smith has 28 days from being informed of the Committee’s decision to make an appeal to the Privy Council.
The motion was introduced by Kate Richards MRCVS, Chair of the RCVS Standards committee, who explained that it'd been driven by three things, namely: the Vet Futures Initiative, the RCVS Strategic Plan signed off by Council in 2017 and the RCVS telemedicine consultation that took place earlier this year.
The latter of these showed that 69% of vets opposed the idea of prescribing without a physical exam, which rather beggars the question why it's being discussed at all. However, as Kate explained, when asked whether certain types of products could be remotely prescribed, the answer was more equivocal: 52% of vets said "yes".
Kate also explained that over the last two years, there had been a number of good quality discussions at Standards Committee and Council, but that decision-making had been "hampered by a paucity of evidence on the opportunities, risks and benefits of telemedicine to animals and the public".
The full wording of motion was: "Council is invited to consider the recommendation of Standards Committee to conduct a limited and time-bound trial to assess the benefits and risks of allowing the remote prescription of POM-V (excluding opiates, sedatives and potentially also critically important antibiotics) where there has been no physical examination."
However, in order for the trial to take place, it would be necessary to make a temporary change to the Supporting Guidance of the Code of Professional Conduct concerning the definition of "Under his care" (Ed's note. C'mon RCVS, isn’t that a bit anachronistic? Both your CEO and your President are now "her". "Under Care" would do it.), adding the words in italics to para 4.1: "A veterinary surgeon cannot usually have an animal under his or her care if there has been no physical examination; consequently a veterinary surgeon should not treat an animal or prescribe POM-V medicines via the Internet alone, other than in circumstance where a telemedicine service is a part of the RCVS telemedicine trial".
In the best interests of animal welfare
Amanda Boag (MRCVS, Vets Now, RCVS President) then reminded everyone that: "RCVS Council needs to act in the best interest of animal welfare and the public, and whilst sustainability of veterinary services is important, it isn't our role to promote anything novel or to protect traditional models."
Really? Strikes me that the sustainability of veterinary services isn’t just "important", it's an essential part of ensuring good animal welfare. Surely, therefore, it most certainly is the role of Council to protect traditional business models or, for that matter, to promote novel methods if (and I stress "if") doing so protects or enhances animal welfare.
Don’t confuse telemedicine with remote prescribing
Jo Dyer (MRCVS, small animal locum, Devon) opened by pointing out that this is not about telemedicine per se. Telemedicine has been going on since the invention of the telephone in the late 1800s, supplemented over the last 20 years or so by photography and video sent over the internet. Telemedicine does not, in and of itself, require a change in regulation.
What this is about, she explained, is the much narrower act of remote prescribing without physically examining the animal, something which would require the profession to redefine "under his care", which in turn "makes up the foundation of what forms the relationship with the owner and the animal in order that we can safeguard the use of medicines, safeguard the animals under our care and safeguard our clients."
No evidence remote prescribing increases access to veterinary services
Jo argued that the only reason Council should be considering the prescription of medicines without a physical examination would be if it were in the interests of animal welfare. And yet, she said, there is no evidence to support this idea.
Some have suggested that it could increase access to veterinary care. However, Jo said she had been unable to find any evidence to support this idea either. Not just in the veterinary profession, but in the medical profession in the Western and the developing world.
Jo also noted that the trial proposal was to use commercial organisations which have a financial interest in a positive outcome, which would render the results biased and unreliable.
She then raised the issue of antimicrobial resistance, highlighting the use of cytology and culture sensitivity to make sure the right antibiotics are used. Remote prescribing, she said, would be a retrograde step, even if only non-critical antibiotics could be prescribed remotely.
Spawning a new class of limited service provider
Next she highlighted the impact of the trial on 24-7 cover. Under the proposal, "Those under a trial would be required to actively support clients in identifying a veterinary practice that could physically see their animal in both routine and emergency situations."
As Jo pointed out, this would by definition mean that any veterinary surgeon, not just those practising telemedicine, could set themselves up as a limited service provider and refer all cases they didn’t want to see (whether OOH or not) to a local practice. This, she argued, should only happen after a proper debate, and not be just the unintended side-effect of regulation change to allow remote prescribing.
In fact, there is evidence that this is exactly what is happening in human medicine. Only the following evening, the BBC aired Diagnosis on Demand: The Computer Will See You Now, a documentary about telemedicine and artificial intelligence in human medicine. It should be required watching for all RCVS Councillors.
The programme makers visited GP at Hand, a telemedicine business based on the Lillie Road in Fulham, London that has been formed in partnership with Babylon. Coincidentally just up the road from where I used to live, it's a pretty nondescript sort of a place, but now home to the fastest-growing GP surgery in the UK. Since late 2017, it has amassed a staggering 30,000 clients from across London, virtually none of whom will ever visit the place. The problem is that GP at Hand has skimmed away fee-paying clients from across the capital that had in effect been helping to subsidise local care elsewhere.
More information needed for such an important decision
Jo concluded by saying that a decision of this magnitude, particularly when it seems to go against the wishes of the majority of the profession, demands checks to ensure no conflicts of interest, legal advice and wider consultation with organisations such as the VMD, Defra, the BVA and its subdivisions and the VDS. Therefore, she would propose a new motion to delay the decision until more information is made available.
Chris Barker (MRCVS, small animal practice, Cumbria) was up next. He felt that the RCVS consultation was very effective and gave a good picture of what veterinary surgeons see as the risks inherent in remote prescribing. However, he felt that the analysis has been marshalled to suit an agenda and minimises the concerns of general practitioners.
Fragmentation and multiple consultants leading to a loss of responsibility
The trial, he said, will lead to fragmentation of veterinary provision and send the message to the public that it is quite OK to go to more than one vet for advice and treatment, and that will lead to confusion and the loss of individual responsibility for the veterinary care of an animal that exists today.
An inspection with no history: not a proper examination.
Chris argued that the act of prescribing demands a physical examination, but that a video consultation could only ever be an inspection. He also highlighted the importance of patient histories and argued that the immediacy of telemedicine simply doesn’t allow a practitioner to get the patient history from another vet.
Chris also argued that the profession is not structured to allow for clients to consult multiple veterinary service providers simultaneously: once a client leaves his practice, he has a duty under GDPR to expunge much of their records, and he for one didn’t much care for the idea of re-registering a client at 2:00am.
Some of the issues Chris raised may of course be solved by technology in the foreseeable future. GDPR already calls for data portability, presumably it will not be long before owners expect the same data portability for their animals' clinical histories.
Who wants clients who only ever call when telemedicine has failed?
Still, his overall point was an important one: whether or not there will be vets out there who are happy to pick up and see failed telemedicine cases at 3:00am in the morning from people who are not clients of their practice and who don’t otherwise contribute financially to the business.
90% of vets say remote prescription is high risk or inappropriate
Lastly, Chris drew attention to a question in the RCVS consultation which asked respondents what risk they thought there would be in a remote consultation when the consulting vet did not know the owner, did not know the animal and does not know the situation in which the animal is kept: "90% of responding veterinary professionals either chose it as high risk or simply not appropriate at all. I know of no better body of people than practitioners in Britain to understand the welfare and the risk to the welfare of animals."
The risk of misdiagnosis
Martin Peaty (MRCVS, equine practitioner, Wiltshire) spoke next, highlighting the risk he saw to animal welfare from misdiagnosis. He drew attention to concerns raised by the Quality Care Commission in human medicine, in particular that there is no access to the long term medical records of the patient, and the risk of misdiagnosis: "And that’s in human patients who can fluently articulate their symptoms", he said, "I think we should be much more cautious in exercising care before allowing remote diagnosis and prescription."
Martin's point seemed especially apposite in the light of an article which appeared in The Times two days later: 'NHS app 'no match for trip to the GP', in which Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs expressed concerns about online consultation systems, particularly for vulnerable groups, such as children.
Remote prescribing demands that vets sacrifice principles
Martin also outlined the three principles which underpin current practice: physically examining the animal, considering its history and providing 24 hour care, the latter in part in case of a reaction to a prescribed medicine.
"These proposals ask us to sacrifice these principles for telemedicine businesses whilst for good reason they remain in place for other veterinary practices. I think that is hypocritical. I think it is wrong."
Not enough follow-up
Sue Paterson (MRCVS, a referral specialist who offers a dermatology telemedicine service to the profession and the public, Merseyside) jumped in next. She was unashamedly enthusiastic about the benefits of telemedicine, in particular how it allows practitioners to engage with the public and make veterinary advice more accessible, not to mention because: "I am sick to death of people coming into consults when they have been on Facebook or they’ve been on to talk to Dr Google."
However, despite her enthusiasm and despite finding that users of her service do not want antibiotics, just advice, help and reassurance from people they trust, Sue was still against the idea of remote prescription: "I don’t want to prescribe because I can't follow those cases up, because I can’t maintain the level of client care that I think is really important, so for me, I would not want to see this change to the code."
We won’t know what we missed, or the consequences of what we missed
Caroline Allen (MRCVS, charity veterinary director, London) said the biggest issue for her is that without a physical examination, she won’t ever know what she missed (the heart murmur, the goitre, the subtle muscle wastage), or for that matter, the animal welfare consequences of what she missed.
As others had done, Caroline highlighted the importance of getting a weight every time and how difficult it is for clients to measure accurately.
Lastly, she made the thought-provoking point that allowing the remote prescription of drugs without a physical examination would risk legitimising Dr Google in the eyes of the public. After all, if no veterinary physical exam is needed, surely owners can just look it up on the internet for themselves?
In defence of the RCVS
At this point in the discussion, RCVS CEO Lizzie Lockett addressed the suggestion that the whole process of investigating and voting on telemedicine was being driven by hidden agendas, something she absolutely and eloquently rejected. She explained that sure, some parties had been more engaged in the whole process than others, but emphatically denied there had been any influence. Council, she said, had asked Standards to investigate and develop a proposal, which it had done diligently. Now it is down to Council to decide whether the proposal stands or falls; the College exists to implement the decision.
RCVS Vice President, Professor Stephen May went further, saying that many present would be aware that he'd been a vocal critic of the way that a number of other regulators in modern society push things out to court for decisions, rather than taking decisions collectively and then sticking by them. "I’m really proud that we are discussing this and I’m really pleased that this is up to us how we move things forward in the interest of animal health and welfare and supporting the public in that."
The need for a more nuanced, less polarised debate
However, he said he was worried about the way the debate was being polarised into a yes or no when he felt the profession should thinking about how it should adapt to the changing circumstances, thinking about cases which are amenable to a distant relationship and in what context that is appropriate, taking into account the risks.
Remote prescription is already happening, illegally
Melissa Donald (MRCVS, small animal practice, Scotland) questioned whether telemedicine and remote prescription is what the public wants. She said that remote prescription is already happening, illegally from abroad, and that the College needs to have a more robust response than "it’s not our problem". She therefore recommended a further period of consultation, particularly with public focus groups, and internet research to see how much remote prescription is already happening.
Vets are professionals
Tim Walker (Lay) said he was struck by the need to assemble better evidence. He felt there needs to be more thought given to the transference of responsibility for cases between a telemedicine provider and a traditional practitioner. Tim also felt that the definition of "under his care" will almost certainly need to be rethought in the not-too-distant future, because the idea of a patient being under the care of just one practitioner is starting to look dated; in the human sphere, patients are looked after by teams of people.
Tim highlighted the approach he said is taken by the GMC, which obliges doctors to be able to demonstrate that they have done sufficient due diligence to prescribe, not that they can simply do so automatically under certain circumstances. That, he said, is what professionalism should be about.
Taking the lead
Mark Castle (Lay) said he thought that the public was looking for a choice, that technology is constantly throwing up new opportunities, and he expected that in the future more and more will be able to be done remotely, so he wanted the RCVS to take the lead in this area.
Lucy Goodwin (MRCVS, BSAVA Head of Education) was positive about the idea of conducting a time-limited, controlled trial: "We say we want evidence, so let’s go and collect it", but had a number of reservations. Not least of these was the fact that the participants in any trial would be on best behaviour, so it may not be able to extrapolate the numbers to the profession at large. Beyond that, she was also concerned that the scope of the trial should be better defined, in particular which categories of drug could be included within it.
Vets don't want a trial of telemedicine
Mandisa Greene said that whilst she is positive about telemedicine as it had been described, and not averse to a trial, she didn’t see the point in a trial when the people who actually do the prescribing don’t want it.
A voice in favour
Chris Tufnell (Past President) began by declaring that he consults to the Affordable Pet Care Company which is shortly to launch a telemedicine service, although he said the service would be unaffected by the decision being taken by Council. He was also at pains to stress that he hadn’t had any other fingers in this particular pie, in particular that he hadn’t been to any of the Standards Committee meetings or presented to them, or been involved in formulating the proposed trial.
Whether you agree or disagree with Chris, it was at least good to hear someone speaking in favour of the motion. Chris opened by arguing that veterinary surgeons are good at making decisions based on imperfect information: "Client histories, as we know, are of variable quality. We make decisions daily on whether we are happy with the information we get from the practice lab or whether we need to send the sample to a reference lab. When I started in practice, practice lab machines were routinely described as random number generators."
"We make decisions on a daily basis on what the limitations of our abilities are. It’s called professional judgement and what we are proposing here is actually a test of our definition of 'in our care'. We’re talking about testing the possibility of making remote prescriptions. The responsibilities around prescribing won’t change, and those responsibilities include the responsible use of antibiotics."
Chris then argued that all the motion was calling for is a trial of something that unlike, for example, deregulating advertising and practice ownership, is not going to give a slice of the consultation fee to non-vets. He also pointed out that people will always be able to highlight cases that would be completely unsuitable for remote prescribing, but that this is not about replacing the consulting room.
Filling the void
What it is about, he said, is removing barriers to care; filling the vacuum between a concerned owner, and the £60 - £100+ they’ll be charged for a consultation. It’s a vacuum that is currently filled by the 'free' (except it's not) phone advice given out by practices, by Facebook and by Dr. Google.
He then pointed to an example from the US, where 83% of people who visited https://www.whiskerdocs.com for pet advice and thought their problem was suitable for home treatment, were in fact wrong and ended up being instructed to visit their veterinary practice. This, he said, could lead to better productivity in practice.
Could telemedicine help retention?
Telemedicine, he said, could also provide a role for people thinking of leaving practice, which is potentially an important factor at a time when retention is proving such an issue.
Evidence-gathering, clinical freedom and professional judgement
Like others, Chris argued that the trial is about putting the RCVS at the forefront of progression in our increasingly digitised society, at a time when remote information from wearables is going to become more and more common. In summary, he said: "This trial is about an evidence-based profession looking for evidence, it’s about clinical freedom and it’s about putting professional judgement in the hands of the professionals."
A two-tier service
Lynne Hill (Past President) said her main concern is about having to redefine "under his care" and how remote prescribing via telemedicine would lead to a two-tier level of care, which she thought would be wrong.
She also highlighted that the College had debated the definition of "under his care" in relation to farm animal practice, where some farmers have multiple vets, some of which offer herd health care and nothing else. Deregulating to account for this has, she said, been responsible for the demise of farm animal practice. Quite simply there are less vets around to see animals.
Show me the money
Lynn also noted the altruistic nature of the debate thus far, and reminded everyone that this is really about business and making money. The companies that are set up to provide telemedicine and possibly take part in the trial will not be in it for the welfare of animals, but to make money.
She also scoffed at the idea that telemedicine and remote prescribing will mean the 10% of people who do not currently have a vet are "now going to get madly involved in telemedicine." The reason they don’t have a vet at the moment, she said, is because they don’t want to pay. Telemedicine doesn’t change that.
Lastly, as others had done, she highlighted the difference between human medicine, where patients can describe their symptoms, and veterinary medicine, where they can’t.
Leadership is about taking the right decision, not jumping on the bandwagon
"Leadership is not always about jumping on the bandwagon and going forward because something is out there. Leadership is actually about looking and deciding and making the right decision."
The disingenuous antimicrobial argument
Dave Leicester (MRCVS) was up next, arguing that it would be wrong to say that a body of professionals can be trusted to make decisions about animal welfare, but not about prescribing. He also felt it was a little disingenuous to do a lot of hand-wringing over antimicrobials when, as a profession: "We’ve managed to make a 3rd generation cephalosporin the most prescribed antibiotic in cats."
Finally, Dave made the point that in his 15-year experience working for OOH emergency service providers, they’d managed to work very successfully without access to patient medical histories.
Setting veterinary standards
Claire McLaughlin (Lay) reiterated that the role of the RCVS is to set veterinary standards, something it can’t very well do without knowing what is going on in practice, and finding out how these things work in practice. “We need to be in a process which takes us to able to set those standards. Whether the trial that is proposed is the right trial or not, we can’t just say no, it’s fine as it is because people will work within their professional competence. As Eleanor [RCVS Registrar] will tell you, they don’t work within their professional competence because they come before disciplinary committee all the time. I think we would be remiss if we didn’t start a process now or continue this process in a way that allows us to set appropriate standards.”
Colonel Neil Smith (MRCVS, Chief Veterinary Office for the Army) began by declaring that he provides telemedicine services for animals in disparate parts of the world as part of his day job, but these animals are very much under care and there is an existing relationship with patients. He is also involved with the provision of limited veterinary services for homeless people via StreetVet, a charity which has had to form relationships with practices that can cover the 125 hours per week when it is not present.
Lowering veterinary standards
Neil explained that his "massive" concern with the proposal lies in particular with the part that says: "Given the limited nature of the service that can be provided by telemedicine alone, however, it is proposed that those under a trial would be required to actively support clients in identifying a veterinary practice that could physically see their animal in both routine and emergency situations."
This, he said, would lower veterinary standards, if all somebody providing telemedicine has to do is point people in the direction of a practice.
For that reason, Neil said, he could not support the proposal as is, and would instead recommend that it goes back to Standards and is then brought back at the next council meeting with a clearer idea of what the trial is all about.
Accessible care
Caroline Allen then jumped in again, saying that whilst she agreed with the idea that more data is needed, she also thought that telemedicine and remote prescription is being driven by the issue of accessible care, and it is that, in fact, which needs to be investigated and understood and debated first.
The digital age
Past President Professor Stuart Reid highlighted that the veterinary students of today live their lives in the digital environment and their world will be very different from ours. The same goes for pet owners. He reiterated that as the regulator, the RCVS needs to be ahead of the game, and that if this is what the public wants, then it has to find a way of regulating it.
Stuart finished by saying that he felt conflicted about the vote; that he had significant problems with the proposal and is not entirely sure that a trial is the right thing, but: "In the referendum we're about to have, I want to say yes but I want to see what the deal is as well." He added: "I didn't vote out by the way, in case this gets back to my employers, but I do think we have to think very carefully about throwing the baby out with the bathwater here."
Pressure to prescribe
Martin Peaty then recounted how at a Vivet Conference last year, a provider of telemedicine (which he thought was Babylon) explained that doctors on its system were retained on the basis of a post-consultation customer satisfaction survey. That, he thought, would make it difficult for practitioners not to prescribe things when they know it will affect their job.
David Bray (Lay), said he believed the telemedicine and remote prescribing will come and it will become more common to have pets treated by multiple vets, so he was fully supportive of a trial.
When it came to the vote ...
Guessing at which way the people who spoke might have voted, it seemed as though there were probably enough councillors with sufficient reservations about the motion, which would have given the go ahead for the trial, for it to be voted down.
That said, the overall sentiment in the room seemed to be that the discussion about the regulation of telemedicine and remote prescription needs to continue, and not get kicked into the long grass simply because of a disagreement over the proposed trial.
At this point, Jo Dyer and others stepped in to argue that the decision to proceed with the trial should not be made until the issues raised in the debate had been addressed. There was then a lot of going backwards and forwards, discussing whether this would need a new motion, which is not allowed under Council rules, or whether the existing motion could be amended, which is allowed.
In the end, the decision was taken to hold two votes, the first being to refer the issue back to the Standards Committee which was carried by 18 to 12, with one abstention.
The second vote was:
"Council is invited to consider the recommendation of Standards Committee to prepare and develop a proposal for a time-bound and limited trial to assess the benefits and risks of allowing the remote prescription of POM-V with appropriate stakeholder engagement and with consideration of the issues that we've discussed today and the detail on them, including 24/7 care and classes of drugs, especially antimicrobials. So we are asking for the detail on that to be worked up on the basis that it will at some time come back to Council."
The second vote was carried by 21 to 8 with 3 abstentions.
In other words, the trial will not now go ahead unless Standards can develop a new proposal which addresses the concerns raised by Council.
VetSurgeon Conclusion
Looked at solely in terms of its impact on animal welfare, this debate seems to come down to one question, which is whether more animals will benefit from easier, cheaper access to veterinary services available via telemedicine and remote prescription than will suffer as a result of misdiagnoses and missed diagnoses that will surely be the inevitable consequence of veterinary surgeons working only from the more limited, and potentially inaccurate or even false information they will get from a video consultation.
For sure, more wearables are coming, and they will overcome some of the problems caused by the fact that animal patients cannot describe their symptoms. Doubtless someone will also invent a set of weighing scales that makes it possible for owners to do the job reliably accurately. Patient histories will surely become more portable. But these things are not with us just yet.
In any event, it is not just about the immediate impact on the quality of care delivered to patients. The way the trial has been framed thus far takes us in the direction of a two-tier profession. What happens if more veterinary surgeons prefer, or make a better living from working from the comfort of their own home without the added responsibility that comes with providing the physical care. Who’ll do the ‘real' vetting?
If you look at the popularity of human telemedicine, the 30,000 patients who have signed up for telemedicine at the small practice in the Lillie Road in London, it seems obvious that patients want the convenience of consulting online, without having to schlep to the practice and find a parking space. It also seems self evident that if online consultations are offered at a lower price point, it will inevitably lead to more pet owners availing themselves of veterinary advice, though as Lynn Hill said, it’s unlikely to cause a mad rush whilst Dr Google is still free.
Perhaps, though, there is another valid way to solve this conundrum. Rather than rushing headlong into a trial that could irrevocably change the very nature of the profession, how about establishing some pragmatic ground rules from the outset. For example, that unless by unanimous agreement of Council in the future, telemedicine should only be allowed as an extension of the service offered by existing bricks and mortar practices to their existing clients.
When it comes to remote prescribing, surely the safest way to regulate it (if you’re going to allow it at all) is to do so on a drug-by-drug basis. Perhaps trial it with the endo- and ecto-parasticides for existing clients of existing practices. Find out whether the convenience of the online consultation leads to higher standards of parasite control for greater numbers of pets. If it doesn’t, then ditch it. Either way, it doesn't preclude trying another category of drug.
That’s my tuppence worth, for what it’s worth, which probably isn’t quite tuppence!
The company says its Skinsights Learning Academies help support individuals and practices improve the healthcare outcomes for the 25% of dogs medicalised by skin problems in the UK.
A number of recognised industry professionals will be giving interactive, bite-sized talks at the events, including: Filippo De Bellis, Ian Wright, Jill Maddison, Sarah Warren, Rob Pope, Evelyn Maniski and Emily Robson as well as Zoetis veterinary and business consultants.
Zoetis says all the presentations will be highly practical, presented through case reviews, research, workshops and discussions. They will offer the latest information on game-changing therapeutics, best practice work-ups, effective protocols and insightful case-studies.
The sessions are limited to groups of 30 and Zoetis says places are expected to fill quickly.
To reserve your free place, visit: http://www.zoetis.co.uk/LVS2018
If you are unable to secure a seat in the theatre, headsets will be available on the day so you can listen to the lectures whilst on the stand.
The study, which was carried out by the VetCompass programme at the RVC, in partnership with Vets Now, also found that cats are most likely to be involved in a traffic accident in the autumn.
1,407 cat road traffic accident cases that attended Vets Now clinics across the UK between December 2011 and February 2014 were analysed, with researchers finding:
Younger cats, aged six months to six years, are at the greatest risk of road traffic accidents.
Male cats are 1.3 times more at risk of road traffic accidents than female cats.
Crossbred cats are 1.9 times more at risk of road traffic accidents compared to purebred cats.
Cats are more likely to be involved in a road traffic accident in the autumn. However, they are less at risk in winter as compared to spring.
Those cats that present with abdominal or spinal injuries are more likely to die, as are those that present with an increasing count of injuries.
RVC veterinary epidemiologist and VetCompass researcher Dr Dan O’Neill said: "One of the scariest times for any cat-owner is when they first start to let their cat go outside unattended. Owners of younger, and especially male, cats need to be especially vigilant. These results help owners to understand the true risks and therefore assist these owners to make the best decisions about if and how they let their cats go outside."
Dr Amanda Boag, Clinical Director of Vets Now, said: "We are very proud to have worked with VetCompass to ensure this important information about risks to our pet cats is made available to vets and the public. Working with our partners such as the RVC, we are committed to ensuring our large clinical database is used to help advance veterinary knowledge and understanding of emergency and critical care practice."
The full paper entitled 'Epidemiology of Road Traffic Accidents in Cats attending emergency-care practices in the UK' is published in the Journal of Small Animal Practice.
There are three awards on offer: two ruminant bursaries and one companion animal bursary. Applications must be in by 30th November 2018.
Each project should be completed within one to two years and the vet practitioner proposals will be judged by university academics to ensure independent assessment.
The companion animal research bursary will be assessed by the University of Nottingham Centre for Evidence-based Veterinary Medicine and the ruminant research bursary applications will be assessed by academic staff from the University of Bristol School of Veterinary Science.
Michelle Townley, veterinary advisor at MSD Animal Health (pictured right) said: "New knowledge and good research skills form the lifeblood of the industry so we’re keen to get as many applications as possible as part of our commitment to encouraging research in the veterinary industry."
For further details go to the MSD Animal Health Research Bursary website: www.msdahresearchbursary.co.uk.
EthyCalm is sprayed directly on the skin, or, for more fractious patients, can be applied with a swab.
Invicta says that unlike other products the effect is instant and EthyCalm leaves no residue on the skin surface.
The improved product, EthyCalm Plus, contains 50% more product (good for over 100 applications) and incorporates a new 'on-off' switch for easier application. It is also now packed in a 'no-roll' case to protect from damage.
Rob Watkins, Managing Director of Invicta, said: "EthyCalm has been an incredibly popular product with nurses and vets. As a small company we always listen to our customers and have taken the opportunity to incorporate suggestions for improvement. The result is EthyCalm Plus which offers significant enhancement over the original product".
EthyCalm Plus is available from veterinary wholesalers and for a limited time the price has been held at £25 each.
The course will be led by Dr Jon Hall, a European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery and Dr Danielle Gunn-Moore, an RCVS-recognised Specialist in Feline Medicine, supported by RVN Ms Claire Dorey-Phillips. It will take place at Improve’s new practical training facility in Sheffield in January 2019.
Improve says the programme will equip delegates with a full understanding of the causes of FLUTD and help them to advise owners with cats suffering from the condition in order to improve long-term outcomes. It will also provide a comprehensive overview of the nursing and medical options to treat feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC) and other causes of FLUTD including infection, calculi and neoplasia. The range of appropriate surgical methods to treat ureteral obstructions will also be covered, along with the post-operative nursing care, to ensure that delegates feel ready to perform a variety of bladder surgeries with confidence.
Juliet Pope MRCVS, Veterinary Operations Manager at Improve International (pictured right), said: "Treating patients with FLUTD is a team effort so we’re offering a special rate for a vet and nurse attending from the same practice though both vets and nurses can still, of course, book independently. The cutting-edge programme will be highly interactive and we aim to send delegates back to their practices with a revitalised approach to these tricky cat cases."
For further information visit www.improveinternational.com or email enquiries@improveinternational.com or call 01793 759159.
The VCMS, which is administered by Nockolds Solicitors, was formally launched by the RCVS as an alternative dispute resolution service in October 2017 following a year-long trial.
The aim of the service is to resolve, by mediation, disputes between clients and veterinary practices that do not meet the threshold of serious professional misconduct that is needed for the RCVS to investigate a concern through its formal processes.
Since the service’s trial, which started in October 2016, the VCMS has given preliminary mediation advice on how to resolve a case in more than 1,700 instances with over 580 cases having gone to full mediation of which 89% have concluded with a resolution.
Eleanor Ferguson, RCVS Registrar and Director of Legal Services, said: "From the perspective of both the public and the profession, the establishment of the VCMS has been a "win-win" situation. For the public it has provided them with an additional route to solve those complaints which wouldn’t cross the threshold to progress in the concerns investigation process.
"For the profession it has provided a more appropriate format for resolving a client dispute that doesn’t involve the time, effort and formal process of an RCVS investigation for those cases that will never amount to serious professional misconduct. I think this has been demonstrated by the fact that the vast majority of the profession are willing to engage with the VCMS process, even though it is entirely voluntary.
"The VCMS has also had a positive impact on the College and its concerns investigation process, allowing us to focus greater resources on those cases that do meet our threshold of serious professional misconduct. This has had a very clear impact on the speed with which we either close cases or move them on to the next stage of consideration by the Preliminary Investigation Committee (PIC), which, again, is important to both the public and the profession."
The College says that around 90% of cases investigated at Stage 1 of the process are now either closed or referred to PIC within four months – the College’s key performance indicator at this stage. This compares to around 50% of these cases being closed or referred within four months at Stage 1 in 2016.
The College also says that in total (including both preliminary and full mediation cases), 86% of the cases dealt with by VCMS were successfully mediated and feedback from both clients and veterinary practices has been largely positive. In client feedback from the third quarter of 2018, 93% said they would use the VCMS again and 79% considered it to be fair, while the equivalent figure amongst veterinary practices was 94% and 87% respectively.
Jennie Jones, a partner at Nockolds Solicitors who heads up the VCMS, said: "It is a good sign that mediation is largely working as it should when both parties are reporting similar satisfaction rates and we pride ourselves on negotiating resolutions that are acceptable and beneficial for both the clients and the practices.
"It is great to see that our efforts are also having an impact on the RCVS concerns investigation system by allowing it to concentrate on more serious cases."
More information about the RCVS concerns investigation process, including the different stages of an investigation, can be found at www.rcvs.org.uk/concerns
Further information about the VCMS can be found on its website at www.vetmediation.co.uk or by calling 0345 040 5834.
The course is aimed at veterinary professionals across Europe who want to advance their knowledge and diagnostic skills, progress their academic qualifications and gain recognition in their field.
The GPAdvCert in Small Animal Medicine is for veterinary surgeons who have already completed a General Practitioner Certificate in Small Animal Medicine (GPCertSAM) or a Postgraduate Certificate (PgC) in Small Animal Medicine.
Accredited by the European School of Veterinary Postgraduate Studies (ESVPS) and validated by Harper Adams University, the programme will be delivered in three, five-day blocks of training by globally recognised experts in three European training centres - Sheffield, UK; Porto, Portugal and Berlin, Germany. The programme includes a practical session in which delegates will perform an upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy under the guidance of their tutor.
David Babington MRCVS, Business Development Director of Improve International (pictured right), said: "Delegates attending our first GPAdvCert in Small Animal Medicine will enhance their skills and confidence in dealing with complex animal medicine cases. Each module will take their knowledge beyond Postgraduate Certificate level with more in-depth and advanced content covering topics as diverse as mycobacterial and ureteric disease. They will also learn how to design a detailed diagnostic plan and build an understanding of nuances in interpreting laboratory findings to enable them to manage cases requiring complex therapeutic management with confidence."
He added: "The qualification is a natural ‘next-step’ for veterinary surgeons wanting to further progress their knowledge of small animal internal medicine. It will help them to reduce the number of patients which are referred, retaining a higher level of income for their practice and will also provide them with skills which they can pass onto their team."
Improve says the successful achievement of the GPAdvCert will enable delegates to progress from a Postgraduate Certificate in Small Animal Medicine (or equivalent) to the Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Veterinary Practice Sciences in the UK, which is awarded by Harper Adams University. This can, in turn, be used towards the award of a Masters Degree (MSc) in Advanced Veterinary Practice Sciences.
The case studies were developed by the RCVS Standards Committee and use a variety of examples of where miscommunication between a client and the veterinary practice can lead to an inadequate level of consent being gained for procedures and treatment, including euthanasia.
Examples include damaged teeth being removed during a clean and polish dental procedure without the owner’s express permission and not giving the full range of options available in the case of a dog with an osteosarcoma.
The case studies follow the Standards Committee approving changes to chapter 11 (‘Communication and consent’) of the supporting guidance to the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct in January 2018 to give further advice on how to discuss informed consent with clients, who can be responsible for gaining consent for a procedure and additional guidance on consent forms.
Dr Kate Richards MRCVS, Chair of the RCVS Standards Committee, said: "We hope these case studies will prove useful to practitioners who are having to deal with the complexities around making sure that procedures are fully explained to ensure informed consent is gained.
"We understand the difficulties that are encountered and so these case studies, based on real-life scenarios, highlight where things may go wrong and how these incidents can be avoided by being thorough and ensuring that good communication is at the heart of all we do."
To view the case studies, visit www.rcvs.org.uk/informed-consent.
Chapter 11 of the RCVS supporting guidance on communication and consent is available to view at www.rcvs.org.uk/consent
The association says the qualification will help vets conduct clinical research relating to their work - in particular vets working in practice. It is aimed at people who already have any accredited postgraduate certificate (60 credits at Level 7) relevant to some aspect of veterinary medicine or surgery and are keen to develop a deeper understanding of their research topic.
The Masters starts with online study into the principles of clinical research, which students then apply to their own research project, based on a further 1,200 study hours that could be flexibly achieved in two years of part-time study or up to five years, depending on the project type and an individual’s availability.
Lucie Goodwin, BSAVA Head of Education (pictured right), said: "For those vets who have already completed a postgraduate certificate it is an opportunity to develop their skills further, partake in research and collect valuable data from the field. So much of the published data in veterinary journals is based upon a referral population and this may not necessarily reflect what truly happens in clinical practice."
She added: "The BSAVA Masters is designed to appeal to vets who want to undertake research alongside their job role, without having to commit to a full-time programme of study."
Students will be allocated a ‘matched’ supervisor to provide project advice and guidance, plus the BSAVA team will be on hand to ensure ongoing support and encouragement.
Johanna Forsyth, senior veterinary technical manager with the diagnostic laboratory Avacta Animal Health, joined the Masters programme when it launched in 2016. She said: "The thing that has given me the most satisfaction from taking part in this programme is the way my views have changed. I look at things I wrote a little while back and think: 'Did I really say that?'. You become so absorbed in the project that you don’t notice how your understanding of the topic has grown. It’s so subtle, we haven’t been force-fed anything - it’s just like osmosis."
For more information, please contact masters@bsava.com or visit the website https://www.bsava.com/Education/Masters
The Lintbells Mobility Matters initiative provides materials designed to help improve communication and client understanding of their pet’s condition. It includes a guide on how to set up a mobility-focused nurse-led clinic, together with a step-by-step guide in a flip chart format to help RVNs recommend dietary supplements or modifications.
To help launch the clinic, Lintbells Veterinary Business Development Executives can provide lunch and learn sessions. Practices can also become approved Mobility Matters practices with certified CPD for the whole team to ensure that the process of recommendation and referral to the clinic occurs seamlessly and involves everyone in the practice.
Yumove Brand Manager Gemma Cunningham said: "Feedback about the pack is that it helps vets and vet nurses explain mobility problems to owners in a simple but structured way to improve buy-in to a multimodal approach".
Practices that want to register an interest in the initiative can contact their local Lintbells Veterinary Business Development Executive or visit www.lintbellsvet.com.
Mark, who graduated from Cambridge University in 1997, has a broad interest in internal medicine but particularly enjoys the challenges posed by gastrointestinal, endocrine, haematology and renal medicine.
He has a PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and after completing his PhD he took a residency in Small Animal Medicine at Cambridge, followed by four years in a private specialist practice in the south of England.
Mark was then appointed Clinical Associate Professor in Small Animal Internal Medicine at the Nottingham Veterinary School, where he was responsible for running the final year medicine rotation along with lecturing to all years of the veterinary course.
He was also in charge of the school’s small animal intern and residency programmes in addition to supervising both undergraduate and post-graduate research students.
Mark has also been involved in national and international investigations into canine breed-related diseases such as canine cancer, canine and feline haematology, canine endocrine disease and the development of novel non-invasive biomarkers to help diagnose both simple and complex medical diseases.
Outside work, Mark is a seven-guitar-owning-musician, a race-winning cyclist and a keen runner with a personal best of one hour twenty five minutes for a half marathon. What a relief for the rest of us mere mortals to hear there's something he's rubbish at: he says he swims 'like a brick'.
Mark said: "I’m excited to be joining the outstanding team at Willows who deliver such exceptional care to pets and their owners and such an outstanding service to the referring veterinary surgeons.
"It is a wonderful opportunity for me and I’m really looking forward to making my own contribution to their continued success."
IVC was formed in 2011, the result of a merger of several independent veterinary hospitals. Under the leadership of David Hillier, and with backing from Summit Partners in 2014, it grew to over 300 practices before being acquired by the Swedish EQT Partners in January 2017.
In August last year the company merged with Evidensia Group, another veterinary corporate group with practices around Europe, bringing the total to more than 850 clinics and hospitals in eight countries.
EQT has reportedly now instructed Jefferies Investment Bank to auction the business in the first week of November.
No word yet on where the auction will take place. If you go, be careful not to scratch your nose at the wrong moment ("1.7 billion from the gentleman at the back. Yes, that's YOU, Sir.").
According to the company, two promotional videos it prepared for social media have already reached more than 1.7 million people in the first two days of the campaign.
Virbac says that some of the UK's best loved pet influencers will also be promoting the campaign to their followers over the coming week.
What is a pet influencer, anyway? Someone who influences pets? I picture a Barbara-Woodhouse sort of character surrounded by a rapt audience of dogs: "Come on now, dogs, eat Veterinary HPM, it really is properly yummy, and sooo good for you."
I digress.
As part of the campaign pet owners will be able use an online protein calculator to check whether their current pet food is providing optimal levels of protein to their pet.
Pet owners will also be able to locate their nearest veterinary practice stockist using a new locator tool on the Virbac website and benefit from a discount voucher for their first Veterinary HPM purchase, which can only be redeemed in participating veterinary practices.
Tracey West, Nutrition Manager at Virbac, said: "Nutrition plays such a key role in the long-term health and well-being of our pets, and veterinary practices play such a key role in educating pet owners on this important subject.
"We’re delighted that as part of our ‘pro-veterinary’ strategy for Veterinary HPM, we will be able to help drive pet owners back into veterinary practices with this campaign."
For more information, speak to your Virbac Territory Manager.
Bravecto Plus contains fluralaner (280 mg/ml), an ectoparasiticide which provides systemic activity against ticks (lxodes ricinus) and fleas (Ctenocephalides felis), and moxidectin (14 mg/ml), an endoparasiticide which provides systemic activity against a range of internal worms, including heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis), intestinal roundworm and hookworm.
Bravecto Plus is applied topically using the "Twist'n'Use" pipette. Once applied, the product kills ticks and fleas for 12 weeks, while also treating intestinal roundworm and hookworm and preventing heartworm disease for eight weeks.
Bravecto Plus can also be used as part of a treatment strategy for flea allergy dermatitis.
Bravecto was first launched in 2014 as a chewable tablet for dogs. In 2016 Bravecto spot-on was launched as a topical solution for dogs and cats. More than 80 million doses of Bravecto have been sold in 72 countries since 2014.
Amanda Melvin, marketing manager, at MSD Animal Health, said: "We are pleased to introduce the latest innovation in feline parasite protection to the Bravecto family."
For more information, refer to the summary of product characteristics or contact your MSD account manager.
In case you need any reminding, acepromazine belongs to the phenothiazine family and acts as a dopamine receptor antagonist, providing calming effects1, 2. It causes sedation and anxiolysis, which is initially dose dependent, plateauing at higher doses1, 3. It is metabolised in the liver and has a long duration of action of approximately six hours in healthy patients1.
For best results AceSedate should be combined with an opioid (neuroleptanalgesia) to improve the quality and reliability of sedation and provide analgesia1, 2, 3.
Richard Beckwith, country manager of Jurox (UK) Ltd said: "AceSedate is a welcome addition to our analgesia and anaesthesia range providing our customers with a high-quality product at an economical price."
For further information, visit www.jurox.com/uk, contact your Jurox technical sales rep, ring the customer services team on 0800 500 3171 or e-mail: info@jurox.co.uk.
Hysolv says the vaccine, which was developed by IDT Biologika, has been used successfully in Germany, where 1.7 million doses have been prescribed. The company says field trials have shown that vaccination not only protected against clinical signs of influenza but also resulted in improvements in reproduction and piglet performance.
Two 1 ml doses of the inactivated vaccine can be injected intramuscularly three weeks apart to pigs from 56 days old, providing immunisation to the majority of animals within seven days.
Hysolv director, Geoff Hooper said: "Swine flu can be devastating to a herd and this vaccine will broaden protection, particularly when used with our existing vaccine Respiporc FLU3, which we are strongly advising."
Respiporc FLU3 protects against three other strains of swine flu (H1N1, H1N2 and H3N2). Hysolv says that when used together, the two vaccines protect pigs against the most relevant strains in the British Isles.
Geoff added: "There have been several flu pandemics throughout the years – the latest in 2009. It is not possible to predict the emergence of a pandemic strain accurately but this vaccine combined with Respiporc FLU3 will greatly decrease the chance of pigs becoming infected."
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
Virtual Vet Derms has been set up to be able to give advice to veterinary surgeons on any aspect of skin or ear disease whether it is allergy, otitis media, cutaneous neoplasia or endocrine-based in any species, including dogs, cats, small furries, exotic pets including raptors, birds and reptiles, horses, camelids, zoo and farm animals.
Sue, herself an RCVS Recognised Specialist in Veterinary Dermatology, is supported by a team of veterinary dermatology colleagues as well as veterinary specialists in exotic medicine, internal medicine (including endocrinology) and consultants with expertise in oncology.
Sue said: "We recognise that not every veterinarian has got access to a local dermatology specialist and that not all clients can or want to travel to a referral centre. The aim of the service is to formalise the advice that dermatology clinicians give to veterinary surgeons to allow them to get detailed help to manage difficult or challenging dermatology cases within their own practice."
The service has been set up under the RCVS Vivet initiative, is approved by all of the major insurance companies and supported with Veterinary Defence Society Insurance cover.
Virtual Vet Derms offers support in a range of ways.
Quick questionsShort questions that veterinary surgeons can submit via the online form on the Virtual Vet Derms website that just require a brief reply. This may be a dose of a drug, a parasite you want identifying, or the interpretation of a blood sample such as an ACTH stimulation test.
Veterinary reportsVeterinary surgeons can use online request forms on the Virtual Vet Derms web site to submit a brief history of the animal and the problem and some good quality photos of the skin condition. There is also the ability to upload histopathology reports, blood samples and any other pertinent information. A detailed written report is sent back to the vet within 48 hours which will describe clinical signs, differential diagnoses, recommended diagnostic tests and treatment option where appropriate. Where possible, Virtual Vet Derms aims to pass the advice request to the nearest dermatologist but vets can ask for advice from any of its specialists.
Telemedicine consultationsFor new cases or for cases where initial advice has been sought, in the client's own primary care veterinary practice via the internet. The Virtual Vets Derms specialist can consult with the owner to provide even more specific advice and support. After each teleconsultation the Virtual Vet Derms specialist will produce a report in the same format as the veterinary report to allow the primary care veterinary surgeon to continue to manage the case more effectively.
Face to face consultationsCan also be arranged via the owner’s vet at the specialist's own practice if there is the need for more specialist investigation that may not be available in the primary care veterinary surgery. In these cases, the specialist will take on the direct care of the case and work with the owner and vet on the best course of action.
General advice Also possible if the vet wishes to direct an owner straight to Virtual Vet Derms.
For more information, visit: https://virtualvetderms.com