VRCC veterinary referral centre, the leading European veterinary cancer treatment centre, has announced that it has installed what is believed to be the first and only new 'Human' CT scanner in a UK private small animal veterinary centre, at a cost of nearly £500,000. The announcement came less than a year after the centre's 6 million volt linear accelerator went online - currently the only veterinary radiotherapy facility in the UK. Apart from routine scans required by all the clinicians at the centre, VRCC also takes referrals in medicine, surgery and oncology. Its CT will also be used in conjunction with the linear accelerator, offering sophisticated cancer treatments previously not available in the UK. In another first for VRCC, the centre has appointed Tom Jackson BSc Radiography (T), a therapeutic radiographer from Guys & St Thomas Westminster, a centre of excellence in oncology. Tom will be working under the direction of the centre's clinical director, Dr Susan North, the most highly qualified and experienced veterinary oncologist in the UK and the only qualified radiation veterinary oncologist in the UK. For more information about the referral services available from VRCC, visit http://www.vrcc.co.uk/, or ring 01268 564664.
Response Medical, a leading UK healthcare supplier, today launched SuretyTM Needle.
It's a new retractable safety needle developed specifically to address the growing threat of needlestick injuries - the second most common cause of accidents to NHS staff.
The Kennel Club has been working with Petlog and the people behind: http://www.themissinglist.co.uk/ to provide a new service to help track down missing pets. Not sure whether it'll take off or not. These sorts of initiatives rely on massive public awareness, and going on the volume of 'lost' and 'found' listings on the site, they still have some way to go.
Here's the latest horror to hit the shops in time for Halloween this year:
Form an orderly queue please, everyone.
The RSPCA has come out against Slentrol, Pfizer's new dieting drug for dogs, in the Daily Mail this week.
The charity's senior scientist, Dr Jane Cooper told the Mail that the drug could cause side-effects such as vomiting and diarrhoea, and that the tests needed to bring the drug to market had led to the suffering of many dogs, cats and other animals, some of which were subsequently put down.
Given that just about every drug has potential side-effects and all are required by law to undergo testing, it seems the only purpose of these highly emotive and calculated comments is to inflict the maximum damage to Pfizer.
In an ideal world, all dog owners would feed their pets correctly, and take them for a brisk walk every day. But we don't live in an ideal world, and the reality is that whatever the RSPCA has to say on the matter, there will remain a significant number of pet owners that only ever get off their backsides to go and get themselves a beer, and the dog a treat.
Is it right or responsible that the RSPCA should, through this kind of statement, deny these animals some relief from their owners? Is it responsible for the RSPCA to pan a drug the moment it comes to market, or would it have been a more pragmatic move for the charity to work behind the scenes to try and ensure that it is used appropriately?
To discuss these issues, and the broader question of lifestyle drugs, visit the VetNurse 'Life In Practice' forum now.
Horse owner Cate Ashton has launched a new website http://www.manage-my-horse.com/ for 'conscientious horse owners, yard managers and equestrian professionals'.
The impressive-looking (and free) site allows members to record almost every facet of their horse's life in one place - breeding, training and exercise journals, accident and rehabilitation records, health, wellbeing, worming, vaccination and medical information, weight and condition scoring, competition records and all expenses and income.
In addition there is a diary to store appointments, an address book for personal and business contacts and a forum. The feed section allows for management of diet and nutritional needs and the reporting section gives printouts and reports instantly.
Worth recommending to your clients?
Just had an e-mail from TV production company Fever Media, forwarded to us by the BVA. It's looking for vets to appear on a new programme for Channel 5 called Animal House.
"Animal House is a four to eight week television event set in a clinic (a studio set built on location or incorporating an existing practice) where a team of animal experts deal with the variety of animal problems and ailments seen in the day to day running of a veterinary practice.
We will have a broad range of experts on hand to deal with a wide variety of animals and ailments. We are looking for all kinds of animal experts - from vets to animal behaviorists to psychologists."
Anyone interested needs to contact Chloe Sarfaty on: 0207 428 5744 or by email: chloe.sarfaty@fevermedia.co.uk
Companion Care has launched a new section on its website for vets and nurses that want to know more about current partnership and career opportunities in its small animal veterinary surgeries.
The new section includes:
Companion Care Services Managing Director, Jane Balmain added: "Our business goes from strength to strength, confirming that we are here to stay and present a genuinely attractive option for vets and nurses looking at different routes to business ownership. The Group, which now numbers 39 surgeries across the country, is forecast to turn over in excess of £28 million this year, and is achieving annual like-for-like sales growth of 17%. We estimate that dividend payments to our 50 plus partners will total £1.5 to £2 million this year."
The Royal () School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh has awarded its 2007 Marbocyl Achievement Award to Geoff Culshaw, BVMS, CertVC, MRCVS, Head of the School's small animal cardiology unit, and Diane MacDonald, VN, Head Nurse in the Hospital for Small Animals.
Animus Surgical has launched Vetlog, a new temperature data logger designed to be used by the veterinary market. Vetlog will enable practices to prove their temperature compliance to the VMD and RCVS Practice Standards Scheme. Steve Beddall of Animus Surgical said: "data loggers can be easily placed in a fridge and then simply attached to a PC to download data in report or chart format". The company claims that the product is easy-to-use, cost-effective and will provide practices with a permanent record of temperature readings from the day practices start using them.
For more information visit http://www.animussurgical.com/ or telephone 01449 775330.
The Scottish SPCA has called for parents across Scotland to take more responsibility for the behaviour of their children after another sickening catalogue of violence against animals over the past year.
Launched during Scottish Animal Week, the charity's plea is supported by shocking statistics which show that attacks have risen by almost 20 percent compared to the last two years and that even more are taking place during school holidays.
In the twelve months since August 2006, staff answering the Scottish SPCA's Animal Helpline dealt with 233 calls relating to youngsters tormenting, abusing and even killing domestic pets, farm animals and wildlife.
More than a third of these - 85 - were received during school breaks, with 58 recorded over the summer. Attacks included swans being killed with airguns and shot with crossbows, cats being targeted with airguns, hedgehogs being kicked to death and animals being terrorised, with one being killed, in a wildlife park.
The Scottish SPCA has also been involved this year in cases involving deer being shot and killed having wandered into urban areas, dogs being beaten and a lamb being set on fire.
An interesting survey from Freedom Food has shown how little the public knows about farm animals:
Mind you, some pretty obscure facts here. I wonder how many vets would have known all the answers.
Pet Protect has launched a new website which includes a tool to compare the benefits of its pet insurance policies with others in the market.
The comparison deliberately excludes the cost of the policies. Pet Protect says that the aim is to "overcome the current preoccupation with price as principal means by which competitive products are evaluated".
It would be interesting to know what your experience is, talking to clients about insurance. Do you think that clients are receptive to buying insurance for the benefits, or do you think that price will always be their main concern?
The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is touring the UK, hosting a series of careers events to encourage more young people to consider studying in a veterinary-related field.
The events give young people the opportunity to find out what a veterinary career involves. The College also hopes to impress upon future students that a veterinary education can be used qualify them for a diverse range of professions, and being a vet or vet nurse are just two of these.
The RVC is particularly keen to promote its BSc in Veterinary Nursing and its BSc in Veterinary Science (a bio-science degree). Click here for more information and tour dates.
The new, non-statutory Register for veterinary nurses opened yesterday. 3329 VNs were automatically included (having been listed with the RCVS since 2003). The remainder joined the list voluntarily.
RVNs are obliged to undertake 45 hours of CPD over 3 years, and to follow the Guide to Professional Conduct for Veterinary Nurses.
To help promote the new title, the RCVS has sent a poster to all newly registered RVNs to display in their practices. More promotional materials are in the pipeline.
September marks ‘Pet Smile Month', and Royal Canin is amongst several companies offering participating practices a great way to build dental sales and reinforce key health messages. During the month, a quarter of a million Doggy Bags and Kitty Packs, including samples of Royal Canin dental diets will be given away. A money off voucher appears on the front of the bags, which can be redeemed there and then against Royal Canin dental products from the clinic. Gill Furniss, Royal Canin veterinary marketing director, says: "We decided that by enabling customers to redeem the money-off vouchers before they even leave the clinic with their gift bags was the best way to ensure that vets get the benefit of these sales - no chance of pet owners taking the bag home and losing the voucher! ‘Pet Smile Month' is a great way for veterinarians to get across the message about good oral care, and an opportunity to help owners keep their pets' mouths healthy for life."
It's the Blue Cross Take Your Dog To Work Day on 14th September.
I don't know how much money it raises, but as a marketing and PR exercise to promote dog ownership, the day is almost without rival. It always gets plenty of media coverage. It's got strong celebridee endorsement. And getting pet owners to bring their dogs into work is a very clever way of getting more people thinking about getting a dog. See http://www.takeyourdogtoworkday.org.uk/ for more (if you're interested, there's a downloadable poster you can display in the practice).
With fireworks season approaching, CEVA reminds that it's a good time to let clients know the steps they can take to minimise noise-related stress and highlight the benefits of the using D.A.P.® and Feliway®. Both products are available in a plug-in diffuser, which the company recommends should be introduced into the home at a week before firework night, to allow the pheromones to build up to significant levels. In addition, D.A.P.® Spray can also be used to provide further reassurance to dogs with a history of firework phobia on the night of each event.
Royal Canin is launching the first complete veterinary diet range especially for neutered dogs, to counter the recognised physiological side effects of neutering. The range consists of Neutered & Osteo for neutered adult and mature dogs over 10kg, Neutered & Stone for neutered adult and mature dogs under 10kg, and Neutered & Digest, for neutered puppies over six months old who will grow into adults over 10kg.
The Company Of Animals has announced its support for a new charity: Cancer & Bio Detection Dogs, which claims to have proved unequivocally that dogs can be trained to detect human cancers by smell. The charity trained dogs to discriminate between urine from bladder cancer patients and urine from both healthy people and patients with diseases other than cancer. "The dogs were taught to signal their choice by lying down next to their chosen sample. Their combined accuracy rate of 56% was highly statistically significant, proving that dogs can detect cancer by using their olfactory capabilities."
Vets Now has just added a new recruitment section to its website, with details of the veterinary career opportunities available within the company. Click here for more.
If you're in London before January 6th 2008, the Animal's War exhibition at the Imperial War Museum might be worth a visit. Sponsored by The Kennel Club and PetPartners, the family exhibition explores the remarkable role of animals in conflict from the First World War to the present day using hands-on interactives, photographs, film and sound clips, paintings, touchable sculptures, and memorabilia from the Imperial War Museum collections and private and public lenders from all over the world.