The pathway allows receptionists to progress through five stages of seniority, from receptionist to head receptionist - then beyond into practice and regional leadership roles.
It also shows how receptionists can branch out laterally into different roles within the group’s other divisions.
For each stage, there's a detailed outline of the necessary skills and capabilities and a curriculum of learning.
Philip Webb, Learning Partner at CVS who led the development of the pathway, said: “Receptionists are one of the most important roles in practice.
"They are the first and oftentimes key point of contact for our clients and play an instrumental role in how the workload of a practice is managed.
“We hope that the structured information and learning within our pathway will build the skills of each of our front-line colleagues, enhance the role of the receptionist in our practices, and give clear guidance on how to progress.
They include the launch of the RCVS Academy, reforms to the RCVS concerns investigation process, the publication of the Workforce Action Plan and guidance for universities on supporting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic veterinary students, ongoing work on new under care guidance, the development of new sustainability standards for the Practice Standards Scheme, and the purchase of the future headquarters for the RCVS.
The report also contains an update from the College’s charity partner RCVS Knowledge, details of RCVS financial management policies, and an independent auditor’s report on the College.
The Annual Report and Financial Statements will be formally adopted by RCVS Council at its Annual General Meeting on Friday 7th July at One Great George Street.
Veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses are able to submit questions about the Annual Report.
The College says that subject to time, submitted questions will be answered by the College on the day, or followed up in writing after the event.
Questions should be emailed to Deborah Rowlanes, RCVS Events Manager, on d.rowlanes@rcvs.org.uk no later than 5pm on Tuesday 4th July.
If you want to attend, register at: www.rcvs.org.uk/events.
The awards are to celebrate outstanding veterinary practices that have demonstrated exceptional performance and innovation in various areas crucial to the future success of the profession.
There are three award categories, one to recognise leadership and management skills, one to celebrate practices that have excellent morale and a culture of collaborative teamworking, and one for practices that have started up in the last 2.5 years and achieved a profitable and sustainable business model.
The category winners will each win full day and evening tickets to SPVS Congress 2026 on Thursday 26th February at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole (3 team members per practice), plus overnight accommodation.
Five shortlisted practices in each category will win a book of their choice, provided by 5M Books.
The deadline for initial submissions is Friday 17th October 2025.
https://spvs.org.uk/business-excellence-awards/.
VetViewer is currently used by over 400 small animal, mixed and equine practices in the UK to track their metrics.
The tool also allows users to run simulations - so for instance if the practice has had to stop offering routine consults, or has a reduced number of vets or RVNS available, they can immediately see the impact on the practice top line.
VetViewer can be used by all practices, independent or corporate, or individual branches. It can track performance for the past 18 months, allowing comparisons to be made with before, during and after the COVID-19 outbreak.
VetViewer Director, Alex Arpino, says the service usually helps practices to thrive but right now offers potential to help them survive: "Many clinics are struggling to know what to do for the best and not knowing the magnitude of the economic impact of their decisions doesn't help.
"Everyone wants to protect their staff but also ensure they have jobs to return to. We can link data from nearly every PMS in the UK to VetViewer and the practice's management team is given access to a portal where they can see the data at a glance. Right now, being able to run simulations is central to current and future planning and could help alleviate stress for many practices managers and owners."
In normal circumstances, VetViewer allows practices to look at their performance over time and the effect of any changes they might make. The company says it can also help practices evaluate where they over and under-perform relative to their region and the UK as a whole.
The data available in VetViewer includes income from food, wormers and flea treatments and other provisions that many practices might find ways to sustain in the coming weeks.
Looking forward to a time when isolation and distancing can be lifted, the tool also shows where there is potential for practices to increase income - whether that's because they are under-charging for consults compared to the regional average, or performing fewer neutering procedures, or under-utilising potential diagnostic or imaging aids.
Such information is likely to be vital to recovery, providing a clear indication of the speed of recovery and the services that are making the biggest contribution to that recovery.
The VetViewer service can be demonstrated remotely by the company's dedicated team of Business Development Managers and the service can be activated at a distance, so practices can set up their account quickly and without any costs, either to set up or maintain.
For more information, visit: www.vetviewer.co.uk / www.veterinaryinsights.com or practice owners or managers can telephone 01403 800135 to make an appointment for an online meeting or to find out more.
The guidance has been in place since March to help practices continue to provide the public with veterinary services whilst safeguarding the health of their teams and clients.
The RCVS Council Covid-19 Taskforce reviewed the situation on 30th July and decided to extend the guidance after taking into account the pandemic’s progress, the latest government guidance, the headline results from a survey of practice experience of remote consulting, and 'other data from a number of veterinary practices'.
The Taskforce says it also considered the need to continue to provide practices with flexibility in the face of possible local or national lockdowns, the need for inclusivity of those practice teams members and clients who may still be shielding, the likelihood of quarantine of members of the team due to travel and/or Test and Trace and the fact that no major safety issues had been identified as part of the RCVS-commissioned survey into the immediate impact of the temporary guidance.
RCVS President Mandisa Greene, who chairs the Taskforce, said: “Whilst lockdown measures have been eased and matters have improved, we are far from being back to business as usual and the threat of returning to more severe lockdown measures, whether locally or nationally, is still very much alive."
The updated flowchart, along with all the College’s coronavirus guidance for the professions, is available at: www.rcvs.org.uk/coronavirus.
It has also been ranked 'Excellent' by employers as an apprentice provider on the government apprentice service.
According to the latest VetSkill data, the centre has also exceeded national average first time pass rates in almost all veterinary nursing modules.
Compiled every year, VetSkill audits externally verify first time pass rates for student nurse college modules in England.
In VetSkills’ latest results for the year 2021/2022, it found that Chester Veterinary Training Centre had exceeded the national average first time pass rates in 7 out of 8 of the MCQ exams modules.
In four of the modules, CVTC was found to have a 100% first time pass rate.
On average half of the student veterinary nurses at CVTC also achieved distinction for their module.
Jackie Evans, Head of Chester Veterinary Training Centre, said: “We set out to offer the best training, led by experienced tutors and with some of the best facilities. And we’ve worked really hard to deliver it, since being accepted onto the Register of Training Providers in 2019. So it is fantastic that we have received our good grading by OFSTED and our students are achieving these brilliant pass rates as a result.”
Applications are now open for a new cohort of student veterinary nurses and patient care assistants at Chester Veterinary Nursing College to start in March 2023.
To apply for a place, visit Chester Veterinary Training Centre: https://www.chestervtc.co.uk.
Linda gave her address at the Royal Institute of British Architects, venue for the RCVS Annual General Meeting last Friday.
Linda, an equine vet and director of the Wiltshire-based George Veterinary Group, said: “A Royal College and a regulator – it’s a challenge but this combined role is also an opportunity for us.
“In the time I’ve served the RCVS, I’ve definitely learnt some of what it takes to fulfil these roles under the remit of both the Veterinary Surgeons Act and our Royal Charter; to think not just from personal perspective and experience, and also to try to look beyond the needs of the profession today and consider what tomorrow might bring.
“Vets are not just one thing.
"The roles we fill in our working lives are many and varied, and I would argue that the MRCVS is the best placed arbiter of animal health and welfare.
"As such, keeping the MRCVS at the heart of decision-making around how veterinary care and services are provided is essential both to safeguard animal health and welfare and also to retain public trust in our work.
“Cultivating trust is a big part of what many of us do, day in and day out – trust in us from within our teams, from our clients and perhaps even from our patients.
“The RCVS with its two hats does a tough job for both the professions and the public.
"In many cases, the interests of the professions and the public align and there is no conflict.
"Of course, as a regulator where the interests don’t align, the RCVS regulates in the wider public interest and this, too, is a positive for us as a profession.
“Working in a regulated environment is a strength for us.
"The landscape in which we work has changed and the regulatory environment needs to change too. Now we are the other side of the general election, work can continue on legislative reform seeking parliamentary time for a new Veterinary Surgeons Act.”
As the 13th female President of the RCVS, Linda will lead an Officer Team comprising the now Senior Vice-President Dr Sue Paterson FRCVS, Junior Vice-President Professor Tim Parkin FRCVS and Treasurer Dr Tshidi Gardiner MRCVS as well as VN Council Chair Belinda Andrews-Jones RVN, who attends Officer Team meetings as an observer.
This takes total investment to £21 million, following a £6 million Seed round in August 2023.
Hello Vet was founded in 2022 by healthcare entrepreneurs, James Lighton and Alessandro Guazzi, and veterinary surgeon Oli Viner.
They opened their first site in London Fields in July 2024.
VetSurgeon.org spoke to Oli, who explained some of the things Hello Vet is doing to offer greater transparency and tangible value whilst remaining affordable:
Oli said: "We're using technology to reduce the amount of time we spend on admin and mundane stuff, so we can concentrate more on those things which deliver better value for our clients.
"For example, our clinicians make clinical notes as normal, but they are translated by AI into treatments plans which, after a once-over by our nursing team, we give to clients both as an aide-memoire and as a tangible presentation of the advice they've bought from us.
"When we used to do this manually, it would take 10 minutes. With AI, that's down to 90 seconds.
"We also use WhatsApp to foster a better connection between clinicians and clients, and to triage cases.
"We don't charge for interactions on WhatsApp, so it saves clients time and money whilst allowing us to focus our efforts where they are most needed and offer greater value.
Hello Vet reckons its WhatApp triage service has saved clients more than £75K in fees alone in the last year.
Another novel side to the practice is that it allows clients into its procedure rooms to hold their pets’ paws as anaesthesia is administered and to be present when their pets wake up.
Oli said: "This reduces stress for both pets and people and there are studies1 which have shown it improves outcomes and speeds recovery.
"As importantly, it shows tangible value to the client when they can see all the equipment we've invested in.
"Allowing clients to be there at the start of a procedure strengthens relationships with the team and builds trust."
Hello Vet now plans to launch clinics across the UK and hire a team of 200 vets and vet nurses over the next two years.
James Lighton, co-founder and CEO, said: “We know that most veterinary professionals come into this industry because they love working with animals.
"But too many good people are leaving this vocation.
"We want to become Britain’s best place to work, to ensure working in a vet clinic feels like the dream job it should be.
https://www.hellovet.co.uk
Reference
There are 5 candidates standing this year and vet nurses can vote for up to two of them until 5pm on Friday 21st April 2023:
The candidates' profiles are available at www.rcvs.org.uk/vnvote23, where you can also read the candidates’ answers to two questions of their choice submitted by the profession.
The two candidates with the most votes will join VN Council for their three-year terms at the College’s AGM in July.
Any veterinary nurses who have not received their voting email should contact CES directly on support@cesvotes.com.
The scheme uses a traffic light colour system of vaccination reminder stickers which veterinary surgeons can place on the front of passports at each vaccination appointment. If the 6-month pilot is a success, the initiative will be rolled out across the UK in the summer.
BEVA says that despite the best efforts of numerous equine welfare charities to address the obesity issue, a significant proportion of owners are either not recognising obesity in their horses, or not being motivated to take action.
For this reason, the Association decided to try and confront the problem in a different way, using knowledge gained from the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) – a government think tank specialising in behavioural economics and psychology.
Lucy Grieve, President Elect of BEVA and part of the Association’s obesity campaign working group, said: "Determined to look at new ways to positively engage with horse owners, we harnessed the BIT’s experience of what methods work most effectively and came up with a simple, practical scheme revolving around vaccination visits, which could be affected by vets themselves."
The idea is to use the routine annual or six-monthly vaccination visit as a time to assess a horse’s body condition. After the vaccination is given and the body condition assessed, a colour-coded vaccination reminder is stuck to the front of the passport, both to remind the owner when the next vaccination is due and to start a conversation about body condition.
A green sticker indicates a ‘healthy’ body condition. Amber means the horse is carrying too much fat tissue and needs moderate changes to diet, exercise, management, rugging and clipping regimes. Red implies that the horse is carrying excessive amounts of fat tissue which are placing the horse in morbid danger.
Amber or red stickers provide the opportunity to talk about the potential impact on the horse’s health and what needs to be done.
If there isn't enough time to talk about it during the appointment, the sticker includes a colour-specific QR code which the owner can use to access additional information via their smartphone in their own time.
One of three short, colour-specific videos will explain the reason their horse has been designated the colour of sticker on their passport, leading to a link to more specific advice on what the owner needs to do next. Having swotted up on the background information beforehand, the owner can then discuss the various management options with their vet at a convenient time.
Lucy said: "The first challenge is helping owners recognise when their horse is overweight. Once this has been established then we can make a plan to correct the problem as a team.
"The owner needs to be on board and committed in order to carry out the tough task of reducing the weight of their horse. We hope that owners will be ‘nudged’ by the sticker intervention to consider the information they have been offered and start to tackle the problem before it causes life-threatening disease."
Nine equine veterinary practices were invited to participate in the pilot scheme, including Loch Leven Equine Practice in Kinross. Managing director Liz Somerville said: "We have been focusing on equine obesity for the last couple of years including running a #FitnotFat campaign last year to try to highlight the growing obesity problem in our horses. Unfortunately, it sometimes feels that we are banging our heads against a brick wall so when BEVA came up with a new approach to try and get the message through to our owners it was too good an opportunity to miss."
BEVA says that at the end of the pilot, it will assess how well the project has worked for the vets involved, what proportion of owners used the QR codes, visited the advice pages and sought guidance from their vets.
For more information, visit: https://www.beva.org.uk/Resources-For-Vets-Practices/Clinical-Practice-Guidance/Obesity-in-horses
The Equine Veterinary Journal has published a special early view article reviewing the science behind enhanced equine influenza vaccination schedules, in particular the replacement of annual boosters with a mandatory bi-annual vaccination programme.The article argues that as the equine influenza (EI) vaccine supply returns to normal, there is sound scientific evidence why bi-annual vaccination schedules should be re-implemented promptly.
Whilst the scale and number of outbreaks has been relatively small since the introduction of mandatory EI vaccination by most competitive equestrian disciplines in the 1980s, disease events such as those experienced in the UK in 1989, 2003 and most recently in 2019 have demonstrated EI’s epidemic potential, even in vaccinated horse populations.
In their article 'Equine influenza bi-annual boosters: what does the evidence tell us?' Victoria Colgate and Richard Newton discuss what has been learnt from previous outbreaks and explain the evidence from mathematical models to show why bi-annual boosters are beneficial.
The authors say that epidemiological data from previous natural EI outbreaks have repeatedly demonstrated the impermanent nature of the protection provided by vaccination and observational field studies have repeatedly highlighted the potential for 12-monthly boosters to leave a vulnerable immunity gap at both the individual animal and population level.
Mathematical models of EI transmission confirm that six-monthly rather than annual EI booster vaccinations are preferable to establish and maintain effective population level immunity to EI.
Ideally vaccine strains should be updated in a timely manner to ensure inclusion of the most epidemiologically-relevant strains, however, this is a slow and expensive process for equine vaccine manufacturers.
In the absence of updated vaccine strains, bi-annual vaccination is strongly recommended to help compensate for antigenic drift between vaccine and circulating EI viral strains
Professor Celia Marr, Editor of the EVJ said: “Although the recent EI vaccine shortage has necessitated a temporary relaxation of competition vaccine schedules, we must now renew the message that six-monthly boosters are optimal and necessary.”
The Editorial can be found at https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evj.13898 and is free to view.
Two related articles can be found here: https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evj.13874 and here: https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evj.13885
The materials include a social media toolkit and a board kit, both designed to encourage owner awareness and more frequent conversations on eye health.
There is also a new CPD module, focused on ophthalmology.
The company is running a webinar on 24th September which focuses on management of dry eye and corneal ulcers for brachycephalic dogs
Campaign materials & VPD module: https://www.tvm-uk.com/national-pet-eye-health-awareness-week
Webinar: https://thewebinarvet.com/webinars/take-a-closer-look-big-eyes-big-problems-ocular-issues-of-the-brachycephalic
The CMA says its main concerns remain the same as it outlined in March, namely whether consumers are getting enough information to make informed decisions, whether corporatisation is stifling competition in certain areas, whether corporate groups have incentives to act in ways that reduce choice, whether pet owners might be overpaying for medicines and whether the regulatory framework is outdated
Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA, said: "The message from our vets work so far has been loud and clear – many pet owners and professionals have concerns that need further investigation.
"We’ve heard from people who are struggling to pay vet bills, potentially overpaying for medicines and don’t always know the best treatment options available to them.
"We also remain concerned about the potential impact of sector consolidation and the incentives for large, integrated vet groups to act in ways which reduce consumer choice.
"In March we proposed that a formal market investigation was the best route to fully explore these concerns and, if appropriate, take direct action to address them.
"That proposal has been overwhelmingly endorsed through our consultation.
"While we’re aware of acute staff shortages and difficult working conditions for vets, we consider a formal market investigation is essential to ensure good outcomes for the millions of pet owners in the UK as well as professionals working in the sector.
"The independent inquiry group will now take this investigation forward and, in the meantime, we’re publishing some tips to help pet owners better navigate vet services."
Meantime, the CMA has published 3 tips for pet owners, which are to look further than their nearest vet, to question treatment options and to consider buying medication elsewhere.
To get involved, you can use the downloadable fundraising pack, which includes ideas, tips and tricks to help you fundraise.
In return for taking part, your practice will have its logo published on the BSAVA website, and BSAVA PetSavers will promote any fundraising posts on social media, using the hashtag #TeamPetSavers.
Shelby Tunstall, Fundraising Coordinator for BSAVA PetSavers said: “We are really delighted to be launching this campaign which will help PetSavers fund more research projects for companion animals."
If you want to get involved, you're encouraged to register online here, or contact Shelby Tunstall, Fundraising Coordinator at petsaversadmin@bsava.com.
https://www.bsava.com/petsavers/get-involved/petsaversinpractice.
Jonathan Hill, UK country manager at Dômes Pharma said: "Dômes Pharma is really excited to be extending our pet anxiety range to help vets manage cases in this complex area.
https://domespharma.co.uk/products/fluoxevet/
In a survey conducted for the company last year, 31% of pet owners said they would wait 3 days or more before going to a vet if their pet's eye condition hadn’t improved.
The awareness week is designed to make owners more aware of their animals’ eye health, to help understand the signs and when to take action.
The campaign also offers support for veterinary practices to engage with their communities with educational displays and digital outreach.
Dr Emma Hancox, Technical Vet at Dômes Pharma said: “We know that pets often suffer in silence when it comes to eye issues, and it’s often hard for owners to recognise the signs.
“Through this campaign, we aim to equip veterinary professionals with the tools they need to educate pet owners and ultimately help to improve pet eye health across the country.”
Participating clinics can request display materials and shareable content for social media to drive engagement throughout the awareness week.
There is also a prize draw to win an ophthalmoscope for your practice.
https://domespharma.co.uk/national-pet-eye-health-awareness-week
LacriProtect is designed to increase the depth of the tear film in the management of dry eye, during anaesthesia, or in case of irritation.
It contains a carbomer-based formula in individual, resealable single-use pipettes, so that each application is hygienic and free from cross-contamination.
This, says Samaxia, is particularly useful in clinical settings.
Lacri+ contains 0.4% cross-linked sodium hyaluronate and urea, and is designed to hydrate, lubricate and protect the ocular surface.
It comes in a multi-dispense bottle with a tip-seal mechanism and multilayer filtration to ensure sterility and give a shelf life of three months after opening.
https://www.samaxia.com
Kate’s election means that, come July and subject to ratification by RCVS Council, the offices of RCVS President, Senior Vice-President and Junior Vice-President will all be held by women for the first time in the College’s 177-year history.
A graduate of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Kate was a farm vet for 15 years, a partner in a 15 vet practice in Aberdeen. She then moved to the pharmaceutical industry as a veterinary advisor before joining the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra). From there, she moved into non-veterinary Senior Civil Service (SCS) roles in several Whitehall departments including the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Justice. As a senior civil servant she was Principal Private Secretary to three Secretaries of State for Scotland, handling a diverse policy portfolio and working across Whitehall, including No.10 Downing Street and the Devolved Administrations.
First elected to RCVS Council in 2015 for a four year term and again in 2020, Kate has previously served as Chair of the RCVS Standards Committee and RCVS representative on the UK co-ordination group for the Federation of Vets of Europe (FVE). Currently Vice Chair of the Education Committee, member of the Registration Committee and the Environment & Sustainability Working Party, Kate is an appointed veterinary member of Veterinary Nurses’ Council.
Kate is a qualified Official Veterinarian (OV), a Non-Executive Director on the Moredun Foundation and Scottish Agriculture College (SAC) Commercial Boards, a veterinary advisor on a Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) mental health project and on the Council of the Association of Government Veterinarians. She’s a member of the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and the Veterinary Public Health Association. A Council member of the British Cattle Veterinary Association (2004-10), Kate served as a Trustee of the BVA Animal Welfare Foundation (2014-17).
Current RCVS President Dr Mandisa Greene will become Senior Vice-President, and joining Kate and Mandisa on the Officer team will be Dr Melissa Donald, who last month was elected Junior Vice-President for 2021-22. Current Senior Vice-President Dr Niall Connell was recently elected RCVS Treasurer.
The vacancy in the RCVS Officer team arose following Professor David Argyle’s decision to resign from Council in March, meaning that Council needed to hold two votes in quick succession: one at its scheduled meeting in March for the 2021-22 JVP position; and one today for the current JVP vacancy.
Kate said: “I am delighted to be elected JVP. It’s been an exceptionally challenging year for those in all walks of veterinary life, including students aspiring to join our profession. It will be an honour to lead the RCVS as its tenth female president, working with veterinary colleagues as well as reaching out to allied professionals acknowledging that there will be challenges to navigate as well as triumphs to celebrate.”
The one-hour CPD session is being given by Tom Dutton (pictured right), an EBVS specialist in avian medicine and surgery.
Tom said: “We are currently suffering from the biggest avian flu outbreak in UK history.
“As well as the widely reported effect on the UK commercial poultry industry, there have also been a number of cases in captive birds.
“Bird owners are naturally worried about their pets becoming infected and practice vets are also having to field requests from members of the public who are concerned about wild birds.
“This session will help vets to manage enquiries and handle any potential clinical situations with confidence.”
To register for the webinar, email Jess at: GWEReferrals@vets-now.com before 23rd January
In response to the question ‘How important is sustainability to you personally?’, 57% of respondents said it was very important making it the most popular choice.
However, in answer to the question: ‘Is your practice team actively working to improve sustainability?’, 20% of respondents said ‘Always/wherever possible’ and 42% said ‘Most of the time’, leaving 38% not actively working to improve sustainability.
IVC says the conclusion to be drawn is that sustainability is a personal priority, but this isn’t always translating to practice and more can be done.
To help with this, the company will shortly Positive Hoofprint, an Equine and Farm specific toolkit to help practices become more sustainable, with resources, checklists and practical advice for prioritising environmentally friendly initiatives.
Mark Tabachnik, UK Head of Equine for IVC Evidensia, said: “It’s clear from our survey that sustainability is still being treated as a secondary concern in practice, and this is something that IVC Evidensia is actively seeking to change.
“With our Positive Hoofprint about to be launched, there has never been a better time to prioritise our sustainability goals and to embed them in our own practices.
“This will give colleagues the tools they need to care for the planet, so we can fundamentally change equine veterinary to be more environmentally conscious for the future.”
Although the disease is commonly diagnosed later in life, a 2022 study of 123 dogs found that 40% of those aged between one and four years old had radiographic osteoarthritis, of which about half had clinical signs and of those only 2 were being treated for pain1.
Another 2022 study found that 38% of dogs over the age of one had osteoarthritic pain, but only half of them were presented for lameness or stiffness2.
Geoffrey Guyot, Pain and Inflammation Franchise Lead at Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, said: “Clinical signs of early osteoarthritis can be subtle.
"Some young dogs may present with overt lameness, but many compensate for years and manage to continue to perform their daily activities.
"Common compensations include gait or posture changes to unload the painful joint, which often go unnoticed.”
Boehringer says the aim of its campaign is to shift the perception of osteoarthritis as an old dog disease, to one which could affect dogs of all ages.
Boehringer also wants the campaign to bridge the gap between vets and dog owners, making it easier for owners to spot the early signs and initiate conversations about the condition.
Geoffrey added: "We hope the Arthritis AWARE campaign will raise awareness of early OA among owners to create more opportunities for you to diagnose and treat dogs with arthritis and improve their outcome.
"We encourage vet practices to join us on the journey so we can help improve dogs’ wellbeing together.”
Vet practices can help spread the word by downloading the Arthritis AWARE campaign pack which includes a waiting room video, a poster, owner-facing leaflets, and social media assets.
www.metacam.co.uk/aware
References
To nominate someone for inclusion in the showcase, visit: https://www.beva.org.uk/60-Faces
BEVA President Lucy Grieve said: "We are proud of BEVA’s heritage and want to recognise our 60th birthday by celebrating some of those who have made a significant difference to the equine veterinary community. We want you to help us identify the 60 individuals who you believe have truly inspired, influenced and progressed the equine veterinary profession for the better.”
Each of the nominated 60 faces will be highlighted on the website and on BEVA’s social media channels. Profile details will include career paths, workplaces and personal contributions to the equine veterinary profession.
Lucy added: "We have already started the list with Colonel John Hickman, Sue Dyson and Peter Rossdale. But there are hundreds of exceptional, deserving individuals who have made a huge difference to the equine veterinary profession and are worthy of our 60 Faces roll call."
The deadline for nominations is Friday 16th April 2021. All nominations are anonymous.
Amongst the proposals agreed by Council was to move towards an independent appointment system for Council membership to replace the current election system.
In addition, Council voted:
Council was tied on whether to separate the position of RCVS President and the Chair of RCVS Council, meaning that this will come back for decision at a later date following the consultation.
RCVS President Sue Paterson said: “The unique way that RCVS Council is currently constituted with annual elections to Council is an old model of self-regulation which is no longer found in other professions including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, solicitors and social workers, among others.
“As a responsible regulator we have a duty to operate in a way that recognises modern principles of regulation, and best meets our objectives to enhance society through improved animal health and welfare by setting, upholding and advancing the educational, ethical and clinical standards for the veterinary professions.
"The College’s recommendations would see us retain self-regulation in the sense of independence from government, and maintain registrants within our governance framework, while better assuring the public that we are acting on their behalf.
“It is our firm belief that, among other things, moving to an all-appointed Council member system, whereby those who serve on Council are selected via an independent process based on their knowledge and experience to ensure input from all parts of the veterinary sector, will better serve our aims, as will having a better balance of professional and lay members.
"Of course, veterinary expertise, knowledge and experience will also remain a vital part of any future arrangements throughout our committee structure, so the veterinary voice will be as important as ever in our policy and decision-making processes.
rcvs.org.uk/who-we-are/rcvs-council/council-meetings/18-january-2024/
Further details about the consultation process will be published in due course.
Four new procedures have been added: cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), and wet-to-dry dressings.
The new video content, access to which is included with the printed book, has been designed as a ‘go to’ resource to reference prior to performing a procedure.
Nick Bexfield, one of the editors of the new edition, said: “We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed.”
Print copies are available through the BSAVA store, you can also access the digital version in the BSAVA Library.
Prices are £45.50 for BSAVA members; £70.00 for non-members.
The Linnaeus OAPC initiative was launched in 2021 and originally allocated £30K for 2022.
However, that figure was doubled after the company received a growing number of high quality submissions.
33 papers were accepted for funding in 2022, of which 24 have so far been published and the remainder are undergoing peer review.
The authors comprise clinicians, specialists, residents and interns across nine referral and primary care sites within the group.
The OAPC was introduced by Professor Luisa De Risio, Clinical Research & Excellence Director at Linnaeus (pictured right).
She said: “By making clinical research open access, we can ensure it makes the widest possible impact – while also supporting the author’s profile and career development.
"We are continuing to offer OAPC funding to our associates in 2023 and look forward to seeing the fantastic research published as a result.”