Simon Leroy Hutton MRCVS has been reprimanded by the RCVS Disciplinary Committee for kicking a horse in the abdomen after it kicked him during an examination. 

The DC heard that Mr Hutton had attended to a horse called Angel at a livery yard in Sheffield.

As he examined the horse, it kicked Mr Hutton in the leg, whereupon he kicked it back in the abdomen.

Mr Hutton admitted the facts of the allegation against him.

The Committee noted that there was a dispute between the parties about the exact manner in which the kick had been administered and whether the conduct amounted to disgraceful conduct. 

Both the College and the defence obtained the opinion of experts, who were not in agreement as to whether the conduct amounted to serious professional misconduct.

The Committee heard evidence from Angel’s owner, Ms A, who was present when Mr Hutton kicked Angel and from Ms B, Mr Hutton’s life partner, who was also present.

In his witness statement, Mr Hutton said that his kick “was an instinctive reaction to what had happened and an instinctive reprimand for what I felt in the aftermath of the kick from her was malicious behaviour”.

Mr Hutton also stated that the reprimand was an appropriate response which a horse would understand, in order to modify its future behaviour.

In the hearing, Mr Hutton apologised for the incident with Angel. He said it had happened in the heat of the moment. He wished that he had apologised straight away.

In his expert evidence before the Committee, Mr T Gliddon MRCVS, called by the College, agreed that attitudes to physical reprimands had changed over time.

In his expert report, he stated that a reprimand administered by a veterinary surgeon that may have been considered acceptable by a significant body of the veterinary profession some decades ago would no longer be regarded as such now, in his opinion.

In re-examination, he stated that in his opinion, there was not a reasonable body of veterinary opinion which would consider kicking a horse as an acceptable form of negative reinforcement of behaviour.

In his expert evidence to the Committee, Dr H Tremaine FRCVS, called by Mr Hutton, stated that in the case of the minority of veterinary surgeons who used physical reprimands as a means of modifying behaviour, he was not aware that such reprimands would include the use of a kick.

The Committee concluded from the evidence that, following the kick from Angel, Mr Hutton moved away from the horse, so that he was no longer in immediate danger and that his kick in response had come after a gap in time, albeit brief.

Ms Greaney, Counsel for the College, provided written submissions on serious professional misconduct, submitting that principles 1.1 (Veterinary surgeons must make animal health and welfare their first consideration when attending to animals) and 6.5 (Veterinary surgeons must not engage in any activity or behaviour that would be likely to bring the profession into disrepute or under­mine public confidence in the profession) of the Code of Professional Conduct had been breached.

It was submitted that, on the basis that there had been a deliberate decision by Mr Hutton to kick Angel in the abdomen, he had time to consider his actions.

The College submitted that deliberately kicking Angel, either as punishment or by way of teaching or training a horse, fell far below the standard expected of veterinary surgeons.

The Committee found Mr Hutton’s state of mind when kicking Angel was not an issue and that Mr Hutton had intentionally kicked the horse.

In reaching its decision in relation to whether Mr Hutton’s conduct amounted to serious professional misconduct the Committee took into account that:

1. it had found there was a gap in time between Angel’s kick and Mr Hutton’s kick
2. it had found Mr Hutton had moved away from Angel before the kick
3. Mr Hutton had accepted that he was no longer in the ‘danger area’ before he kicked Angel
4. Mr Hutton stated that he had stepped forward towards Angel in order to deliver the kick to Angel

Mrs Judith Way, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: “The Committee determined that taking all circumstances and its findings into account, this conduct was a single, but serious failure on the part of Mr Hutton and found the facts proved amounted to disgraceful conduct in a professional respect.

“On deciding what, if any, sanction ought to be imposed, the Committee considered the aggravating and mitigating factors of the case, based on findings at the earlier stages of the hearing.

"The Committee found that there had been a risk of physical and/or mental injury to Angel from Mr Hutton’s conduct but accepted that there were a number of mitigating factors.

“It had been found that the incident had occurred over a very brief period and that Mr Hutton had not taken proper time to consider his response to Angel’s unexpected kick.

"This was found to be a single isolated incident and the character evidence indicated that otherwise, Mr Hutton was a competent and well-regarded veterinary surgeon.

"Mr Hutton admitted the kick early on in the proceedings and had issued an early apology, albeit seeking initially to raise some justification for his actions.

“The Committee was persuaded, in light of Mr Hutton’s admissions, heartfelt apologies, developing insight and the testimonial evidence, that he is very unlikely to repeat his past misconduct.

"However, despite the low risk of repetition, the Committee considered that the nature of the kick, delivered without the consent of the owner, could undermine public confidence in the profession.

"Thus, the Committee considered that it was proportionate to issue a reprimand together with a warning as to Mr Hutton’s future conduct.

"It has determined that this would be proportionate and sufficient to provide adequate protection for animals and maintain public confidence in the profession.”

The full details of the hearing and the Committee’s decision can be found at www.rcvs.org.uk/disciplinary.

The RCVS has announced that all its staff are now working from home and that Belgravia House has now closed indefinitely.

The College says it will, however, continue to operate as close to normality as possible, with the main support services for veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses such as advice, lifelong learning (including qualifications and the new 1CPD platform), finance and Practice Standards available as usual over the phone, on email or via the website.

The College’s main statutory activities around accreditation, registration and regulation of the professions will also be largely unaffected, with most Committee, Sub-Committee and working group meetings held by telephone or video conference.

Apparently, however, the April meeting of RCVS Council was going to be too big to be held remotely, so it has been cancelled.

The things that were up for discussion, such as the standard of proof and the report of the Legislation Working Party, will be moved to a subsequent meeting. Should there be any urgent business to consider, Council members have been asked to remain available via email on the date originally scheduled.

The College says it will be deciding whether to proceed with forthcoming DC hearings on a case-by-case basis, to balance maintaining the health and welfare of all involved with the College’s responsibility to protect animal health and welfare and public health.

The College is having to postpone or cancel an increasing number of its events; latest updates and advice for the profession is at: www.rcvs.org.uk/coronavirus.

RCVS Chief Executive Lizzie Lockett, pictured right, said: "We have been planning for this eventuality for some time, so whilst Monday’s announcement from UK Government came a little sooner than expected, we are in a strong position to be able to operate as close to normal as possible.

"We have an excellent and highly committed team of staff and Council members at the College, who I know will continue to work hard from kitchen tables, studies and living rooms over the coming days and weeks to serve the veterinary professions and the animal-owning public.

"Whilst we are fortunate that much of our work can be carried out remotely, we fully appreciate that this is not the case for most veterinary professionals who themselves are currently facing many significant challenges in their daily work to care for the nation’s animals whilst also prioritising the health and welfare of their own teams."

The College is urging all veterinary surgeons, nurses and practices to check they have supplied it with their most up-to-date email address via www.rcvs.org.uk/myaccount so it can relay its latest advice as the situation evolves.

Following issues with the implementation and associated costs of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' database (iMIS), independent IT specialists TFX Consulting Ltd have reported on both the implementation project and the long-term suitability of the database for the College's needs.

The TFX iMIS Report highlights inadequacies in the procurement process for the IT system, especially with regard to the drafting of the original brief. The Report suggests that this led to differing expectations from the College and ASI, the company licensing and assisting with the implementation of the software, in terms of the detail and complexity of the project.

Although TFX says it believes the iMIS system to be suitable for the finance functionality required, it is critical of its ability to support some other RCVS data structures, and considers it is a poor fit for the complex registration and education functions of the College. The Report writers note that the RCVS continues to fulfil its statutory duties in terms of fee collection and the maintenance of registration records.

The key recommendations of the Report are that the RCVS continues to work with the iMIS database in the immediate future, particularly with regard to core functions, but that a new partner is sought for ongoing support of the system. Thereafter, the Report recommends that a plan is put in place to migrate away from the system over a period of two to three years, as part of a natural upgrade path for RCVS IT systems.

As part of this programme, TFX recommends that a detailed analysis exercise is required, with the objective of more completely defining the College's complex requirements.

This is the second of two reports prepared by TFX; the first reviewed the College's technology more generally. The Technology Report provided valuable advice in areas of network security, staged replacement of legacy hardware and a coherent software and licensing programme, with associated staff training. 

The TFX iMIS Report can be downloaded from http://www.rcvs.org.uk/TFX

The TFX Technology Report will not be published, as it concerns issues relating to security of the College's IT infrastructure.

RCVS President Jerry Davies said: "We are grateful to TFX Consulting, and Ben Murray in particular, for the depth and clarity of both of their reports. It has been very useful to have independent scrutiny of the iMIS project and our IT systems as a whole.

"Lessons can be - and have been - learned. For example, new project management protocols have been introduced by the College, and the instigation of an Audit and Risk Committee has been agreed".

Council accepted the findings of the Report at its recent meeting, and the new Chief Executive and Secretary, Nick Stace, will consider how the recommendations are best implemented, when he takes up his post in September 2012.

Animalcare is conducting a survey of registered veterinary nurses to share the latest thinking and best practice.

The survey covers things like, owner engagement and compliance, the role of senior pet clinics and the type of educational resources that are most helpful.

One person will be picked at random from those who take part to receive a £50 Amazon voucher.

The survey can be completed here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/V78G9C8

The deadline is 5.00 pm on Thursday 30 September and Animalcare says the results will be published in October 2021. 

Laura Rosewell, an RVN at the Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre in Buckinghamshire, has won the Diploma prize in this year's International Cat Care and International Society of Feline Medicine Distance Education Awards.

The 'Recognition of Achievement' awards, sponsored by Royal Canin, are presented to the students who have gained the highest level of attainment on the charity’s distance education courses, as a way of rewarding their exceptional hard work and dedication.

ISFM currently runs two distance education courses specifically for veterinary nurses – the ISFM Certificate in Feline Nursing and the ISFM Diploma in Feline Nursing. The Certificate is completed over a year and the Diploma over two years.

So far, over 800 nurses and technicians have done the courses from over 15 countries around the world.

The top, Diploma prize was awarded to Laura (pictured right, on the right), whilst another UK veterinary nurse, Jennifer Smith, won an award from the Certificate course, alongside Renee Vieviorka from New Zealand.

Claire Bessant, International Cat Care’s Chief Executive said: "We are delighted that over 800 veterinary nurses and technicians have undertaken these courses from many different countries. These nurses not only improve the care of the cats they personally care for, they also influence the veterinary clinic to improve its cat friendliness in general. Their enthusiasm is amazing and many cats will benefit as a result."

This year, there were also students who have completed both the Certificate and the ISFM Advanced Certificate in Feline Behaviour (for vets and nurses), and again the students with the highest grades were recognised. The highest achieving student on the iCatCare Certificate in Feline Behaviour was Zazie Todd from Canada, and on the ISFM Advanced Certificate in Feline Behaviour there were two award winners: Tricia Macpherson and Laura Edwards, both from the UK.

For more information about International Cat Care’s distance education courses, visit: http://icatcare.org/learn.

Maximilian Wood MRCVS has been suspended by the RCVS Disciplinary Committee for 18 months after he was found guilty of dishonesty in relation to a falsified laboratory test result.

Mr Wood faced three charges, all relating to allegations of misconduct over a laboratory test for an alpaca while he was working at a practice in South Oxfordshire.

The charges alleged that in September 2023, Mr Wood told the alpaca’s owner that it had tested positive for Johne’s disease when in fact, the animal had not been tested.

He then allegedly sent a letter confirming a positive test result for the test that had not taken place, and then created a false test result report in the name of a veterinary surgeon colleague and sent it to another colleague by email.

He later told the alpaca's owner that he had given her the wrong result by mistake and that the test result was actually negative. 

Then in October 2023, he emailed the laboratory saying that a member of his practice’s administrative staff had written the false report.

In November he told the managing partner of his then employer on three occasions that he was investigating the false report in order to find out who sent it.

Finally, he sent a misleading and dishonest email to a veterinary surgeon colleague falsely indicating that a member of the practice’s staff had manufactured the false report, when that was not the case.

At the outset of the hearing Mr Wood admitted the facts of all the allegations against him.

Having found the facts proven, the Committee found that the charges amounted to serious professional misconduct, something which Mr Wood himself also admitted.

The Committee identified a number of aggravating factors in Mr Woods' conduct, including his lack of honesty, probity and integrity, the fact the conduct was premeditated, that it involved a breach of the client’s trust, the abuse of his professional position, the fact the conduct was sustained and repeated over a period of time, and that his conduct contravened advice given by the RCVS.

The mitigating factors included positive testimonials from professional former colleagues and client farmers, the fact that he had engaged in some remediation in order to avoid repeating the dishonest behaviour, and that he showed significant insight into his misconduct.

Dr Neil Slater MRCVS, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: “The Committee recognised that the serious repeated dishonesty, which was to conceal wrongdoing, made the respondent’s misconduct particularly serious.

“It therefore gave consideration as to whether his conduct was fundamentally incompatible with being a veterinary surgeon and whether removal was the only appropriate and proportionate sanction in this case.

“The Committee considered that this was a particularly difficult case to reconcile, as, on the one hand the misconduct was so serious whereas on the other hand, the respondent had demonstrated significant insight; the risk of repetition was low; the evidence of his professional achievements was strong and the testimonials from client farmers and professional colleagues were impressive.”

He added: “The Committee considers that suspension is sufficient in the circumstances of this case to satisfy public confidence in the profession and to uphold proper professional standards of conduct and behaviour.

"The Committee therefore imposes a suspension of 18 months on the respondent.

"In determining this length, the Committee considered that this was the least period necessary in order to meet the significant public interest considerations in this case.”

https://www.rcvs.org.uk/concerns/disciplinary-hearings

Jurox (UK) Limited has launched a new Methadyne (methadone) 10mg/ml 5ml vial size.

Methadyne can be administered for analgesia of moderate to severe pain in dogs and cats, to provide neuroleptanalgesia in combination with a neuroleptic drug and as part of a patient’s premedication protocol prior to general anaesthesia.

The new presentation will now be available alongside the 10ml vial to give greater flexibility and to help reduce drug wastage and streamline controlled drug stock management.

Jurox says Methadyne has proven compatibility when combined in the same syringe with other aqueous solutions for injection containing acepromazine as maleate and medetomidine and dexmedetomidine as hydrochlorides. 

Methadyne has a shelf life of 24 months unbroached, and 28 days broached. After broaching, the bung can be punctured to draw up a dose of methadone as many times as required in 28 days.

Dan Cripwell MRCVS, senior veterinary technical advisor at Jurox (UK) Limited, said: “I am delighted that Jurox can provide the UK veterinary market with this evolution in our multidose methadone formulation, which is now available in both 5ml and 10ml vials. 

"We constantly strive to provide the veterinary profession with first class clinical and technical support and, in this instance, we were able to assess what improvements could be made to our existing drug portfolio and respond to the profession’s feedback to help reduce wastage of controlled drugs when they are needed in smaller volume."

For further information, contact your local Jurox account manager, phone 0800 500 3171, visit www.jurox.com/uk or email customerservice@jurox.co.uk.

Dechra has launched Apovomin, an injectable apomorphine to induce vomiting in dogs that have ingested poisons or toxins.

Apovomin is effective after a single injection, with results in two to fifteen minutes. 

Apovomin has the active substance apomorphine hydrochloride hemihydrate 3 mg (equivalent to apomorphine 2.56 mg). It is being marketed in 5 ml vials. It has a three-year shelf life and lasts for up to 28 days once broached. 

Dechra Brand Manager Claire Morgan said: “Unfortunately there are many everyday substances that are toxic to dogs once ingested and time is of the essence when dogs have swallowed something that is poisonous to them. 

“It is vital that veterinary professionals have access to a safe and effective treatment like Apovomin that they know they can rely on when dealing with cases like this.

“Apovomin offers a cost effective and successful treatment for accidental poisoning that will be an important tool for veterinary professionals in day-to-day practice.” 

For more information visit www.dechra.co.uk.  

The BSAVA has published its Manual of Backyard Poultry Medicine and Surgery, written to help veterinary surgeons provide a level of care for backyard birds that clients expect.

The BSAVA says there has been a real resurgence in the number of people keeping backyard poultry for a self-sufficient supply of food and because they often become part of the family, owners have come to expect a standard of veterinary care akin to that available for their cat or dog. Yet many veterinary surgeons are unfamiliar with consulting on and treating these birds.

The BSAVA Manual of Backyard Poultry Medicine and Surgery has been written by an international selection of specialist authors. It covers everything from husbandry and basic clinical techniques to medical and surgical treatment of conditions, and more advanced practices such as endoscopy and post-mortem examination.

The manual covers chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, ornamental pheasants and peafowl. The BSAVA says it is hoped that the manual will make treating backyard poultry more interesting and rewarding, and therefore encourage more practitioners to see feathered patients.

One of the editors, Guy Poland said: "We are very proud of the valuable contributions made by all the authors to the manual. We hope that their hard work will provide a useful resource for veterinary practitioners unfamiliar with poultry medicine to deliver improved care for their patients and maybe inspire an interest that they develop further."

BSAVA Manual of Backyard Poultry Medicine and Surgery is available in a printed edition (£85; £55 to BSAVA members) and online edition (£70.83+VAT; £45.83+VAT to BSAVA members).

CVS has published the results of some research¹ which found that the most common reason for veterinary nurses to resign is to further their career.

The study looked at the anonymised employment data of 1,642 veterinary nurses working across 418 UK primary-care companion animal veterinary practices at the end of 2020, including both qualified and student nurses.

Of these, 278 (16.9%) nurses resigned from their veterinary practice between 1 January to 31 December 2021.

Career progression was cited as a reason for resigning by 36.7%, compared to 12.9% for personal reasons, 11.9% for better pay, 10.1% for a better work-life balance, 6.8% to relocate, and 3.6% decided not to return after parental leave. 

The research also looked at factors associated with lower odds of future nurse resignations.

They included longer employment tenure (p < 0.001) and working at practices with greater property and facilities ratings (p < 0.049).

Head nurses and students were least likely to resign, whereas by comparison, the nurse role was associated with resignations (p = 0.008), adding to the evidence to support nursing career pathways. 

The employee engagement metric, eNPS, was also identified as a reliable indicator of nurse retention. reflecting similar findings in other healthcare professions.

Imogen Schofield, Veterinary Statistician and Epidemiologist at CVS, said: “We want to support the whole industry in reducing the number of nurses leaving their roles and the profession.

"Little objective industry data is available on the true reasons behind nurse attrition and we believe this is the first study to outline the risk factors for nurse resignations using practice data, providing an important addition to the evidence-base surrounding this complex topic.

“Reflecting on our research, that was based on data in 2021, we have since seen our attrition rate fall and our employee engagement measure increase as we have focused on developing career pathways, empowering nurses to take on more responsibilities;  developing a range of wellbeing programmes, launching a variety of colleague benefits, and significantly investing in our practices.”

What do you think: is career progression a bigger problem than pay? Discuss here.

Reference

1. Schofield I, Jacklin BD. Identifying factors associated with UK veterinary nurse resignations through examination of veterinary practice data. Vet Rec. 2023;e3165.https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.3165 

The RSPCA will be highlighting the importance of neutering to guinea pig owners during Guinea Pig Appreciation Day tomorrow, after getting over 1,000 reports about guinea pigs last year.

The charity says that one of the biggest issues it faces with guinea pigs is multi-animal households where breeding has become out of control. 

Dr Jane Tyson, the RSPCA’s rodent expert, said: "We would always advise owners to have their male guinea pigs neutered before introducing them to a female. We also find that they can sometimes be mis-sexed by the seller or previous owner which leads to accidental breeding so it’s also important to make sure that guinea pigs see a vet regularly who would be able to spot if they have been identified incorrectly.

“Many of the guinea pigs that come into our care have come from a multi-animal home where there have been large numbers of guinea pigs living in often cramped, dirty and unsuitable conditions. This also means that they may have experienced very little handling and are wary and fearful of human hands and need their confidence building up in RSPCA care.

“This is why, this Guinea Pig Appreciation Day, we wanted to encourage people to neuter their guinea pigs and help tackle the problem of overbreeding.”

The RCVS Disciplinary Committee has accepted an undertaking from Stephen Cargill Wilson (68), a retired County Down-based vet, to remove himself from the Register.

Mr Wilson faced two charges. The first was that in October 2017, he provided inaccurate information to an insurer in respect of a Labrador he treated by saying that the dog was presented to him with a lame left foreleg on 13 June 2017, when in fact the dog was presented for treatment on 7 June 2017 and that his conduct was therefore dishonest and misleading.

The second charge was that between 17 January 2017 and 17 January 2018 he failed to have any arrangements in place for Professional Indemnity Insurance (a requirement of the Code of Professional Conduct) and then, that between 8 January and 5 December 2019, he failed to respond to reasonable requests from the RCVS regarding his Professional Indemnity Insurance.

Prior to the hearing, Mr Wilson made an application to the Committee to adjourn the hearing subject to the Committee accepting his undertakings to remove himself from the Register and never to apply to be restored.

Mr Wilson’s legal representative at the hearing submitted to the Disciplinary Committee that granting the application would be in the public interest on the basis that Mr Wilson was 68 years of age and had now retired from the profession and closed his practice, that he had dedicated his entire working life to veterinary practice, had a previously long and unblemished career with no other complaints, and that he was well-regarded by clients and professional colleagues. 

The application was not opposed by the RCVS whose representative informed the Committee that, relating to the charge of dishonesty, the College had taken into account that the insurance claim form was not submitted by Mr Wilson himself, and that there is no evidence of any financial motivation behind the charge nor any allegation of harm to an animal.

Taking into account the submissions from Mr Wilson’s representatives and from the RCVS, as well as precedent cases for such applications, the Committee decided that Mr Wilson’s voluntary undertakings went well beyond any sanction that could be imposed by the Committee and considered that the application would protect the public interest, confidence in the profession, and the welfare of animals.

Professor Alistair Barr FRCVS, chairing the Disciplinary Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: “The Committee decided that this is not a case in which the public interest or the welfare of animals demands that there be a full hearing, with determinations made by the Disciplinary Committee. Taking into account proportionality, and weighing in the balance the public interest, the interests of justice, the need to protect the welfare of animals, as well as the interests of both parties, the Committee decided to accede to the respondent’s application.”

The full findings of the Disciplinary Committee can be found at www.rcvs.org.uk/disciplinary