The multicentre observational study described 382 placements of catheters across 19 different institutions, recording the placement techniques and tracking resulting complications to determine the associated risk factors.
The majority of the data was collected by veterinary nurses across the country.
The risk factors identified included the number of insertion attempts, whether a second subsequent placement was required, the frequency that the catheter was flushed and if the flush solution was compound sodium lactate.
In addition to identifying the risk factors, the study also found that complications occurred in just over one-quarter of placements, with limb swelling and phlebitis being the most common (11.5%).
The second most common complication observed was PIVC dislodgement/patient interference (7.9%).
As a result of these findings, the researchers are calling for more vigilant monitoring of patients with a PIVC in situ, particularly if they have experienced any of the factors that increase their risk of complications.
Eleanor said: “PIVCs are placed every day in almost all veterinary practices, yet there is little evidence to inform how best to place and manage them.
"I am passionate about providing the best care for cats and dogs, and it was fantastic to work with like-minded nurses and vets who wanted to gather the evidence that we can use to improve the care of our patients.
"I look forward to continuing this area of research, and believe veterinary nurses are best placed to undertake this work as it is part our of daily working lives."
Dr Christopher Scudder, Senior Lecturer in Small Animal Internal Medicine at the Royal Veterinary College and senior author in the study, said: “The hope is that this study will stimulate more research about PIVCs, and that sufficient evidence will be developed to help reduce complications associated with these routinely placed devices.”
Reference
Mr Georgescu faced three sets of charges:
The first was that in April 2024 at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded guilty to driving a car when the proportion of the controlled substance Benzoylecgonine (the main metabolite of cocaine) exceeded the specified limit contrary to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Road Traffic Offenders Act.
He was disqualified from driving for 20 months, fined £634, ordered to pay £254 victim surcharge and £150 costs.
The second and third charges were that he was misleading and/or dishonest with the RCVS when he was asked to provide information about the circumstances leading to his conviction.
In correspondence with the College, he claimed that the incident happened on his day off, when he was in fact due to work that day.
He also submitted – or allowed to be submitted – a false staff rota for the day of his arrest.
The Disciplinary Committee found the charges against Mr Georgescu proven on the basis of the certificate of conviction and his admission, prior to the hearing, that he had given false information.
The Committee then considered whether the three charges amounted to serious professional misconduct.
The Committee considered the fact that Mr Georgescu was driving, and intending to work, while he was seven times over the prescribed proportion of Benzoylecgonine allowed to be in in his bloodstream.
Paul Morris, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: “With regard to the impact this conduct would have on right thinking members of the public, Dr Georgescu himself said, when cross examined, that were he standing in the shoes of an owner of an animal he was going to treat that day with the knowledge that he had in his blood more than 7 times the prescribed limit of a prohibited drug he “would not be comfortable for sure” and would cause such persons to “lose trust”.
“Having regard to the above facts and matters the Committee has no hesitation in concluding that the facts relevant to his commission of the offence in Charge 1 were so serious and presented such prospective risks to other road users that it renders the respondent unfit to practise as a veterinary surgeon.”
Charges 2 and 3 were considered together, with the Committee again finding serious professional misconduct on the basis that Mr Georgescu had set out to lie to the RCVS and had continued and repeated the lie for a period of six months.
The Committee identified a number of aggravating features in his conduct including the fact it was premeditated, entailed sustained and repeated dishonesty, involved wilful disregard for the role of the RCVS as the veterinary regulator and that admissions were only made when he realised he couldn’t sustain his falsehoods any longer.
Finally, having found that all charges were proven and amounted to serious professional misconduct, the Committee decided that suspending Mr Georgescu from the Register of Veterinary Surgeons would be adequate to protect the welfare of animals, maintain public confidence in the profession, and declare and uphold proper standards of conduct.
Paul Morris added: “The misconduct of the respondent is serious but his misconduct falls short of being fundamentally incompatible with remaining on the Register.
"He does have insight into the seriousness of his misconduct and there is, in the judgement of the Committee, no significant risk of repeat misleading behaviour.
"The Committee also considers that the respondent will be fit to return to practice after the period of suspension in question.
“The Committee did consider striking the respondent from the Register but determined that this sanction would be unduly punitive and deprive the public and the profession of an otherwise competent veterinary surgeon.
“The Committee has reflected carefully on the question of how long the period of suspension should be and has determined that it should be a period which is not so long that it will result in the loss of the respondent to the profession which he professes to love and in which his referees assert he is a capable and caring veterinary surgeon.”
www.rcvs.org.uk/disciplinary
Kirsty and Susan scored 995 and 923 votes respectively.
The unsuccessful candidate, Stuart Miller, scored 669 votes.
In total, 1,710 RVNs cast their vote, narrowly beating the previous record low turnout of 7.5% in 2012.
By comparison, the largest turnout was 17.1% in 2020.
Kirsty and Susan will take up their post at the RCVS Annual General Meeting, which is open to all vet nurses to attend on Friday 5th July at the Royal Institute of British Architects.
www.rcvs.org.uk/vnvote24
Head nurse Nicola Atkins (pictured right) said: “We are very happy and proud to have achieved our silver accreditation for cat-friendly clinic status.
“To earn this internationally-recognised award, we had to prove that we met all of the ISFM criteria, including allocating a nurse and vet at each centre who are dedicated to caring for our cats and providing ‘cat only’ waiting areas to reduce their stress.”
“We provide cats with carefully-tailored care from our stress-free waiting areas and high standards of anaesthetic protocols, which deliver an enriched stay at our hospitals.
“This also reassures owners and makes them feel more at ease about visiting our clinics with their cats.”
For more information, visit www.veterinaryvision.co.uk.
Certified B Corps are companies that meet exceptionally high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.
The process examines a company’s full range of processes, from supply chain to charitable giving and employee benefits.
Other well-known names that have achieved B Corp status include Patagonia, The Body Shop, BrewDog, TOMS, Ben and Jerry’s and Innocent Drinks.
Dr Caroline Collins, from Pennard Vets, said: “We’re extremely proud to achieve B Corp status and there’s no doubt that it will be transformational for the business, in the same way that becoming an employment ownership trust has been.
"Being employee owned and socially minded is a huge draw for vets and nurses seeking a change in their career, who want to be part of an organisation where they can have a real say in the running of the practice and make a tangible difference to the environment.
“It also means that we can now make very long-term decisions, that could even take several decades to pay off, which would be very difficult to do in a traditional shareholder business, and that gives our team the authority to always do the right thing.”
Bringing together people working at the cutting edge of small animal and equine osteoarthritis treatment with the companies driving technology, supplies and services, the Veterinary Osteoarthritis Congress is open to both VOA members and non-members, including veterinary surgeons, nurses, physiotherapists and others engaged in hydrotherapy and rehabilitation.
Day 1 has two small animal streams – session headings include ‘Managing OA’ and ‘Dealing with chronic pain’; and an equine stream looking at ‘Multidisciplinary management of OA’, ‘OA treatment options’ and ‘Unusual presentations’.
On day 2, ‘Biomodulation in OA’, ‘Working dogs’, ‘Mobility clinic’, and ‘Feline OA focus’ will run alongside sessions on ‘Rehab in action’, ‘Surgery in OA’ and ‘Dietary supplements’.
There’ll also be case presentations and interactive sessions on both days, with demonstrations and lectures from some of the leading firms.
Seven sessions in each stream offers two days of CPD.
After the first day’s sessions there’ll be a happy hour followed by a gala dinner in the Kings Hall. The event is being sponsored by Animalcare (Platinum), TVM UK and the Canine Hydrotherapy Association (Gold) with more to be announced soon.
Professor Stuart Carmichael, co-founder and director of the VOA, said: “Exciting developments are happening in veterinary OA, so we felt now is the right time to put this event on.
"There’s nothing specialist about osteoarthritis treatment and management: every small animal and equine practice deals with OA every day.
“There’s a real need and enthusiasm for bringing the latest thinking to as wide an audience as possible, so VOACON offers sessions for all members of the practice, whatever their interest is, along with rehab and physio teams.
"It’s actually been pretty difficult fitting everything in, but we’re confident we’ve got a great programme offering real, practical CPD that will benefit practices, their clients and their patients.”
Delegate rates for VOA members are:
Non-members (who can join the VOA when booking to qualify for members’ rates):
Rates include a hot buffet lunch, congress book and CPD certification.
To book or to download the programme, visit www.vet-oa.com/voacon.
Danilon is used to relieve the pain caused by musculoskeletal conditions, such as osteoarthritis (OA), bursitis, laminitis, and soft tissue inflammation.
Some oral NSAIDs have been shown to increase the risk of gastric irritation¹ - a particular concern when treating of chronic conditions.
However, Animalcare points to a study² in which horses given Danilon Gold showed a reduced number of ulcers and those that did appear were less severe.
The area of gastric mucosa affected was also five times less.
Animalcare says accurate administration is critical for clinical success.
To support this, Danilon Gold is presented in a coloured granule formulation and is now available in both 3g and 10g sachets.
Animalcare will officially re-launch Danilon® at this year’s BEVA Congress at the ACC in Liverpool in early September.
References
The survey was sent to all UK veterinary practices on the 25th November with a deadline to respond by the 1st December and received 186 responses, a response rate of 6%.
The survey found that during this period:
Lizzie Lockett, RCVS CEO, said: “Thank you once again to all the practice staff who took the time to complete this survey, it really is very useful for us to have a clear picture of how coronavirus and its restrictions are affecting day-to-day activities, as it has an impact both on our decision-making and policies, and what we can tell others about the impact on the professions, such as the UK and national governments.
"The overall picture from this survey is that, while for most it is not business as usual, veterinary practices and members of the professions are, to an extent, getting used to the disruption and have plans and policies in place to help mitigate the impact of the mosaic of different restrictions across the UK.
"While there is hope on the horizon with the start of the roll-out of coronavirus vaccines, we will continue to review and keep up-to-date our advice and guidance to ensure that you can practise to the best of your abilities, while keeping safe and within the rules.
“Of course, we also recognise the toll that the pandemic has taken on many people’s mental health and wellbeing, and this is reflected in some of the more concerning statistics around the impact that staff absences can have on the rest of the team.
"We also asked practices what might help them manage from a staff mental health and wellbeing point of view, and will take these suggestions into account when planning further support via our Mind Matters Initiative mental health project. In the meantime, we would like to remind those who are feeling stressed or are in distress that there are sources of help available during these difficult times – these can be found at www.vetmindmatters.org/help-links/help-during-covid-19/.”
The full report of the survey is available to view at www.rcvs.org.uk/publications
Until now, research in equine veterinary science has focused primarily on the information needed to prevent and cure disease, with little attention paid to the attitudes and actions of horse owners, veterinary surgeons, and numerous other professionals to implementing science-based advice.
This special EVJ collection showcases studies that seek to understand horse owner behaviour around their horse’s health, supplementing clinical evidence with information about the real-life behaviours of equine owners and professionals and the factors that influence them.
It includes papers on horse owner knowledge and opinions on recognising colic, treating infectious disease, uptake of some of the most basic preventive health measures such as vaccination and deworming as well as attitudes and behaviour around equine obesity and laminitis.
Other studies highlight the importance of professionals other than vets such as farriers, equine podiatrists, physiotherapists, dental technicians, chiropractors, and equestrian organisations such as the British Horse Society.
Guest Editor Tamzin Furtado added: “As our understanding of the drivers of behaviour develops, pre-existing behaviour change models will help us to understand the barriers and enablers to uptake.
“With dissemination of this knowledge, we have a better chance of communicating effectively and implementing change that will have a positive impact on equine welfare at individual, community, and national level.”
Professor Celia Marr, Editor of the EVJ said: “This collection is both compelling and eye-opening.
"It is dangerous to assume an understanding of the motivators of horse owner behaviours and actions; these papers confirm the current lack of comprehension, providing an invaluable insight, which will ultimately help us to accelerate improvements in equine veterinary practice and, most importantly, equine welfare.”
The virtual issue can be found at https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1001/(ISSN)2042-3306.owner-behaviours and will be free to view until 26 December 2022.
Tara Evans RVN from Vita said: "We wanted to raise awareness and start a discussion with rabbit owners about preventative ear care in rabbits, including how and when owners are cleaning their rabbits’ ears.”
91% of owners also agreed that cleaning is important for rabbits with ear health problems, but 49% have never cleaned their rabbit’s ears.
For the remainder, the most common reason owners gave for cleaning their rabbits’ ears was as a preventative measure (46%), followed by noticing signs of discomfort (25%) and following veterinary advice (25%).
Tara added: “These results show us that owners are aware cleaning their rabbits’ ears is important which leaves us plenty of opportunities to educate on what owners should be looking out for.
"The survey showed that 57% of rabbit owners correctly identified lop ears to be a risk factor in ear health yet a contradictory 28% thought straight ears posed more of a risk.
"It is our job as veterinary professionals to share facts and impart our knowledge to our engaged audience.”
The survey looked into different options available for ear cleaning and identified that 51% of respondents would choose ear wipes, 25% home prepared solutions and 31% a designated rabbit ear cleaning product.
Tara said: “We want to be encouraging owners to be looking at their rabbits’ ears and cleaning them, however wipes can fail to provide a thorough clean and reach the deeper ear canal effectively, and homemade remedies may be irritating to rabbit ears.
"It is important to use an ear cleaner which is designed for and safe to use in rabbits, such as Omniotic.
"Our survey underscores the critical need for increased education and awareness surrounding rabbit ear health.
"It's essential for owners to understand the significance of regular ear cleaning in maintaining overall wellness and preventing potential diseases.”
www.vitaanimalhealth.com
RCVS Council recommended the increase due to inflationary pressures and increased business costs.
Dr Tshidi Gardiner MRCVS, RCVS Treasurer, said: “We recognise that these are difficult economic times, so Council has endeavoured to limit the fee increase as far as possible; however, in proposing these new fees, Council has had to take account both of increased costs due to inflation, and of additional costs related to ensuring we are fulfilling our regulatory remit to the best of our abilities and meeting our strategic priorities.
“For example, increased costs related to the additional number of veterinary degrees coming on stream, modernising our membership database, our Charter Case Committee, the trial of our private prosecutions protocol against non-vets breaching the Veterinary Surgeons Act, and much more besides.”
The offer has been made possible due to the generosity of Baker McVeigh, CVS Equine, IVC Evidensia, Newmarket Equine Hospital, Rossdales, VetPartners and XLVets.
Benefits of the free membership include:
Free student membership is one of several equine vet nurse initiatives introduced by BEVA over the past few months.
Earlier this year, the Association published new Schedule 3 Guidelines designed to support equine veterinary professionals and businesses by describing how equine Registered Veterinary Nurses (eRVNs) are permitted to work.
At its Congress in September, BEVA introduced a Vet Nurse Empowerment Award to highlight the skills and versatility of equine nurses.
It has also increased the amount of CPD it offers vet nurses and started a dedicated stream at BEVA Congress.
Vet nurses also have a direct voice within BEVA via the VN committee.
President David Rendle said: “Historically, equine veterinary nurses have been undervalued in practice but thankfully this is now changing."
“Veterinary nurses have invested huge amounts of time and effort to become highly skilled and it’s great that their talents, versatility and commitment are being supported and celebrated in these ways.”
https://www.beva.org.uk/Join-BEVA/vet-student
The event is merging with the new northern VETcpd Congress to give attendees a broader range of CPD subjects.
In the wound management streams, Shelly Jefferies (pictured right) will run a series of workshops on: ‘Wound preparation for optimum healing’, ‘Wound dressing selection’ and ‘Building a better bandage’.
On the first day of the lecture programme, Samantha Bell will be looking at various different aspects and considerations for wound management through all stages, from initial presentation and assessment of the traumatic wound patient, including lavage and debridement techniques, to selection of dressings for open wound management, to surgical closure.
Other speakers in the wound management stream will cover topics such as acute wound management in rabbits and other exotic species, coping with eye problems and what to do and what not to do after oral surgery to allow healing.
Alongside the wound management programme will be two streams for veterinary surgeons – open to nurses as well – with Dr David Williams (ophthalmology), Dr Bob Partridge (dentistry), Dr Molly Varga (rabbits and exotics), Dr Fergus Allerton (antibiotics and immune-mediated diseases), Professor John Innes (orthopaedics), Professor Jon Hall (small animal surgery), Dr Joanne Harris (cardiology), Dr Alison Hayes (oncology), Dr Samantha Lane small animal surgery), Dr Anita Patel (dermatology) and Angie Lloyd-Jones (ultrasound).
On day two, David Williams will conduct an interactive session on ethics in which he will present a series of cases and ask the audience to discuss what they would do in each.
There will also be a series of workshops on ultrasound, covering basic system controls and image optimisation, abdominal ultrasound assessment techniques, and other aspects.
Lastly, there will be a stream specifically for equine practitioners featuring Professor Michael Schramme of the University of Lyon, Dr Alison Talbot of the University of Liverpool, Dr Lesley Young from Newmarket, Dr Gemma Pearson from Edinburgh, David Green from the VDS and Philip Cramo of Hambleton Equine Clinic.
Accommodation is available in the Hilton Garden Inn on-site at £105 per night or £125 per night for double occupancy. This rate is available by emailing HGIreservations@doncaster-racecourse.co.uk, quoting VETcpd.
Early bird two day passes cost £195+VAT for veterinary nurses and £285+VAT for veterinary surgeons, with one day tickets also available.
www.vetcpdcongress.co.uk.
The Association says it has produced the leaflet after seeing an increasing number of dogs diagnosed with clinical or subclinical infection, along with reports of its zoonotic impact.
The document outlines the most important considerations concerning B. canis including transmission, diagnosis, management, public health implications and legislative requirements.
It takes into consideration information available from relevant Government Departments.
BSAVA says the document is by no means exhaustive but is intended to provide useful information and signpost to further resources.
www.bsavalibrary.com/brucella_canis
Photo: Walker16/Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0.
If, as is predicted, social distancing methods need to be employed to reduce the spread of the virus, or clients find themselves having to self-isolate, video consultations may offer a way in which veterinary practices can continue to serve their clients, maintain animal welfare and, importantly, revenue.
VetHelpDirect's video consultation system, which was announced earlier this year, is still in the Beta testing phase, and the plan had been to roll out the full service in May.
Under the circumstances, however, the company has decided to offer the service to all practices immediately, free of charge for the next three months.
To use the video consultation service, you do need to subscribe to use VetHelpDirect, a service through which you can manage client reviews of your practice. That costs £38 per month, per practice and a further £12.50 for branch practices.
Susie Samuel, CEO of VetHelpDirect said: “The Coronavirus presents a very real business risk to veterinary practices and a health risk to staff.
"As cases increase, animal owners in quarantine will not be able to visit the vet when their animals become unwell. In these cases, veterinary practitioners will not be able to discuss an animal’s symptoms with their owner in person and could end up relying solely on telephone consultations which would most likely be conducted free of charge.
"Our video platform allows vets to collect payment for a consultation as usual, hold the consultation with the animal’s owner and if a pet needs to be seen, the owner could, in theory, drop it off at the surgery without making personal contact with the vet clinic staff."
VetHelpDirect has not yet decided precisely what the video consultation service will cost after the free period, but it is likely to be around the £20 per month mark. In addition, there is a 3% transaction fee charged by the payment processer.
For more information, contact Susie Samuel susie@vethelpdirect.com
COMMENTDespite the emergence of a number of online-only, limited-service veterinary video consultation providers, it seems like very few, if any independent practices are yet offering this service. There is a danger that unless they do so very soon, they will find themselves at a real disadvantage to the first movers. But there is still time; according to VetHelpDirect's research, 38% of people say they would use video consultations with their own vet but only 7% with a vet they don't know..
The paper details the current and potential uses of this rapidly developing technology, and its benefits and risks.
It provides an introduction to AI and its uses in human medicine, small animal, farm and equine practice, radiology and veterinary education.
It also looks at the potential impact on the wellbeing and working life of veterinary teams.
Results from VetCT’s recent survey on the opinions of AI within the veterinary profession are included in the paper.
Julien Labruyère, Chief Innovation Officer at VetCT, said: “This is a crucial moment in the veterinary industry to ensure we have the knowledge and safeguards in place to apply AI safely, effectively and with confidence to support good clinical practice and ultimately, improve animal welfare.
"This white paper aims to provide a firm foundation for understanding AI and stimulate discussion on how it may impact both people and animals.”
The paper also calls for the development of industry-wide guidance, standards and regulations to safeguard veterinary teams and animal health and welfare as these tools are deployed.
Julien added: “AI development is accelerating rapidly, with global governments and industries racing to regulate to ensure the benefits outweigh the potential negative impacts of this far-reaching technology.
"It’s vital that opinion leaders, organisations and regulators from across the veterinary world come together and develop guardrails so we can have confidence that AI tools will benefit our teams and our patients.”
https://5345458.hs-sites.com/vetct-ai-white-paper
The company says it estimates that 75% of its staff have periods and many will find themselves caught short without a pad or tampon when they have an earlier or heavier period than expected.
This can be very embarrassing and stressful, so tampon/towel dispensing machines are being installed in the loos at every CVS veterinary practice and site in the UK.
Helen Finney, Group HR Director at CVS, said: “We want to provide dignity and peace of mind for all of the colleagues who work at CVS.
"We wouldn't expect colleagues to have to bring their own toilet paper to work.
"So those who experience periods shouldn't fear being caught short either.
"In a busy practice it can be difficult to ask a colleague if they have a tampon or towel, or to find time to go out to buy supplies.
“By providing free period products to colleagues while at work, we are seeking to help in one small but meaningful way.”
When one stops to think about this (albeit as the male editor of a veterinary website), it is something of a wonder that it has taken this long. Helen's quote about loo paper hits the nail on the head. Why do all work loos not have period products by default?
The programme includes more than 130 hours of CPD delivered by over 100 speakers from home and abroad, with talks for all members of the practice team.
The UK speakers include Rebecca Geddes on kidney medicine and nursing; Amy Newfield on IV access techniques; Rob White on brachycephalic surgery and acute abdomen surgical techniques; Penny Watson on liver disease; Dick White on the surgical team; Butty Villiers on cytology for vets and nurses; John Chitty on several rabbits, small furries and exotics topics.
BSAVA President, Professor Ian Ramsey, said: “Following months of meticulous planning we are thrilled that the programme is now live
"The sheer range and high quality of our speakers and content, together with our new, more dynamic format takes webinar learning to a new level."
“Delegates will be able to develop their skills and knowledge on topics they see regularly in practice. To make things even easier we will be providing practical resources such as client handouts for delegates to take back to their clinics. This, coupled with many speakers sharing their own notes and practical resources means less note-taking and a quicker and easier way for delegates to share what they have learnt with their colleagues.”
There will be three keynote speakers; Jenny Campbell, a former Dragon on BBC’s Dragon’s Den, will be sharing her experiences as an entrepreneur and business leader. Two other keynote names will be announced shortly.
On the social side the focus is on bringing people together online to share light-hearted entertainment and laughter. Delegates can exercise their taste buds with some wine and whisky appreciation, throw some shapes with a virtual disco, exercise their bodies as well as their minds with yoga and unwind with some restorative meditation practices.
Ian added: “This year’s BSAVA Congress is going to be the most innovative ever and deliver like never before. There is plenty of relevant and engaging CPD for every practice professional, with all the convenience of a virtual event. If you haven’t already taken a look at the programme and registered, I urge you to do so now. With prices starting at just £99 +VAT for members it represents really great value.”
To register now visit https://www.bsavaevents.com/bsavacongress2021/en/page/home
The symposium will be launched by Dr Leah Quinlivan (pictured right), a research fellow and chartered psychologist at the University of Manchester.
Her talk ‘Evidence-based care for people who have self-harmed: risk prediction, psychosocial assessments, and aftercare’, will outline the importance of improving mental health services for patients who have harmed themselves, via discussion of evidence, policy, and practice for risk prediction, psychosocial assessment, and aftercare.
Leah's talk will be followed by presentations delivered by veterinary mental health researchers from across the UK and Europe.
Topics will include post-Covid wellbeing amongst veterinary professionals, the impact of companion animal euthanasia, workplace stressors and how they change with career stage, and the quality of mental health support received by veterinary nurses.
Lisa Quigley, Mind Matters Initiative project manager, said: “This year, the event promises once more to be a supportive and thought-provoking event, where we can gather to share findings, information and best practice for the good of the professions.
“The recent publication of MMI’s five-year strategy has outlined our recognition that we need to expand the conversation beyond mental health awareness and into looking at more systemic and cultural issues, as well as exploring how the insights gained from research might be implemented in practice.
"These ambitious aims are reflected in the breadth of the talks and presentations at the symposium and so I look forward to hearing more from those who share our values and aims, and to continuing the conversation about how and where we can do more.
Mark Bordo, CEO and CoFounder, Vetster.com, said: “Our new mobile app is one more way we can provide veterinary professionals with a flexible platform to connect with pet parents in between appointments, traveling between clients, or from the comfort of home. With just a few taps on their mobile phone, veterinarians connect with pet parents with great video quality, and easy-to-use scheduling and follow-up features.”
So now, at long last, vets can diagnose disease in animals on an even smaller screen than ever before.
What a breakthrough.
The mobile app also means vets can diagnose whilst on the move.
So, no need for anyone to waste any more time reading a book on the 14:25 from Paddington to Bath Spa, instead vets could be consulting pet owners and examining their animal on their two inch mobile phone screens from the comfort of their train seats.
Client confidentiality could be a problem on the 14:25, but if they wear headphones and whisper into the phone, things should be alright.
Tunnels might also cause a bit of a problem, but hey, the pet owner can always call back when the train comes out the other side.
To register to practice on Vetster, visit vetster.com.
Once registered and approved, you can then download and use the app.
Anna was nominated by senior vet, Charlotte Botham, and vet, Hayley Stenning, from Pennard Vets.
Charlotte said: “Anna is a rare find, she brightens the lives of all she meets, including our furry and feathered friends!
"For the clients she serves and the team she works with, she is not just a friendly, smiley face when they walk in, she’s a safe place, a friend, a confident and a fabulous sounding board.
"She laughs and smiles with joy during the happy times and she’s a supportive shoulder to lean on during the sad times.
“Anna is not only manning the front desk and answering phones but doing the stock take, ordering food and prescriptions, dealing with insurance queries, keeping the place spick and span, sorting blood and other samples - the list goes on!
"She is also a feisty cat wrangler, a bouncy dog distractor, or is simply there to hold an anxious paw or hand, with treats or a cup of tea at the ready!
“Our clients, staff and suppliers, as well as every pet that walks through the door, is treated like family, any concern big or small is acknowledged with compassion and empathy and she finds an efficient and fair solution to every problem.”
CEO and founder of the British Veterinary Receptionist Association (BVRA), Kay Watson-Bray, said: “Anna's nomination instantly stood out and impressed the judges.
"She is clearly an exceptional receptionist who goes above and beyond for both her colleagues and her clients, and she truly deserves this award.”
Anna said: “I really love what I do, it’s more than a job, it’s a way of life and I find helping my team, our clients and their pets incredibly rewarding.
"As part of the award win, I will now have a place on the BVRA Council for the year, which means I will help shape the training courses and the support veterinary receptionists receive.
"I will also be part of the judging team for next year’s awards so it’s a very exciting role.”
https://www.bvra.co.uk
The company says that practices transferring to its pet health plan portal will be able to take greater control of their pet health plans and benefit from a range of innovative services for the same cost. They include the VMD-approved Post2Pet home delivery service, a messaging system to advise clients on applying products, attending appointments or renewing prescriptions, reporting to give practice leaders the insights they need to drive plan performance, the ability for pet owners to sign up online rather than visit the practice, and 24/7 access to a marketing hub and the Premier Vet Alliance Learning Academy.
Premier Vet Alliance’s Business Development Director Andy Taylor said: "We are excited to be offering our high performing Premier Pet Care Plan to the many new practices joining us following our acquisition of Simplyhealth’s animal health business.
"We are working to make the transition seamless and believe that our new customers will be delighted at the expanded range of functionality our portal offers them, together with the reduced administrative burden. We will continue to invest in its development to ensure that all of our customers can be sure that their pet health plan offers the most powerful set of tools and services available to help them drive up the profitability of their practice, while offering gold standard care to their patients and peace of mind to their clients."
For more information, visit: https://premiervetalliance.com/uk/
The 2023 PAW Report will assess how lifestyle changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis have affected the nation’s pets.
The survey, which is open to vets, veterinary nurses and students, closes on 10th February 2023.
Entrants will be in with a chance of winning a £100 One4all voucher, accepted in over 130 high street stores.
Rebecca Ashman, PDSA’s Veterinary Engagement and Communication Manager said: “The PAW Report provides invaluable insight into key areas of pet wellbeing in the UK.
"Lifestyles had to adapt and change through the pandemic, and now as we navigate a cost of living crisis, this research is more vital than ever before.”
Rebecca added: “It takes less than 15 minutes to complete the survey, and by taking part you’ll be helping us maintain an accurate picture of the biggest welfare issues facing pets in the UK today.”
Survey: https://start.yougov.com/refer/vz7hC0lZ0d10nG
In short, the old discussion forums have been replaced with a new format where we now invite members to post ONLY questions for the community instead.
Your question can be about anything you like: clinical, practice management, or even something which has nothing to do with work.
Then anyone in the community, which includes fellow veterinary nurses and representatives from industry, can earn points for answering your question.
In due course, points will mean prizes and there'll be rewards for the most helpful community members and the most interesting questions, as voted for by you.
The new VetNurse Community which now exists entirely to help you get good quality, authoritative answers to your questions has a very strict requirement that all participants treat each other with courtesy, respect and good manners.
There will also be a requirement for contributors to share their level of experience in their profile, to give their answers some context.
VetNurse Editor Arlo Guthrie said: "I've struggled for a while about the role of discussion forums in the Facebook era.
"But this, I think, will be a really useful platform which offers something completely different.
"In short, a community exclusively for answering each others' questions; somewhere you can be absolutely certain of a friendly welcome and an authoritative answer.
"If other members of the community don't know the answer to your question, then I personally will go and see whether I can find someone else to help with it"
"Plus I want to make it a bit more fun to help each other, which I think a competitive element, with a leaderboard and rewards will bring"
"The other great thing about asking and answering questions on VetNurse.co.uk is that you will be contributing to a searchable body of knowledge and experience everyone in the profession can benefit from.
"In due course, we'll be upgrading VetNurse.co.uk with all sorts of extra features which will make it easier for you to follow questions, refer back to ones you've had answered, and more."
Meantime, come and try it out.
Post a question for the community today: https://www.vetnurse.co.uk/f
She said: “My theme will be focussed on recruitment and particularly widening participation, as one of the three themes of the RCVS Workforce Action Plan.
"I want to get out during my presidential year and talk to school children and teachers, especially head teachers at their conferences, to make them aware of the opportunities that are available to a veterinary science graduate.
“I want to continue to work with the Veterinary Schools Council’s Widening Participation Vet Schools Network to make school children from all backgrounds aware, whether they are from a large, single-sex private school, or a mixed-faith inner-city comprehensive, that veterinary science is accessible to them.
“A veterinary science degree equips graduates with the appropriate skillset to follow a myriad of different career paths.
"For example, in clinical practice caring for people’s beloved pets or working with farmers to produce high-welfare food in an economical and sustainable way. Not to mention groundbreaking research into human and animal diseases, public health to help safeguard food security, the pharmaceutical industry to develop new and innovative treatments, and the armed forces to maintain the health and welfare of military working animals. I could go on.
“As professions, and this means not just veterinary surgeons but veterinary nurses, we need to get out there and sell ourselves to the wider public.
"We have made a start, but we need to become more inclusive and diverse.
"We need to do some myth-busting about the real requirements needed to be a vet or vet nurse.
"There is no doubt you do need to have good A levels to study veterinary medicine, but, beyond that, bright students from any background can join our professions.
"You can be a veterinary surgeon or veterinary nurse if you are black or white; Muslim or Christian; and from any socioeconomic background.”
Sue's speech is available to read in full at www.rcvs.org.uk/features.