The company points to research which shows that most dogs and cats whose congestive heart failure is well controlled by medication will have a stable sleeping respiratory rate of less than 30 breaths per minute1,2.
Vetoquinol says SRR is a sensitive indicator of pulmonary oedema or pulmonary effusion which can occur as heart failure patients deteriorate, and that monitoring of SRR is a useful biomarker for veterinary surgeons, allowing you to track progression of congestive heart failure and to detect stability during treatment.
The company also says SRR is most easily detected by the owner when the pet is asleep: using the app to count and record SRR gives clients a good indication of when to seek veterinary intervention and generates data that helps veterinary teams seeking to minimise unnecessary face-to-face contact but still provide emergency care.
While an SRR in the reference range does not exclude heart disease, it reduces the probability that the patient is suffering from left sided heart failure, so may also be a useful measure for remote triage as part of a wider assessment. Other causes of elevated SRR include pain, pneumonia, stress and heatstroke.
Helen Hunter, Product Manager at Vetoquinol and part of the team that developed the app said: "Being able to monitor patients with congestive heart failure is important at any time but during lockdown, with some routine checks having to be postponed, having a means of remote monitoring is more important than ever.
"This tool will help veterinary professionals make the judgement call about whether the pet needs to be seen, especially when the results are provided in the context of monitoring that has taken place over time, providing an assessment of what is normal for that patient."
To complement the addition of the new tool, the site has also launched a webinar delivered by RCVS Recognised Specialist in Cardiology, Dave Dickson of Heart Vets. The presentation discusses the ‘10 Golden Rules of Congestive Heart Failure' and covers topics including the importance of clear radiography and why a cough is not diagnostic of CHF.
Dave said: "Sleeping respiratory rate is one of the most useful ways to monitor an animal in CHF or to look for signs of CHF developing. By encouraging pet owners to monitor and track the dog's sleeping respiratory rate at home, owners can provide vets with a valuable insight into the success of the current treatment regime. The UpLife app is free and will be really helpful to vets and pet owners, both now during lockdown and in the future."
The app can be accessed at www.uplife.uk/srr and it can be communicated to clients at the point when their pet is diagnosed, or shared with clients whose pets already have a diagnosis and are under treatment.
For further information, contact your Vetoquinol Territory Manager, email uk_marketing@vetoquinol.com, or call 01280 814500.
References
The book contains 40 chapters of articles about clinical techniques, diagnostic pathways and management approaches published in Companion between 2016 and 2020.
Editor of Companion, Samantha Taylor said: “At Companion we strive to produce well-illustrated, practical articles to help vets and VNs in practice face the day-to-day challenges of a varied caseload. We hope this collection meets our aims by covering a variety of clinical problems from hypercalcaemia in cats to managing the snuffly rabbit, from Leishmaniasis to lymphoma and many more.
Ian Ramsey (BSAVA Senior Vice President) said: “This collection represents a unique body of well-illustrated work prepared by experts from all around the UK and beyond. I would like to thank them all on behalf of BSAVA members and readers of this book for taking the time and care to develop these resources for their colleagues around the world.”
Samantha added: “Whether kept on the shelf for when needed or thumbed through over a cup of tea, we hope that within the pages of this new volume you find a useful tip or technique that helps.”
The How to…collected articles from BSAVA Companion (2016–2020), 3rd edition has been published as a BSAVA member loyalty reward gift for those eligible veterinary members who renew their membership this year.
The book is also available to buy from the BSAVA website www.bsava.com/shop priced at £20.
The webinars will be presented by specialists in their respective fields; small animal oncologist Sara Verganti and clinical pathologists Francesco Cian and Roberta Rasotto.
Each 30-minute session will focus on a specific aspect of MCT diagnostics followed by a multidisciplinary Q&A. The sessions, which all start at 7:30pm, are:
Dr Neil Mottram MRCVS, Technical Product Manager at Virbac said: "Mast cell tumours are the most common form of canine cutaneous neoplasia, although relatively simple to identify, knowing what diagnostic steps to take can be challenging. We believe this truly comprehensive bite size mini-series will provide vets with the confidence to navigate the diagnostic approach for their next MCTs."
For more information, contact your Virbac Territory Manager.
The ophthalmology service, which offers cataract surgery, corrective eyelid surgery and corneal disease management amongst other things, is headed by RCVS and US Ophthalmology Specialist, James Histed (pictured right)
The hospital, which has doubled in size to 30,000ft², now has a purpose-built theatre complex, a new reception and waiting area, 12 additional consulting rooms and a new rehabilitation centre equipped with a water treadmill and a large arena for treatment and gait analysis.
It also has a new lecture theatre where SCVS can deliver its CPD programme and parent company IVC can deliver its intern and residency programme.
The company says that its redevelopment has focused on employee wellbeing, to which end there is a new staff area for the 200-strong team a place to gather, dine and relax.
Kennel space for staff dogs has also been increased to support SCVS’s ‘bring your dog to work’ policy.
The new hospital facility is fully operational and open 24/7 for referrals, supporting colleagues from surrounding vet practices.
www.scvetspecialists.co.uk
A single vial can now be used for 8 days after reconstitution when stored in a fridge at between two and eight degrees celsius.
This, says Virbac, will help maximise the use of each vial, ultimately reducing wastage and providing a cost-effective solution.
The survey, conducted among 130 veterinary professionals around the UK, including vets, nurses, receptionists and practice managers, revealed that on-demand video-based CPD ranked as the top choice of learning platform for 47% of respondents, while online text-based learning was next at 22%.
15% preferred in-person workshops and 10% in-practice training.
Meanwhile, only 6% preferred live lunchtime or evening webinars, and only 1% event lectures.
The survey identified that the most popular non-clinical CPD topics were complaint management (57%), communication (43%) and customer service (44%).
Barriers to the more widespread adoption of online learning platforms within practices were cost (70%) and a lack of time for CPD completion (80%) as a significant challenge.
Emma Barnes, Managing Director for Veterinary at Agilio, said: “The veterinary workforce is stretched and finding time to attend in-person CPD can be challenging.
"Flexible online solutions that accommodate busy schedules empower vets, nurses and the wider practice team to fulfil their CPD requirements whenever and wherever they choose.”
https://agiliosoftware.com
98 veterinary surgeons from around the UK took part in the survey.
The survey did not ask respondents to define what they considered to be a mental health issue.
However, 29% 'very much agreed', and 39% 'somewhat agreed' that 'my mental health impacts my work as a veterinarian'.
83% said the main factor behind mental health problems in the profession is general burnout, 80% said work intensity, 74% the lack of work/life balance, 49% being undervalued by clients, 40% being undervalued by management, 37% a lack of mental health support in practice, 30% financial concerns, and 26% said a lack of HR or structured management in practice.
57% of vets said they know other vets with mental health issues.
64% said they believe there isn’t enough mental health support within the profession.
97% say work-related mental health issues have negatively impacted their job satisfaction.
78% said they would like to see more accessible content on mental health within the industry and 49% think the topic needs to be spoken about more.
64% of vets said they would welcome counselling, 64% support with burnout recovery and 61% wanted training on coping tactics at university.
Stephanie Armstrong, Senior Vice President at Zoetis and Independent Council Member for The Royal Veterinary College said: “Having worked in the industry for many years, I know what an incredible profession it is, but unfortunately, I am also acutely aware of the heavy mental health load many vets face.
"The Zoetis Foundation continues to support VetLife and other initiatives aimed at caring for vets - our ambition is to work together with policy makers, industry leads and educators to offer new solutions and ensure the future prognosis of the profession is a healthy one.”
The survey of 50 vets carried out in May this year1 found that only half of them are recommending strangles vaccination to their clients.
They also felt that horse owners could be doing more to combat the disease.
Less than half of vets questioned believed that yards and premises operated good biosecurity measures prior to a strangles outbreak, yet 85% brought in more stringent biosecurity after an outbreak, when it was too late.
Dechra says that vets and horse owners can help combat the estimated 300 outbreaks of strangles each year with the following steps:
Sara Barker BVSc CertAVP(EM) MRCVS, equine field support manager at Dechra, said: “Strangles is one of the most common equine infectious diseases both in the UK and worldwide and a multi-factor approach is key to tackling the disease.
"Strangles vaccination is recommended, alongside good biosecurity, quarantine measures and regular temperature checking.
"By working together, vets and horse owners can help to keep horses healthy and prevent the spread of strangles.”
Reference
Vets with Horsepower is organised annually by Professor Derek Knottenbelt to help raise funds for equine and human charities around the world.
This year the group undertook an endurance motorbike trip of over 1600 miles: from the UK to Germany, across Scandinavia and back, hosting education events for equine vets along the way to raise funds for four charities including BEVA's Power for Ukraine.
BEVA Council member Alison Talbot, said: “Thanks to the generosity of equine vets in the UK we had just hit the halfway mark of raising £10,000, before Vets with Horsepower set off on their epic Scandinavian mission.
"We are so grateful for their donation of £9922 which means we can now buy another five generators, to help twice as many vets and horses in extremely difficult circumstances during enforced power cuts."
The generators will be transported to a collection point in Poland and then on to Ukraine in time for winter.
Donations to the BEVA Trust Power To Ukraine appeal can be made here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/powertoukraine
Any surplus funds will be added to the general fund to support equids in Ukraine.
Evidence given to the Women and Equalities parliamentary committee by BUPA last year suggested that 900,000 women may have left the UK workforce in recent years as a result of menopausal symptoms.
With the veterinary profession increasingly female in composition it is hoped that the hub will support more women to stay in the profession and therefore retain their vital skills in the workforce.
Statistics from the Voice of the Veterinary Profession Spring 2023 survey showed that only 14% of vets are aware of a menopause policy at their workplace, while 46% say there is no policy and 39% are unsure.
The survey also revealed that only 59% of vets would feel confident supporting a colleague experiencing menopause.
The new menopause hub provides veterinary specific menopause content to support everyone working in practice including colleagues, managers and partners of people experiencing menopause.
BVA recently signed the Menopause Workplace Pledge – committing to take positive action to make sure everyone experiencing menopause is supported - and is now urging other veterinary employers to do the same.
British Veterinary Association Junior Vice President Anna Judson, said: “We know that menopause is of growing importance to our profession, with female vets now making up more than half the workforce, and we know that issues with managing menopause symptoms prompt a significant number of women to move away from clinical work.
“As part of our Good Veterinary Workplaces campaign we’re committed to supporting all veterinary staff affected by menopause, allowing them to remain in post, and to providing relevant resources to improve employer engagement in this area.
"We urge all veterinary workplaces to sign the pledge and consider what more they could be doing to support their staff in managing menopause symptoms in the workplace.”
BVA members experiencing menopause are also eligible for 3 months free access to the Stella app, which includes a personalised plan to manage your specific symptoms, real-life coach support, menopause resources, progress tracking, and a supportive community.
Content on the Stella app is created in collaboration with a range of clinicians and healthcare professionals and goes through a rigorous fact-checking and review process.
https://www.bva.co.uk/menopause-hub
1,927 veterinary nurses voted, representing an 8.8% turnout.
Whilst marginally better than 2022's turnout of 8.4%, it's still less than half that seen in 2020.
Matthew Rendle scored 891 votes and Simon Williams 642.
Eleanor Ferguson, RCVS Registrar and Returning Officer for both elections, said: “Congratulations to all our successful candidates in this year’s elections and thank you to all those who stood for election this year.
"We look forward to welcoming our successful candidates to their elected places at this year’s AGM.
“While the turnout for the VN Council election improved slightly on last year, it was a shame to see the turnout for vets fall again.
"As part of our wider Council culture project, we are looking at how to increase engagement with our election processes across the board, from candidate nominations, to how we present information about the candidates, to how we encourage greater election turnout.
"We will be consulting with the group set up to look specifically at this issue in due course to see how we can improve turnout going forward.”
The full results for the RCVS Council election can be found at www.rcvs.org.uk/vnvote23
Each year the WSAVA Congress is held in a different location around the world and attracts over 70,000 veterinary professionals who relish the opportunity to hear from top international speakers on all aspects of practicing small animal veterinary medicine.
The WSAVA is an international network of associations dedicated to the continuing development of companion animal care around the world. It brings veterinary practitioners and academia together to help enhance the knowledge of specific topics, such as hereditary disease and nomenclature of pathological processes.
To celebrate the Association's 50th anniversary Professor Michael J Day, chairman of the WSAVA Scientific Advisory Committee, has proposed that this year be the year of 'One Medicine'. The theme is intended to recognise the importance of the link between the medical and veterinary professions. It will encompass the human population, domestic animals and wildlife, and the impact that current environmental changes are having on these groups. Lectures and seminars during this year's congress will reflect the 'One Medicine' topic, looking for an exchange of ideas and to build the foundations for future developments of mutual interest. For further information please visit http://www.wsava2010.org/.
Veterinary staff can enter the WSAVA prize draw by visiting Petplan at stand 311 during the BSAVA Congress or via the dedicated Petplan veterinary staff website, petplanvet.co.uk.
The day also has a stream for veterinary surgeons, and another for the whole practice team.
The nursing stream programme is as follows:
https://www.langfordvets.co.uk/feline-celebration-day
Dr Vlad Butnaru faced two charges, the first of which was that in May 2021, he had signed a passport and/or passport application for a horse and electronically signed a declaration stating that he “had read the above microchip, which had previously been implanted for the animal” when, in fact, the microchip had not been inserted into any horse and he had not read it.
The second charge was that, in relation to the matters set out in the first charge, Dr Butnaru’s signed declaration was false, and that he had acted dishonestly and misleadingly, he risked undermining procedures designed to promote animal welfare, and failed to take sufficient steps to ensure that the microchip number recorded for the horse was accurate.
Dr Butnaru admitted the first charge on all counts, and that the declaration he had signed was false.
He also admitted that his conduct was misleading and that he had failed to take sufficient steps to ensure that the microchip number recorded for the horse was accurate.
However, he denied that his conduct had been dishonest and that he had risked undermining a procedure designed to promote animal welfare.
In its decision, the committee noted that Dr Butnaru kept introducing new versions of what happened for the first time at the hearing and changed his account as he went along, as well as being evasive when answering questions.
The Committee therefore felt that Dr Butnaru could not be considered to be a reliable witness, and whilst it did not know the true reason why he was prepared to sign a false declaration on a passport application, it was satisfied that he'd made a false declaration dishonestly.
The Committee also found that Dr Butnaru had failed to take sufficient steps to ensure that the microchip number recorded for the horse was accurate as, if the passport had been issued on a false premise because of misleading information provided by Dr Butnaru, then it could not function as it was meant to which, in the Committee’s view, clearly risked undermining procedures designed to protect animal welfare.
The Committee found that Dr Butnaru had breached the parts 6.2 and 6.5 of the Code of Professional Conduct, as well as Principle 1 of the 10 Principles of Certification, namely that ‘a veterinarian should certify only those matters which: a) are within his or her own knowledge; b) can be ascertained by him or her personally; c) are the subject of supporting evidence from an authorised veterinarian who has personal knowledge of the matters in question; or d) are the subject of checks carried out by an Officially Authorised Person (OAP).’
The Committee found there were no mitigating factors.
Aggravating factors, on the other hand, were that Dr Butnaru had participated in premeditated misconduct, made financial gain from his actions as he was paid to make the false declaration, abused his professional position, and showed blatant or wilful disregard of the Horse Passport System and of the role of the RCVS and the systems that regulate the veterinary profession.
The Committee found that all proven charges amounted to Disgraceful Conduct in a Professional Respect.
On considering the sanction, the Committee once again considered the aggravating factors, as well as additional mitigating factors in that Dr Butnaru had no previous disciplinary history, showed limited insight by admitting to some of the charges, showed expressions of remorse, and was provided with a positive testimonial.
Paul Morris, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: “The Committee was cognisant of the importance of a veterinary surgeon’s signature on any document.
"This should have been obvious to any veterinary surgeon, but particularly someone of Dr Butnaru’s 11 years’ experience (at the time of signing).
"The Committee was well aware of the impact and ramifications for Dr Butnaru of any decision to remove him from the Register, but had to weigh his interests with those of the public.
“In doing so it took account of the context and circumstances of the case, all matters of personal mitigation, Dr Butnaru’s previous unblemished record and the need to act proportionately.
"However, the Committee was of the view that the need to uphold proper standards of conduct within the veterinary profession, together with the public interest in maintaining confidence in the profession of veterinary surgeons and protecting the welfare of animals, meant that a period of suspension would not be sufficient.
"His actions were fundamentally incompatible with remaining on the Register and thus the only appropriate and proportionate sanction in all the circumstances of this case was that of removal from the Register.”
https://www.rcvs.org.uk/concerns/disciplinary-hearings
Veterinary teams are now being invited to nominate their workplaces for the awards, detailing the ways in which the team’s wellbeing has been supported.
Entrants must show evidence in their workplace of:
Entires can be submitted for the following categories
The BVA is strongly encouraging people to submit nominations as a team.
Entrants will also be required to submit photos showcasing team culture, demonstrating initiatives to aid staff wellbeing or moments of positivity.
BVA Junior Vice President Anna Judson, who will also be one of the judges for the awards, said: “The culture in a workplace has an impact on every aspect of a business, but most especially when it comes to building a happy, healthy and resilient workforce.
"That’s why it’s so important that staff feel heard, valued and supported.
"BVA’s Wellbeing Awards are an important opportunity for teams to shout about innovative practices that are going the extra mile to support wellbeing.
"After all, good veterinary workplaces are good for people, good for animals in their care and ultimately good for business.”
The awards are open to the entire veterinary profession and there is no requirement to be a BVA member.
Winners will be announced at BVA’s Gala Dinner during the London Vet Show in November.
Nominations close on Monday, 11th September 2023.
www.bva.co.uk/wellbeing-awards
The new machine is a modular system using low-flow anaesthesia for animals from 2-80kg.
The company says that compared to anaesthetic techniques which use high fresh gas flow rates, it functions without posing a risk to team members from the huge amounts of oxygen and inhalational anaesthetic agents that would otherwise be released.
In turn, this results in cost savings from unwasted agents, and a typical 5 to 10 times reduction in environmental damage.
Darvall founder, Dr Colin Dunlop, said: “For optimal outcome from anaesthesia, veterinary anaesthesiologists and veterinarians routinely make decisions about the physiological well-being of the patient, the environmental impact of their actions, the operational efficiency of their practice and cost-effectiveness.
"Having suitable equipment that uses low-flow anaesthesia will reduce the risk of hypothermia, improve team safety, reduce environmental emissions and reduce costs.”
“Low-flow anaesthesia not only reduces oxygen flows and inhalant agent consumption to less than 10% of high-flow, non-rebreathing systems, it can help reduce anaesthetic hypothermia because it uses warm gas when using the Darvall heated breathing circuits.
"Using our specifically designed modern system for veterinary patients addresses the traditional challenges associated with low-flow anaesthesia and hypothermia.
Darvall says the use of just one system will also simplify staff training and ensure familiarity.
https://darvallvet.com
The clinic offers Specialist care primarily for patients with osteoarthritis pain, but also those with chronic pain caused by other conditions, such as cancer, dental and ear diseases, spinal disease and feline hyperaesthesia syndrome.
BVS says cats and dogs coming to the clinic will get the highest level of care with a specialist assessment from Jo, who also also works closely with the orthopaedic and neurology services to offer a global and holistic approach.
The assessment will identify signs of chronic pain, gauge the severity, and also evaluate the impact of the condition on the animal’s quality of life.
Jo says it is important to identify these conditions as early as possible, as instigating pain management early helps to dampen down pain signals and reduce overall upregulation of the pain pathways.
To that end, Jo uses validated clinical metrology instruments (owner questionnaires) to measure the severity of pain, especially during initial appointments.
Should a condition be detected, Jo and her team will be able to offer pharmacotherapy, intra-articular and epidural injections and acupuncture.
Jo also works closely with physiotherapists and hydrotherapy services, which can be used as adjunctive therapy.
Jo said, said: “Many cats and dogs will experience chronic pain. These cases need to be thoroughly investigated to ensure that the cause of pain is properly identified and treatment quickly provided. We are very pleased to be able to open our new chronic pain clinic for cat and dog owners in the South West today to provide this essential service.”
https://www.bristolvetspecialists.co.uk
Part of the Pets at Home Vet Group, the new centre was originally set for a Spring/Summer 2020 opening, but the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown set launch plans back to later in the year.
The 24/7 referral centre, which is led by Dr Sam Woods and Professor Dick White as co-Clinical Directors, takes referrals in orthopaedics, internal medicine, neurology, soft tissue surgery, diagnostic imaging and anaesthesia.
Sam said: "We are thrilled to finally be able to officially open our centre this week and to start welcoming patients from the surrounding area and throughout Scotland.
"This has been a strange and difficult year for us all, and as a profession we have faced some hard months. We hope our new referral hospital will be a great asset to the local first opinion professionals, as an extra support with any specialist referral cases, and we are really looking forward to building relationships with them.
"We are lucky to have a great team of veterinary Specialists, nurses and support colleagues at VSS, who are all dedicated to offering the best service and care possible. We are all excited to see what the next few months will bring.
The centre, based at Deer Park in Livingston, will also provide a CPD programme and internship and residency opportunities to those in the profession.
Professor Dick White said: “Since its original inception, our vision for VSS has always been to create a world-class facility, with state-of-the-art technology and outstanding levels of care, and it feels great that we have finally been able to open the doors, welcome patients in and start on our journey.
"We hope the referral centre not only supports local vets and pets, but also fosters new talent and helps develop the next generation of veterinary professionals through our CPD and Internship offering. We are looking forward to what the future will hold."
"Learning from everything – Significant Event Audits and root cause analysis" teaches how to use significant event auditing and root cause analysis tools to investigate an event and uncover what went wrong and what went right.
RCVS Knowledge says the boxset, with its supporting tools and templates, breaks down the steps from start to finish so that anyone in practice can use a tried and tested framework to reflect and share learning and contribute towards profession-wide improvements.
Pam Mosedale, Chair of the RCVS Knowledge Quality Improvement Advisory Board, said: “We all make mistakes; it’s how our teams deal with them and learn from them that is important.
“We understand that errors can be costly in practice, impacting our patients, causing stress for our teams, and financially impacting our businesses, and that is why we are providing practical free support for all veterinary teams.”
https://learn.rcvsknowledge.org/course/index.php?categoryid=4
Formerly known as BSAVA’s Scottish Congress, Alba delegates will be treated to 28 lectures, four practicals, ten hours of CPD and a commercial exhibition.
There are three lecture streams: one for vets, another for vet nurses and another open to all.
Highlights include ‘Echocardiology’ with Kieran Borgeat, ‘Dermatology: What can nurses do?’ with Sue Paterson, and ‘Wildlife Triage’ with Jenna Richardson.
The practical sessions are open to all and include sampling techniques, suturing and a ferret clinical exam.
There's a gala dinner on Friday 16th from 7:30pm, starting with a drinks reception, followed by dinner and entertainment in the evening, with a live band and ceilidh dancing.
Angela McLaughlin, Scottish Regional Chair at the BSAVA said: “We are delighted that we are returning to Scotland after three years away as this is a great event that allows vets and nurses the opportunity to improve their skills and knowledge, while visiting an idyllic part of the country!”
For BSAVA members, tickets cost £240 +VAT for vets, £165 +VAT for veterinary nurses, and £65 +VAT for students.
Day tickets and non-member tickets are also available.
There's an additional fee of £10 +VAT for all practical sessions.
Tickets for the gala dinner are £35 for delegates and £55 for guests.
If you are looking for somewhere to stay, BSAVA’s hotel booking partner, BCD Meetings & Events, can help.
www.bsavaevents.com/bsavaalba2022
The practice, which has nine clinicians (including three RCVS Recognised Specialists), eleven RVNs, two human-trained cardiac physiologists and a dedicated referral administrator is the first referral practice in the UK to become an EOT.
Dave Dickson, a director alongside Jo Harris, said: "The decision to transition the clinical side of the business into employee ownership was led by the core values of the team and the desire to preserve our independence as a referral service.
"In an industry dominated by corporate acquisitions, with business models increasingly focused on keeping referral offerings within the corporate groups and limiting choice for clients, we felt it was crucial to chart a different course.
"We have a very bonded and supportive team, working together to continuously improve and evolve, where the ideas of every team member are important and all roles are equally appreciated.
"We feel that employee ownership aligns perfectly with this ethos.
Jo Harris added: “By involving all our employees in the ownership of the business, we aim to foster a culture of engagement and collaboration.
"This new structure ensures that every team member has a stake in the success of the business and a voice in how it operates.
"We believe this will not only enhance our service quality but also promote sustainable growth and innovation.
"The transition to employee ownership is not just a change in structure; it is a reaffirmation of our values and a pledge to our patients, clients, and partners that we will continue to strive for excellence in every aspect of our work.”
The Stablelab hand-held reader detects and quantifies the biomarker Serum Amyloid A (SAA), an acute phase protein produced by the liver that increases rapidly and dramatically in response to inflammation.
Zoetis says that by measuring SAA, vets can assess the severity of an infection more quickly, often before clinical symptoms start, and are able to monitor the horse’s response over the course of treatment.1
Zoetis vet Wendy Talbot said: “Zoetis is committed to providing vets and horse owners with the most effective health products to better predict, prevent, detect and treat equine disease.
“The Stablelab test kit enables convenient, off-site testing for quick and accurate detection of a reliable indicator of infection in horses.
“Point-of-care testing is one of the fastest-growing areas of diagnostics and this test is rapidly becoming a standard of care in equine practice. SAA testing will help vets to quickly determine an appropriate course of intervention, positively impacting case outcomes.”
For more information, visit: www.stablelab.com. To place an order, contact your Zoetis Account Manager or the Zoetis Technical Team on customersupportUK@zoetis.com or 0845 300 9084 (option 3).
With this new system, you gain points by achieving different ISVPS qualifications.
In 2023, mini modular programmes will also be released to help delegates accumulate more points.
Once enough points have been reached, delegates are awarded the ultimate qualification: an ISVPS Lead Veterinary Nurse Practitioner.
Improve says My Veterinary Career has been launched to tackle the growing problem of career dissatisfaction amongst veterinary professionals.
A 2019 survey of the veterinary profession by the ies reported that 55.2% of vets said they did not feel rewarded/valued in the profession1.
Additionally, the FVE Survey of the veterinary profession in Europe claimed that in the UK, 40% of vets and nurses wished to leave the industry.
In other countries Improve Veterinary Education operates in, 51% in Portugal, 32% in Spain, 27% in Denmark, 25% in Germany and 17% in France also felt the same2.
Improve says that with My Veterinary Career, vet nurses will now have a clearer pathway to advance their careers and they will be able to develop a bespoke learning journey.
This, the company hopes, will help with the recruitment and retention of veterinary professionals across both corporate and private practice and boost practice productivity and revenue.
https://www.improveinternational.com/uk/myveterinarycareer-vets
The new voice skill offers three main features, a chocolate toxicity calculator for dogs, the nearest emergency vet finder, and answers to Vets Now's commonly asked pet health questions.
Head of clinical intelligence at Vets Now, Dave Leicester said: “With many people reluctant or not able to leave their homes due to the coronavirus pandemic, we're making veterinary advice accessible to everyone, through as many channels as possible including our website, video vet service, and now smart speakers.
"We fast-tracked our plans for the innovative voice skill in response to Covid-19 as we know how much pet owners are relying on remote veterinary advice just now — we’ve seen a huge spike in calls to our emergency contact centre and the uptake of our new video triage consultation service has been exceptional, with more than 500 video calls from worried pet owners since its launch in April.
"Our new voice skill is the next step in helping pets and their owners as much as we can during this incredibly difficult time. It’s a first release of the skill but we will continue to build and add advice to it in the weeks and months ahead.”
More information on the veterinary advice skill and how to access it can be found here www.vets-now.com/smart-speaker.
COMMENTI've just tried the new skill, and my first impression is that vets don't have to fear this is going to put them out of a job any time soon.
As with all things Alexa, there is a sporting chance she'll mishear what you said. But the bigger problem is that it may be a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
I've had a dog for the last decade, and I could count the number of times I had a question for the vet that could be answered by an app on the fingers of one finger.
In fact, it was the time our dog ate chocolate.
But would I download a voice assistant just to answer the chocolate question?
No, I wouldn't.
Nor would I download a voice assistant to explain veterinary conditions, simply because I don't have questions of that nature more than once a decade. Who does? And if I wanted to know where the nearest emergency vet was, I'd either Google it or I'd ask Alexa herself (as opposed to summoning the Vets Now voice assistant specifically).
The sentiment behind this idea - making advice more accessible - seems sound, but I suspect that unless this assistant becomes truly encyclopaedic, it is never going to be useful enough to warrant installing on a smart speaker. Even then, one has to wonder whether the average pet owner has enough animal-related questions every month to warrant having an assistant to answer them.
The aim of the week is to help pet owners identify common symptoms of eye disease and to seek prompt veterinary attention where appropriate.
To support the initiative, TVM UK is supplying veterinary practices with a kit to create their own waiting room display to inform owners about the common symptoms of eye disease. Pet owners can obtain further, more in-depth information by scanning a QR code on their smartphone camera which takes them directly to the webpage www.tvm-uk.com/eyehealth.
There is also a ‘Who’s Got Their Eye on You’ mini quiz to help engage clients to see if they can spot one of their pets in the animal line up.
Will Peel, Product Manager at TVM UK said: "Eye problems in pets can sometimes be hard for pet owners to pick up so we have launched Pet Eye Health Awareness Week to raise awareness of common symptoms of poor eye heath so problems can be identified early and pet owners can seek veterinary advice quickly."
For more information, contact your local territory manager, email help@tvm-uk.com or call 0800 0385868. You can find additional eye-health related social media content at: www.tvm-uk.com.