The RCVS has published a Workforce Action Plan which sets out ways to mitigate the ongoing workforce crisis in the veterinary profession. 

The Action Plan presents what the College is doing to tackle the issue and explains how collaboration, culture change, career development and leadership, among other things, could help with workforce shortages by improving retention of current members of the professions, encouraging more people to join, and making it easier for those who have left the professions to return.

The report lists seven main areas to be addressed:

• Shape leaders at all levels: this includes promoting inclusive everyday leadership; ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion considerations are embedded at all career stages; and launching more opportunities for free and accessible learning resources.
• Confidence, culture and recognition: ensuring that there’s a welcoming and supportive environment for the whole veterinary team; and continuing to deliver to raise awareness and signpost mental health support.
• Greater responsibility for veterinary nurses: demonstrating the capabilities of the veterinary nursing role, ensuring clear career pathways for veterinary nurses, and continuing to progress the need for legislative change which would see veterinary nurses gain more autonomy and responsibility.
• Welcoming a modern way of working: including promoting return-to-work support for both clinical and non-clinical veterinary roles, continuing to strengthen relations between the UK and overseas regulators and representative bodies; and encouraging the use of innovation and technology to tackle some of the sector’s major challenges.
• General practice – a chosen pathway: encouraging confidence in pursuing a career in general practice and the opportunities it offers, encouraging shared training where appropriate between vets and vet nurses at undergraduate level, and learn and model against other professions, such as the medical profession.
• An attractive career for everyone, including those who’ve left: continuing to promote direct RCVS accreditation of overseas veterinary degrees, launching an Extra-Mural Studies (EMS) policy that leads to a more consistent high-quality experience for students and providers, and ensuring employers understand the re-entry process, and the importance of welcoming people back after career breaks.
• Improving client interaction and communication: elevating and driving the status of communication and other interpersonal skills in the professions, developing clearer and more easily accessible explanations of the veterinary role and the scope of vet and vet nurse roles to the general public.

The full list of actions, with context about what has fed into ambitions, can be found in the Action Plan which is downloadable at www.rcvs.org.uk/publications.

Dr Sue Paterson FRCVS, Junior Vice-President and Chair of the RCVS Advancement of the Professions Committee, said: “This is a very complex, broad and multi-faceted area of concern so the Action Plan has been a long time in the making to ensure that we adequately capture what needs doing and how, in order to enable us to work collaboratively with all veterinary organisations going forward.

"This is not a finished list, but gives all within the veterinary sector the ability to look at the key areas of work that need to be done and prioritise the ones that most suit their organisational needs."

Dechra Veterinary Products has launched Phenocillin (phenoxymethylpenicillin) for the treatment and metaphylaxis of the most common outbreak of disease among broiler chickens: necrotic enteritis caused by Clostridium perfringens.

Dechra says necrotic enteritis can be treated with a variety of therapeutic antibiotics but that the first choice antibiotics¹ for treatment are narrow spectrum antibiotics, like phenoxymethylpenicillin.

Phenocillin is an 800 mg/g powder for use in drinking water. It is lactose free, and Dechra says its high solubility makes it ideal for concentrated stock solutions and convenient for modern poultry farming. There is a zero withdrawal time so egg production is unaffected.

Dechra Brand Manager Emma Jennings said: “Necrotic enteritis is the most common bacterial disease in modern broiler flocks that can be financially devastating for farmers.

"The high concentration means easy dosage and handling with less waste and the lactose free formula reduces the risk of biofilm development resulting in a high quality and effective product, supporting the responsible use of antimicrobials.

"Phenocillin is a highly effective treatment and we anticipate it will become the preferred solution for veterinary professionals and end users to treat this disease that can very suddenly devastate broiler flocks."

For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/2nAboGU

Francisco Gomez MRCVS, a Clinical Director at one of the corporates and an Advanced Practitioner in Ophthalmology, has launched 'More Than Just a Vet', a podcast in which he interviews fellow veterinary professionals from around the country, focussing on their lives outside work.

Francisco says he decided to launch the podcast after watching how the bond between society and veterinary professionals has been eroded in recent years, with vets increasingly being portrayed as money-grabbers and uncaring in the press. 

The aim of the podcast is to show the human behind the surgical mask; that veterinary professionals have the same feelings, motivations, worries and passions as anyone else.

Francisco said: "For those who aren’t part of the veterinary community, I hope to open a window into who we are, so they can better understand what drives our behaviours, decisions and compassion. And for those who are, I hope to make them feel that they’re not alone."

More Than Just a Vet is open for everyone to listen to directly from the website morethanjustavet.net, where you can subscribe to be alerted when there's a new release. The podcast is also available on all major podcast providers.

IVC Evidensia has collaborated with TVM to publish training materials for vets about DogStem, TVM's stem cell treatment for dogs with mild to severe osteoarthritis of the elbow and hip. 

TVM says DogStem, which is currently the only UK/EU-licensed stem cell treatment for this condition, is clinically proven to reduce pain and lameness while improving mobility and quality of life for dogs over one year. 

The training materials include downloadable teaching guides and two videos fronted by Dr Russell Chandler BVSc CertSAO MSc(OrthoEng) MRCVS, an Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal Orthopaedics (pictured). 

The videos are designed to help GP vets become more confident about performing intra-articular injections in the hip and elbow, sharing principles and techniques which are also useful for performing arthrocentesis. 

Specifically, the videos show the precise procedures, in both elbow and hip, for accessing joint spaces, confirming accurate placement by the appearance of synovial fluid and injecting DogStem.

The training guides offer supporting diagrams and explanations of the approaches to each joint. 

Russell, who works at Alphavet Referrals in Newport, Gwent said: “We are proud to have been involved in the production of these training videos, which will support veterinary clinicians everywhere in providing pioneering stem cell treatment to improve the quality of life of dogs suffering from osteoarthritis.  

“We have been using mesenchymal stem cell therapy for dogs with osteoarthritis, as part of a multimodal approach, for many years.

"The availability of an off-the-shelf stem cell product, namely DogStem, for the first time promises to greatly widen the applicability of stem cell therapy to these kinds of patients in veterinary practices.

“The early responses to treatment that we have seen with DogStem have been very encouraging. 

"I look forward to following up these cases as they progress through their osteoarthritis journey. 

"DogStem is simple to administer, once you have the skills to inject joints, and the support from the UK suppliers, TVM, has been excellent."  

https://dogstem.co.uk/resources

Colivet® solution, one of CEVA Animal Health’s range of 3 soluble antimicrobials for pigs has been renamed Coliscour®.

Phil McGuire, CEVA’s business unit manager, explains the reasoning behind the name change: “We simply felt that the easiest way to avoid confusion between our product and a totally different non-prescription product of a similar name was to give ours a new name that also reflects its use, hence Coliscour®.”

Vets Now has appointed the ex-RCVS President Mandisa Greene as its Medical Director.

Mandisa qualified from the Royal (Dick) Vet School in Edinburgh in 2008 and has since spent much of her career working in emergency and critical care. 

She served as the first black president of the RCVS in 2020/21 and has also worked for Harper Adams University as a lecturer in veterinary sciences. 

Mandisa will replace Laura Playforth, who is joining IVC Evidensia as group QI director, on the Vets Now board. 

She said: “I’m delighted to be joining the Vets Now family at such an interesting and challenging time for the veterinary professions. 

“I look forward to working together through innovative approaches to ensure our teams continue to deliver the highest standards of clinical care and client services.”

CPD provider Improve International has announced that its directors have completed a management buyout of the company and now plan global expansion to make postgraduate qualification a realistic goal for all veterinary surgeons.

Backed by RJD Partners, the directors bought the company back from Benchmark Plc for a reported £12.75M after it decided to divest itself of all non-aquaculture-related assets.

Improve says that under its new leadership, it plans to expand its e-learning portfolio significantly, harnessing technologies like video teaching and virtual/augmented reality to offer a richer learning experience. 

The company will continue to offer attended modular training options as well as small group practical teaching sessions at its wet labs in Swindon and Sheffield. It says these events will complement its online programmes and will provide stand-alone training for vets wishing to learn new surgical and diagnostic skills.

In collaboration with its assessment partner, the International School of Veterinary Postgraduate Studies (ISVPS), Improve will be developing new distance-learning programmes, together with exams that can be taken remotely. 

Improve also plans further geographical expansion, including running programmes in languages including French, Spanish, German and Chinese. 

Dr Heber Alves (pictured right) is Improve’s new CEO. He is supported by a management team that includes Improve founder Dr David Babington, Business Development Director and Mr John Douglass, UK Managing Director. 

Heber said: “Improve is fully owned by a team of experienced veterinary and business professionals with a unique understanding of the profession’s training needs at a global level.  Even better, we are backed by a private equity partner with a strong track record in professional education and a commitment to supporting our growth, both organically and through acquisition.

“We start this new chapter in a world changed irrevocably by COVID-19.  It is a world in which veterinary professionals are demanding more flexible ways of learning and showing a hunger to achieve additional qualifications.  With this in mind, we will be working to offer a combination of high quality practical, remote and blended learning that will make the achievement of a postgraduate qualification a realistic ambition for every vet."

Vétoquinol has launched Flexadin, a new range of joint support products for cats and dogs with osteoarthritis (OA)

Robert Simpson, Flexadin Product Manager said: "This new range is made up of two products: Flexadin Plus and Flexadin Advanced, both are dietetic complementary feeds which are members of a small group of joint support products which contain Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin E. These ingredients are proven to aid the support of the metabolism of joints in the case of OA. Although many different joint support aids are available, not all of them contain these extra ingredients."

Vétoquinol says that in addition to Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin E, Flexadin Plus contains the traditional ingredients: glucosamine, chondroitin and devil's claw. Flexadin Advanced contains the novel ingredient, UCII - a type of undenatured type II collagen which has been manufactured using a patented process. 

Flexadin Plus comes in two formulations, the first is specifically designed for cats/small dogs and the other is for medium/large dogs. Flexadin Advanced is specifically for dogs.  

Robert added: "Flexadin Advanced has a specific property which means that the administration rate is only one chew per day whatever the weight of the dog. This has an important impact on the price per day for medium and large dogs which may require more than one tablet of traditional joint support products. This property also makes Flexadin Advanced a convenient option for owners. In addition to this benefit, UCII is becoming more and more popular due to the results of scientific studies in dogs, horses and even humans.

"We are all very excited about the advances this range can bring to veterinary practices."

Both Flexadin Plus and Advanced are presented as palatable, shaped, soft chews which come in zip-lock packs to keep the soft chews fresh and tasty. Flexadin Plus comes in packs of 90 chews whilst Flexadin Advanced comes in packs of 30 chews.

For further information about Flexadin, contact Vétoquinol on: 01280 825424.  

The RCVS Council has approved a new project to enhance veterinary clinical career pathways in three ways.

The first is the introduction of Specialist training and status for general practitioners in primary care, for which the RCVS project will now develop a new five-year curriculum and an implementation plan.

The RCVS will also be looking closer at the definition of veterinary clinical roles and developing guidance for the profession and wider public on the different clinical career statuses available to veterinary surgeons.

Thirdly, the College will identify different ways in which vets can access the teaching and learning opportunities, clinical experience/cases, supervision and support that is required for them to complete specialist training and obtain RCVS Specialist status.

This will include looking at how access to specialist training can be widened beyond the typical internship/residency model, to include training models more accessible from primary care practice, and for those at different career and life stages.

Kate Richards MRCVS, Chair of the RCVS Education Committee, said: “These exciting and progressive proposals are visionary as far as the career and development structure of the veterinary clinical profession is concerned.

“It means there will be new prospects for those in general practice and those who want to achieve Specialist status by different means, as well as a more defined career structure for the profession that will be clearer to the profession and general public alike.

"With around 75-80% of veterinary professionals working in clinical practice this project will deliver a substantial positive impact. 

“These are the early pages of a very exciting new chapter for veterinary clinical careers, and we will be asking for your help to write it, as we will be holding a number of consultations in the coming years, including on the programme for Specialist in Primary Care and the definition of clinical roles.

RCVS President Dr Sue Paterson FRCVS added: “There are two aspects of the project that I particularly welcome.

"First is the impact this could have on both recruitment and retention as vets are offered additional, and more diversified, career options and expanded roles in a variety of clinical settings.

"Second, as a specialist dermatologist myself, I really value the fact that we will be looking at ways to widen participation and increase accessibility to specialist training from primary care practice, as the residency/internship route is very intensive and not necessarily suitable for everyone. 

A similar process to develop and enhance clinical career pathways for veterinary nurses is now also being considered, this would include the development of an ‘Advanced Veterinary Nurse’ status and clearer information on the veterinary nursing role and what it entails.

RCVS Junior Vice-President Professor David Argyle has announced that he will step aside from his Council duties until such time as the College is able to conclude an investigation into allegations of bullying at his workplace. 

The College has confirmed that it has now received an official complaint about the matter and it is now investigating under its normal 'concerns' investigation process.

Professor Argyle made a private statement about the allegations to RCVS Council at its meeting today, having already answered written questions from a number of Council members in the preceding days.

The Council did not ask Professor Argyle to step aside, but acknowledged that this was his choice, made for personal reasons.

The College said that in line with its normal protocols, and to ensure fairness for all parties, it will not make any further public comment about the investigation for the time being. However, it wanted to stress that it remains firmly committed to following due and proper process in all its regulatory activities.

The Royal Veterinary College has announced the appointment of Professor Stuart Reid as its new Principal and the successor to Professor Quintin McKellar.

Professor Reid BVMS, PhD, DVM, DipECVPH, FRSE, MRCVS, joins the RVC from the University of Glasgow, where he was Professor of Veterinary Informatics and Epidemiology and Head of the School of Veterinary Medicine.  He will take up his new role on 1st January 2011.

Professor Reid began his career in 1987 as an Assistant Veterinary Surgeon before joining the University of Glasgow as a Clinical Research Scholar in 1988. In 1992 he assumed the role of Post Doctoral Research Fellow at the University and was promoted to Senior Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in 1994. He was appointed to the first joint Chair between the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow in 1997, as Professor of Veterinary Informatics and Epidemiology. In 2004 he became Associate Dean of Research and, in 2005, he became Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Glasgow.

"I am delighted and honoured to be joining the Royal Veterinary College at this important time." said Professor Reid. "The RVC has an enviable heritage and is a world leader in terms of its innovation and leadership in veterinary education, research and clinical service. I recognise that I am enormously privileged to be moving from a great School to a great College and I look forward to building on the successes achieved by RVC under Principal McKellar at the same time as rising to the challenges of a new funding environment."

Professor Quintin McKellar was appointed Principal in August 2004. He leaves the RVC to take the post of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire.

Chairman of the RVC Council, The Right Hon the Baroness Shephard of Northwold, said: "Great strides have been made under Professor McKellar's dynamic leadership, and I am sure I speak for all at the College when I say we will be sad to see him go.  We look forward to welcoming Professor Stuart Reid, and firmly believe that his experience and distinguished academic record will assist the Royal Veterinary College in strengthening its position over the coming years."

The BSAVA reports that two four month old puppies in The Netherlands have tested positive for rabies.

The puppies were imported into The Netherlands from Bulgaria on October 5th. Reports indicate that these puppies, which were both microchipped and travelling under the Pet Passport scheme, originated from a shelter in Bulgaria. They are still trying to trace the driver and passenger who delivered the puppies.

One puppy started showing signs of fever and paralysis on 10th October and was euthanased on 18th October, it has tested positive for rabies on both direct immunofluorescence (DIF) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

The second puppy was euthanased because it originated from the same litter, although it was living in a different area of the country by this time. This dog was suffering from haemorrhagic gastro-enteritis (HGE), but showed no neurological signs. However it has also tested positive for rabies on both DIF and PCR.

The BSAVA says this aspect of the case will be of particular concern to veterinary professionals in the UK because HGE is commonly seen in unvaccinated (imported) puppies. Preliminary reports do not make clear the vaccination status of these dogs. 

BSAVA President, Professor Michael Day, said: "Not only does this demonstrate the need for pet owners to comply with pet travel legislation, but also for vets to be alert to the possibility of disease with any imported animal.

"Whilst we have been concerned about the issue of illegal imports and the enforcement of the current legislation, this latest incident also raises the possibility of rabies cases in dogs that appear to comply with the current pet passport regulation."

This calls into question whether veterinary staff in first opinion practice should be offered the pre-exposure rabies vaccination. The current recommendations from Public Health England are that all individuals at continuous and frequent risk of exposure to the rabies virus, as well as some groups at infrequent risk, should be offered pre-exposure rabies vaccination. Professor Day said: "Whilst veterinary professionals in companion animal practice are not currently included in this list, this might be a timely point to undertake a review based on a new risk assessment. I would be in support of practitioners who believe they are at risk having the option of the subsidised occupational vaccination."

UK veterinary surgeons are reminded that responsibility for dealing with illegal imports rests with local authorities; usually Trading Standards or Environmental Health. However, if a veterinary surgeon in practice has any suspicion of rabies or any other notifiable disease they should inform their local Animal Health Office.

Supreme Petfoods has launched the VetCarePlus range of Monoforage® diets for rabbits.

According to the company, the new range represents an entirely new generation of rabbit food, made possible because of a breakthrough in production technology.

The big advance is the level of fibre within a mono-component style diet: 28%-34% across the range, along with the inclusion - uniquely - of essential long fibre particles. Supreme says the result is a less dense food that is beneficial for a rabbit's sensitive digestion system, with the added benefit of extending the feeding time, which is good for dental wear.

The company also says VetCarePlus performs exceptionally well in palatability tests and that it's been widely welcomed throughout the rabbit welfare community.  Molly Varga BVetMed DZooMed MRCVS said:  "This is exactly what convalescing rabbits need, an excellent level of fibre with no chance of selective feeding plus a good slow chew rate".

The range comprises three specific formulas for Weight Management, Urinary Tract Health and Digestive Health.

Supreme says feedback on samples sent to welfare organisations, veterinary schools and practicing vets so far has been very positive. Vets are delighted with the simplicity of the products, and have welcomed the way Monoforage encapsulates all the benefits of hay, with minimal processing compared to other diets.  

Molly Varga added: "All the benefits of hay are preserved while this diet gives more volume of fibre per measurement of food than I have seen before, without increasing the weight (and therefore energy) components".  VetCarePlus delivers the maximum possible crude fibre and long fibre content available to date. 

Claire Hamblion, Marketing Manager for VetCarePlus said: "Supreme Petfoods feels that VetCarePlus is pushing forward the boundaries on specialist diets for rabbits.  Monoforage provides completely unique levels of fibre and we're delighted that all the feedback we have received from a wide range of experts has been exceptionally enthusiastic and welcoming".   

For more information on how to stock VetCarePlus products contact Supreme Petfoods at sales@supremepetfoods.com  or visit http://www.supremeprofessional.com/