The RCVS and the BVA have announced the launch of Vet Futures, a jointly funded initiative designed to stimulate discussion about the future of the profession, and help its members prepare for and shape it.

The initiative will draw on the experience and insight of a wide range of individuals and organisations, including veterinary surgeons and nurses, veterinary bodies, farmers, pet owners and other key stakeholders.

The objective is to understand where the provision of veterinary services is currently heading, whether this is in the best interests of the profession, animal owners and the public at large, and what might be done to shape an optimal future for the veterinary team, keeping animal health and welfare at its heart.

In the project's first phase, independent researchers will gather evidence via focus groups, phone interviews and desk-based research, in addition to the gauging of opinion through events, the internet and social media.

This evidence gathering will be followed by an engagement phase, where the profession will be asked for their feedback on initial thoughts; a period of analysis, where a report will be written by the independent researchers; and, finally, there will be an action phase, where key strategic issues will be identified, together with a clear plan for action from the BVA and the RCVS, as well as other organisations and individuals.

Professor Stuart Reid, RCVS President. said: "The RCVS is implementing a programme of reform to make it a first-rate regulator, but how do we also make ours a first-rate profession, that is resilient and agile enough to meet future demands?

"The Vet Futures project will not just be about horizon-scanning, but getting a fix on those issues over the horizon that we may not yet have considered, such as the use of emerging technologies.

"It's an exciting challenge and I am looking forward to members of the veterinary team getting involved so that, together, we can develop an action plan that will deliver a sustainable future for the profession."

John Blackwell, BVA President, said: "It is no secret that the veterinary profession is changing rapidly and that is why the theme for my presidential year is 'driving change and shaping the future'. It is essential that we come together to map out where we want to be as a strong and trusted profession and identify how we can make that happen.

"On such cross-cutting issues it is appropriate that the two leading professional bodies come together to provide joint leadership for the profession, but we are keen to engage as many individuals and stakeholders as possible. It is designed to be a hugely collaborative project and we want to hear voices from across the whole profession and the whole veterinary team."

The project has a dedicated website www.vetfutures.org.uk where the latest events, reports and publications will be found. There will also be a 'topic of the month' for the duration of the project, with controversial opinion-pieces being posted to stimulate debate from within the profession and amongst animal owners and other stakeholders.

The RCVS has published Fitness to Practise - A Guide for UK Veterinary Schools and Veterinary Students, and is now working to produce an equivalent for veterinary nurse students.

The guide is designed to introduce students to the concept of fitness to practise and help prepare them for professional life. 

Fitness to Practise - A Guide for UK Veterinary Schools and Veterinary Students was developed by an RCVS working party in conjunction with the UK's seven veterinary schools that currently offer an RCVS-approved veterinary degree. 

The guide is split into two parts: the first part provides guidance for veterinary schools on how to recognise and address fitness to practise concerns; the second part sets out the broad principles of fitness to practise that students should follow and which veterinary schools should uphold.

Laura McClintock, an Advisory Solicitor from the RCVS Professional Conduct Department, said: "While we don't regulate veterinary students themselves, we hope that this guidance will prepare future vets for the requirements and standards that we expect from members of a regulated profession and for adhering to our Code of Professional Conduct and its supporting guidance.

"The guide also recognises that each university will have its own specific disciplinary guidelines and procedures, but we hope that this will help promote consistency in their fitness to practise regimes.

"Although we expect any adverse findings made in university fitness to practise proceedings to be declared to us upon application to register, we would take into account the fact that a student is not a fully-fledged professional and would therefore make some allowance for any mistakes and poor judgement when considering whether or not they should join the Register."

The guide can be downloaded for free from www.rcvs.org.uk/studentguide

Ceva has announced the launch of Zodon®, a flavoured clindamycin for dogs and cats.

Zodon is the only veterinary licensed flavoured clindamycin available in the UK.

Zodon is indicated for the treatment of infected wounds and abscesses in cats and dogs and oral cavity/dental infections caused by or associated with clindamycin-sensitive species of Staphylococcus spp, Streptococcus spp in dogs.

Rob Mclintock, Business unit manager for Ceva said: "Zodon is an exciting new product for Ceva, it is the first clindamycin on the market to offer flavoured presentations designed to help deal with compliance issues and help improve treatment success."

In a palatability study 98.3% of dogs took Zodon chicken flavoured tablets spontaneously. Ceva says the oral solution for cats and small dogs also offers easier administration with grilled meat flavouring and a graduated syringe.

Adelaide Ellerington, product manager for Ceva Animal Health said: "Zodon complements our existing antibiotic range perfectly. The whole range is designed specifically for veterinary use allowing veterinary surgeons to dose more accurately and improve patient compliance by offering flavoured tablets and solutions."

You can preorder Zodon now from Ceva - telephone 01494 781510 or email: cevauk@ceva.com - alternatively Zodon will be available from wholesalers at the start of next week.

Veterinary Insights has announced that it will be unveiling Vet Viewer, its new veterinary benchmarking service, at the SPVS/VPMA event at the Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, South Wales on January 22-24, 2014.

As those familiar with the old Fort Dodge Indices will be aware, benchmarking services like these allow participating veterinary practices to compare their own activity and business results against a broad panel of similar veterinary practices so that they can better gauge their own market performance and make changes to their working practices as they see fit.

Vet Viewer is provided free of charge to participating vet practices.  It delivers monthly information to help practices get a quick understanding of key business metrics and a clear view of practice activities and the income they are generating.

Veterinary Insights' Managing Director Alexander Arpino said: "The Benchmarking Service has been carefully designed to give practical business support to veterinarians and we have had a great response from the 100 plus clinics that have signed up to the service to date. We have plans to expand the range of services offered to enable an even wider range of meaningful data and KPIs for veterinarians to manage their businesses."

The incoming President of the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS), Nick Stuart said: "We have been working closely with Veterinary Insights for over a year on this valuable service and we are delighted to say that SPVS members will have access to additional features that track practice profitability and other important financial measurements."

For further information contact Veterinary Insights on 01403 800135 or visit: www.vetviewer.co.uk

Additionally you can download a detailed brochure on the Benchmarking Service here:http://www.vetviewer.co.uk/downloads/vet-viewer-brochure.pdf

Vet Futures, the joint initiative by the RCVS and BVA to stimulate debate about the future of the profession, has opened a new discussion exploring the issue of mental health problems.

The discussion has been opened by this month's Vet Futures guest blogger, Rosie Allister, Chair of the Vet Helpline and a Director of the Veterinary Benevolent Fund.

Rosie, who is also a researcher at the University of Edinburgh specialising in veterinary wellbeing, writes that members of the profession should be more willing to open up about their own mental health problems and intervene by talking and listening to colleagues who may be suffering from mental ill-health. She said: "Looking to the future, we need to better understand who is most at risk, how to reach out to them, and how we can start to change our culture so that it is OK to ask for help."

Her blog also proposes that, due to the caring nature of the occupation and high client expectations, members of the profession routinely put work and animal welfare ahead of their own needs and that, in order for there to be wider cultural change, individuals need to change their own attitudes towards asking for help. This includes the discussion of 'taboo subjects' such as suicide: "Perhaps all of us have to start trying to change our culture to one that is more accepting and supportive and looks out for those in need even when they aren't able to reach out themselves."

As part of the discussion, Vet Futures is running a poll which asks: "Could you recognise the signs of mental ill-health in a colleague?"

To read Rosie's blog and take part in the poll, visit  and take part in the poll, visit: http://goo.gl/EmLhhF

The Animal Health Trust and the Kennel Club have announced that a new, non-invasive DNA test for the genetic mutation causing macular corneal dystrophy (MCD) in Labradors will be available from the Animal Health Trust DNA Testing Service from Monday 26 January 2015.

Macular corneal dystrophy (MCD) is a hereditary eye disease which, although painless, causes severe visual impairment in affected dogs. 

The mutation for MCD is recessive; meaning only dogs that inherit two copies of the mutation will be affected. Dogs identified by the test as Clear have no copies of the mutation whereas Carriers have one copy of the mutation. Clears and Carriers cannot develop MCD, although Carriers will pass the mutation on to about half of their puppies if they reproduce. Dogs identified as Genetically Affected have two copies of the mutation and will develop MCD around middle-age. The DNA test can be used to screen dogs at any age and provides a means of eliminating the causal mutation from the Labrador Retriever gene pool.

Dogs affected with MCD will develop cloudy eyes, due to an abnormal accumulation of carbohydrates (known as glycosaminoglycans) in their corneas. The only treatment for the disease in people is to surgically perform a corneal transplant; however this has not yet been performed successfully in the dog for the treatment of MCD.

Dr Cathryn Mellersh, Head of Canine Genetics at the Animal Health Trust, said: "We're really pleased to be able to provide this new test in 2015. Screening Labradors for the mutation responsible for this condition will help to identify those dogs at risk of developing MCD, and/or passing it on to their puppies. Dogs don't typically develop MCD until middle age - so without a DNA test there is a chance that affected dogs are unknowingly bred from. Now, affected and carriers dogs can easily be identified through one simple test giving breeders peace of mind.

"By developing this test and encouraging screening within the Labrador population we hope that this horrible disease can now be eliminated from the breed. This is the aim behind all of our work in canine genetics and we're thrilled to have been able to make such good progress in developing this test after MCD was first reported in Labradors by one of own veterinary ophthalmologists in 2013. Since then we've worked closely with the ophthalmology team here at the Animal Health Trust and Labrador owners and breeders from various European countries and have managed to identify the mutation and launch this test within two years, which is great news for Labrador owners."

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: "The Labrador is the most popular breed in the UK, so there is certainly a high demand for puppies, and it is crucial that those being bred are as healthy as possible.

"This test will further assist breeders of Labradors in breeding healthy, happy examples of the breed and we are delighted to be able to offer another tool to improve and maintain the breed's health.

"The work carried out at the Kennel Club Genetics Centre at the Animal Health Trust really does make a massive difference to the lives of dogs and we are thrilled that Labrador breeders will now be able to make use of another health test to protect the health of the breed they love."

For more information, visit www.ahtdnatesting.co.uk. The test costs £48 inc VAT, with a 10% discount when at least 20 samples are submitted within a month. Interested parties should contact dnatesting@aht.org.uk with a start date to request a discount code.

Forum Animal Health, makers of Apometic, an emetic for dogs, has launched a campaign to raise awareness among vets about the dangers of human foods to dogs, particularly over the festive period.

According to the PDSA, almost half a million dog owners are still giving them chocolate treats intended for human consumption¹ despite the fact that 85%² of consumers know chocolate is poisonous to dogs,.

Chocolate is, of course, not the only human food that is dangerous to dogs. Other treats such as mince pies and Christmas cake (containing raisins or sultanas), as well as food containing onions and leeks, plus sweeteners and human medication, are all potentially lethal if not treated as soon as possible.

The company is also stressing the importance of dog owners presenting their pets at the vets as soon as possible after eating something potentially harmful. Tim Gooders, UK Companion Animal Product Manager at Forum Animal Health said: “During the festive season clients often don’t recognise what is poisonous and don’t know what to do if there is a problem. Their instinctive response is to wait and see, however, animals need to be treated quickly before they have metabolised what they have eaten.” He added that Apometic is most effective if the animal is presented early, pre poisoning.

In order to help raise awareness and alert owners about the importance of acting promptly, the company has created a range of posters which can also be downloaded and printed out from its website.

References

1. Forum Animal Health data on file

2. PDSA PAW report 2013 press release April 2014

Merial Animal Health has launched Veloxa, a palatable broad spectrum dewormer for dogs, effective against roundworm, hookworm, whipworm and tapeworm.

Merial says Veloxa uses a proprietary technology which coats the bitter active ingredients in the beef-flavoured chewable tablets. In the company's palatability tests it achieved 97% acceptance. 

Veloxa tablets are scored for accurate dosing and come in two sizes:

• Veloxa for small to medium dogs (2.5 to 30kg), available in 2,4,8 and 104 tablet packs.
• Veloxa XL for large dogs (17.5 to 70kg), available in 2,4,8 and 48 tablet packs.

Christine Male, Product Manager of Veloxa said: "Merial has a strong heritage in anti-parasitics and understands how difficult it can be for pet owners to administer worming tablets, so we are extremely pleased to be able to offer Veloxa as part of the Merial anti-parasitics range." 

The Veterinary Benevolent Fund (VBF) has announced that the new Vet Helpline (which is for both vets and nurses), which will now be answered by a live person 24 hours a day, has launched in time for Christmas - an especially difficult time for many people.

The new service runs on a new telephone number: 0303 040 2551. Add it to your address book now, if not for yourself, in case you need to pass on the information to a colleague who needs help.

The new Vet Helpline has been made possible with support from the new RCVS joint initiative “Mind Matters”

Rosie Allister, Chair of Vet Helpline said: “It’s so important that people who take the brave and positive step to seek help by calling Vet Helpline are able to connect with one of our trained volunteers as quickly as possible. We know many are deterred by reaching a voicemail, so connecting to a human being is vitally important and can have an important positive impact. We are so grateful for this vote of confidence in Vet Helpline from the Mind Matters initiative.

"Everyone involved in running Vet Helpline is a volunteer and the team is so incredibly passionate and keen to see the service continually improve. The launch of our confidential e-mail service last year, which hides all email addresses (accessible via www.vetlife.org.uk), was a huge positive step forward and now this evolution to live answering is another. We are adamant that although the phone number is changing, the non-judgmental, completely confidential and empathetic support that we offer will not."

As one of the four arms of support offered by the VBF, Vet Helpline sits alongside services offering financial support, help with mental health conditions, including drug and alcohol addiction, and a library of resources aimed at promoting well-being on the Vetlife website - www.vetlife.org.uk.

CarefreeCredit, the vet-run company we reported on back in October, has announced that it is working with its 600th practice in offering its interest-free or low-interest credit to clients that find themselves unable to pay for unforeseen veterinary treatment.

Stewart Halperin MRCVS, Managing Director of CarefreeCredit said: “2014 has been an incredibly busy but successful year for us. We’ve increased the take up of our service by over 500%, we have proudly cemented our partnerships within the corporate and buying groups and most importantly, we have become established enough to make a substantial difference to the pets and pet owners who rely on the help our service provides.”

Stewart added: “We know 2015 is going to be an even bigger year for us, with even more practices joining our system and the introduction of dependable and innovative business support services that will continue to save our practices time and money and help them increase sales and reduce debtors. With this in mind, we are introducing a very small monthly charge to cover our increased costs in software, training and office support services.”

From the New Year, practices that join Carefree Credit will be charged a flat rate of £10 per month for the duration of their membership. The £10 monthly fee covers support for FCA applications, unlimited training in-practice or online, use of the CarefreeCredit unique platform, CarefreeCredit office support, and point of sale materials. Practices that sign up before January 1st, will continue their membership without charge until at least January 2016.

For further information, visit: carefreecredit.co.uk or ring 0203 697 8439.

The Veterinary Osteoarthritis Congress, which will take place at Holywell Park Conference Centre, Loughborough, on 22nd and 23rd May, is open for registrations.

Congress offers two days of lectures and workshops and up to 14 hours CPD delivered by experts on the most cutting-edge OA management, treatment, techniques and technology.

There is also a large trade exhibition showcasing many of the latest products and services, not to mention a happy hour and gala dinner.

The organisers say veterinary surgeons and nurses, physiotherapists, hydrotherapists, and anyone working to prevent, treat and manage osteoarthritis will find the congress hugely rewarding.

This year there’s a focus on comparative disciplines, including human and equine practice.

Tickets cost from £190 to £370, plus VAT.

www.vet-oa.com/voacon

The Waltham Equine Studies Group has announced the results of two pieces of research designed to improve understanding of the best nutritional support for older horses, whether they are healthy or diagnosed with Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID or Cushing's).

The first study: A comparison of nutrient digestibility between adult and aged horses, conducted by the Department of Large Animal clinical Sciences and Animal Science, Michigan State University and The Waltham Equine Studies Group, confirmed (in contrast to earlier work) that there was no difference in digestibility between healthy adult and aged horses when fed a variety of common equine diets.¹ 

In the second study: Characterisation of the faecal bacterial community in adult and elderly horses fed a high fibre high oil or high starch diet, the Institute of Biological Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, The Waltham Equine Studies Group and Michigan State University used the same horses as the previous study but this time looked at their gut microflora. The results showed that although no significant differences in individual species of bacteria were found, ageing was, however, associated with a reduction in bacterial diversity. This, say the authors, may in part explain why older animals can be at increased risk of intestinal disturbances.²

An abstract that summarised part of the Waltham Equine Studies Group's work on the effect of additional supplementation on aged horses with and without PPID was presented at the 2^nd Dorothy Havermeyer Geriatric Workshop in the USA last November.³ This work, carried out in conjunction with Dr Amanda Adams at the University of Kentucky showed that age is key in influencing inflammation and metabolism rather than whether the horse is PPID positive or not.

Professor Pat Harris, head of the Waltham Equine Studies Group, said: "For the parameters we monitored, the research showed that it is being old that is the issue, rather than having PPID." 

Clare Barfoot RNutr and the research and development manager at Spillers said: “This should give us a better understanding of the effects of diet and age on metabolism in order to determine optimal nutrition for the senior horse. Preliminary work suggests that this new research may change the way we think of feeding the older horse. Waltham’s work continues to ensure that Spillers feeds remain at the forefront of equine nutrition, for the better health of horses everywhere.”

References

1. Elzinga, S., Nielsen, B.D., Schott II, H.C., Rapson, J., Robison, C.I., McCutcheon, J.,Harris, P.A., Geor, R (2014) Comparison of Nutrient Digestibility Between Adult and Aged Horses Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 34 (10), pp. 1164-1169.
2. Dougal K, de la Fuente G, HARRIS P, Girdwood SE, Pinloche E, et al. (2014) Characterisation of the Faecal Bacterial Community in Adult and Elderly Horses Fed a High Fibre, High Oil or High Starch Diet Using 454 Pyrosequencing. PLoS ONE 9(2): e87424. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0087424
3. Betancourt A, Harris  PA, Moffett  AD, McMurry  KE, Reedy  SE, Horohov DW, & Adam  AA (2014) Comparison of inflammation, nutritional status, muscle mass, pituitary function, and age in geriatric horses.