The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced that it is investigating eight acquisitions by IVC Evidensia.

16 clinics are affected by the investigation, namely Penrose Veterinary Group Limited, Kevin Castle (Pet Care) Ltd, Swayne & Partners Ltd, Treforest Veterinary Clinic Ltd, Mercer & Hughes Limited, Swaffham Veterinary Centre Limited, Anglesey Pet Clinic Ltd, Chiltern Equine Clinic.

It's not the first time, of course, that the CMA has intervened in the veterinary profession.

Earlier this year, it investigated the acquisition of Quality Pet Care (trading as The Vet) by CVS, and then Vet Partners' acquisition of Goddards, which led to CVS selling The Vet and Vet Partners selling eight of the 47 Goddards sites to Linnaeus. 

An IVC spokesperson said: “IVC Evidensia is working closely with the CMA and engaging constructively with this review."

Neil Hudson MRCVS has announced that he is standing as the Conservative candidate for the Penrith and the Border constituency in this year's election, joining Danny Chambers MRCVS who is standing for the Liberal Democrats in North Cornwall, and Ian Fleming MRCVS who is standing as an independent candidate.

Neil, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies, is an equine veterinary surgeon who has worked in large and small animal practice in the UK and Australia. Neil is clearly multi-talented: on top of his many and various career achievements, he was in the Cambridge Footlights and has performed in four Edinburgh Fringe Festival shows. He also plays the piano. 

Danny is another multi-talented veterinary surgeon, currently working as an equine locum and well-known in the profession as an RCVS Council Member, the founder of Veterinary Voices and a campaigner against irrational forms of veterinary medicine such as homeopathy.

Ian Fleming is a Senior Vet at the PDSA, standing as an independent candidate for the Halesowen and Rowley Regis constituency.

If I was a betting man, my money would have to be on Neil: Penrith and the Border has been held by the Conservatives since 1950, most recently by Rory Stewart. Danny, on the other hand, needs to overturn a 7200 Conservative majority in his constituency, something which the latest polls suggest is a bit of an outside bet. Still, stranger things have happened. 

Claire Thomas RVN from Dick White Referrals has won the Louise O’Dwyer Scholarship, awarded by Improve International.

The scholarship will enable Claire (pictured right) to enrol on the company's Emergency and Critical Care (ECC) training programme, leading to a Nurse Certificate (NCert) awarded by the International School of Veterinary Postgraduate Studies (ISVPS).

Claire has spent over twenty years in general practice and last year made the decision to move into ECC.

She said: “I am truly honoured and excited to have been chosen for the Louise O’Dwyer Legacy Scholarship for 2022.

"Thank you to Louise’s family and Improve International for this amazing opportunity.

"Louise was an inspirational nurse who always promoted autonomy within the profession and encouraged nurses to follow their own interests in a specialist field. I hope to be able to continue Louise’s legacy by inspiring other nurses to follow their own aspirations at any stage of their career.

“I hope to use this scholarship to further my knowledge and develop practical skills to enhance my role as an ECC nurse and provide the best clinical care to critically ill patients.”

Jurox UK has issued a recall for specific batches of 10 ml Alfaxan and Alfaxan Multidose 10 mg/ml Solution for Injection.

The recall is due to the fact that particulates have been found in identified batches of product during routine stability testing.

The affected batches are:

• 55523 / Alfaxan Multidose 10 mg/ml Solution for injection for dogs, cats and pet rabbits / Vm 25296/4004 / Expiry: 16th Apr 2021
• 48317 / Alfaxan 10 mg/ml Solution for injection for dogs, cats and pet rabbits / Vm 25296/4003 / Expiry: 22th Jan 2023
• 62816 / Alfaxan 10 mg/ml Solution for injection for dogs, cats and pet rabbits / Vm 25296/4003 / Expiry: 16th Jul 2023

This issue only applies to the batches listed above. All other batches and the 20 ml pack size are not affected.

For further information regarding the recall, contact Richard Beckwith on 07584 099536 or: richard.beckwith@jurox.co.uk.

Linnaeus has appointed Tim Richardson as its Chief Operating Officer.

Prior to becoming COO, Tim was Managing Director of three referral hospitals owned by Linnaeus – Davies Veterinary Specialists, London Veterinary Specialists and Southfields Veterinary Specialists – and a number of its primary care sites.

Prior to joining Linnaeus, Tim worked in Iceland, where he was a vet for the Icelandic Government.

On his return from Iceland in 2016, he joined Village Vet and then progressed into a range of regional management and practice leadership positions across the industry.

Tim said: "I am proud to be part of our wonderful, unique industry that, although currently facing a number of challenges, continues to make such a difference to the lives of our patients and their owners every day.

“In my first vet role in mixed practice, I was fortunate to receive brilliant support, guidance and encouragement from my team.

"Since then, I have always wanted to do the same for my colleagues, particularly those who are just starting their careers.

“I have used my experience within the veterinary profession to support some fantastic teams at Linnaeus.

"Becoming COO is an honour and opportunity that will enable me to help even more people across the business.”

Roundhouse Referrals in Glasgow has started publishing clinical outcome and client satisfaction results for Tibial Plateau Levelling Osteotomy (TPLO) surgery performed at the practice, the first practice in Scotland to do so, possibly in the whole of the UK.

It is not the first time Roundhouse Referrals has innovated in this area. Last year, it launched the first 'Fixed Price TPLO' - a guarantee that pet owners will have no additional costs, should complications arise and further treatment be required following surgery.

Ross Allan, RCVS Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal Surgery and Surgical Lead at Roundhouse Referrals, said: "We loved the idea of providing price certainty for referral clients, allowing those with no or lower levels of insurance to access our services and plan their finances. We also realised that in putting 'Fixed Price Fix' first and foremost we are also immediately highlight the possibility of complications and we felt the very best way to provide context for owners and referring vets would be to be open about our outcomes."

Following on from this Roundhouse Referrals has published the first of what it says will be a series of reports on TPLO+ clinical outcomes and customer satisfaction.

Ross said: "I think we're the first in Scotland to publish this kind of information outside scientific journals in a way that is easily accessible for pet owners, maybe in the whole of the UK."

The clinical outcome data was collected using a previously published questionnaire which enabled clients to give feedback on their pet’s recovery and status following their TPLO+ surgery.

According to Roundhouse, the results show that over 97% of dog owners rated their pets’ outcome as either excellent (85.29%) or good (11.76%) based on the first 70 TPLO+ surgeries performed. A figure which Ross says compares favourably with studies that have been previously published.

Additionally, 94.1% of pet owners agreed that if faced with having to make a similar decision again, they would choose to have the TPLO+ surgery done at Roundhouse Referrals, compared to 84.6% of owners in the previous study.

The results from the Customer Satisfaction Questionnaire showed that 100% of Roundhouse Referrals’ clients felt supported throughout the referral process, 96.97% of clients felt that the TPLO+ surgery was adequately explained and 100% would recommend Roundhouse Referrals to a friend or colleague.

Ross said: "Pet owners whose dogs’ had been through TPLO+ surgery and rehabilitation completed this questionnaire, enabling us to start measuring the outcome of the surgery, our aim being to ensure the surgery is optimal for the pet, and that owners feel supported throughout the entire surgical journey. 

"We are delighted with these results, and will continue to monitor our outcomes and commit to publish our TPLO+ clinical outcome and customer satisfaction questionnaire results in the months and years ahead".

A study published in the latest issue of the Journal of Small Animal Practice (JSAP) has found that early hydrotherapy may be associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications following surgical treatment for thoracolumbar intervertebral disc extrusion (IVDE).

In the study titled “Safety of early postoperative hydrotherapy in dogs undergoing thoracolumbar hemilaminectomy”, the medical records of a single referral hospital in Sweden were retrospectively reviewed to identify dogs that had been treated with hemilaminectomy for acute or chronic thoracolumbar IVDE and had commenced hydrotherapy within five days after surgery.

Information collected from the medical records included signalment, presenting clinical signs, severity of neurological signs, initiation and duration of hydrotherapy, postoperative complications and follow-up.

Postoperative complications were considered major if there was a need for hospitalisation, surgery or if the dog died or was euthanised as a direct consequence of the complication.

A complication was deemed minor if outpatient medical treatment was sufficient to rectify it.

A total of 83 dogs were included in the study.

Hydrotherapy was started within a mean of 2.7 (one to five) days after surgery and consisted of swimming without underwater treadmill (UWTM) in dogs with severe paraparesis or paraplegia.

With neurological improvement, and when supported ambulation was possible, UWTM was initiated.

Ninety-six percent of the dogs used swimming as postoperative hydrotherapy, starting with a mean of 2.7 days after surgery, fifty-seven percent of the dogs used UWTM as the postoperative hydrotherapy, starting with a mean of 13 days after surgery.

Forty-five percent of dogs used both hydrotherapeutic modalities.

Dr Abtin Morjarradi, corresponding author for the paper, said: “A total of 10 minor complications were recorded during the study period, including surgical site infection (SSI) (n=5), diarrhoea (n=4) and urinary tract infection (n=1).

Major complications were recorded in 26 dogs during the study period and included euthanasia (n=13), acute dermatitis (n=1), spinal abscess (n=1) and disc extrusion (n=1).

Reasons for euthanasia were urinary incontinence (n=5), lack of neurological improvement (n=2), clinical suspicion of progressive myelomalacia (PMM) (n=2), persistent pain (n=1), aggression (n=1) and widespread cellulitis with an abscess caudal to the right stifle without known cause (n=1).”

Abtin added: “Follow-up visits for 71 dogs were performed at a mean of 15.3 (9 to 30) days, and 68 dogs at a mean of 45.9 (30 to 111) days, after surgery.

"At the first follow-up visit 68% of the dogs were ambulatory with Modified Frankel Score (MFS) 4 or higher.

"At the last follow-up visit 97% of the dogs were ambulatory with MFS 4 or higher, with 34% demonstrating normal neurological function. None of these dogs deteriorated after the initiation time of hydrotherapy.”

Nicola Di Girolamo, Editor of JSAP, said: “Whilst previous studies indicate that early rehabilitation may be beneficial after acute spinal cord injury, the optimal timing to start hydrotherapy is unclear.

“Despite a high number of complications being recorded in the present study, it is not clear how many of these complications were directly related to the initiation time of hydrotherapy and therefore further research is required.”

The full article can be found in the December issue of the Journal of Small Animal Practice: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsap.13412.  

Reference 

1. Mojarradi A, De Decker S, Bäckström C and Bergknut N (2021) Safety of early postoperative hydrotherapy in dogs undergoing thoracolumbar hemilaminectomy. Journal of Small Animal Practice, 62 (12). Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsap.13412

A new study, conducted by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) in collaboration with the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, has identified the impact of the pandemic on equine welfare and called for new guidelines for use in the event of future pandemics. 

The objectives of the study¹ were to assess the impact of the pandemic on the management of laminitis susceptible horses and ponies, to identify challenges faced in implementing COVID-19 based guidance, and to ascertain areas of decision making and policy development which could undergo improvement in future pandemic or emergency scenarios. 

Lead author Ashely Ward, a PhD student at SRUC said: "We discovered that lockdown-associated factors had the potential to compromise the welfare of horses and ponies at risk of obesity and laminitis.

“These included: disparate information and guidance, difficulties enacting public health measures in yard environments, and horses having reduced exercise during the pandemic. 

"Our conclusion was that guidelines should be developed for the care of horses and ponies at risk through collaborative input from veterinary and welfare experts. This would help to reduce the negative impacts of future lockdown events in the UK.” 

Clare Barfoot RNutr, Marketing and Research and Development Director at Spillers said: “This work carries important recommendations to reduce equine welfare risks during any future lockdowns.

“This summer our primary focus has been on helping horse owners keep their horses at a healthy weight to reduce the risks associated with obesity, in particular laminitis. Until formal guidelines are developed we hope our range of practical advice, available online and via our Care-Line will help, should there be another lockdown."

The study was conducted in tandem with research looking at how the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 lockdown affected horse on the human/animal interaction. The conclusion, disseminated by SRUC last week, concluded that the coronavirus pandemic had a negative impact on the mental health and wellbeing of horse owners. https://www.sruc.ac.uk/all-news/horse-power-helps-owners-through-lockdown

Reference

1. Ward AB, Stephen K, Argo CM, Harris PA, Watson CA, Neacsu M, et al. (2021) COVID-19 impacts equine welfare: Policy implications for laminitis and obesity. PLoS ONE 16(5): e0252340. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252340 

Ms Emma Bowler has been struck off by the RCVS Disciplinary Committee after multiple clinical failings.

Ms Bowler faced four sets of charges, each of which contained sub-charges, summarised as follows: 

• that between August 2018 and March 2022, she failed to provide adequate care to 18 animals on which she had performed surgery.
• that she failed to provide adequate care to a German Shepherd Cross Belgian Malinois in relation to surgery she had performed early in 2020.
• that in May 2021, when speaking to a client about surgery performed on their Jack Russell, Ms Bowler told the client that everything that had been written in the clinical records up to the point of the surgery referred to the right hind being the problem, when this was not the case and/or the veterinary surgeon who had seen the client about the x-rays prior to the surgery had not placed any notes on the file at the time the Jack Russell came in for surgery, when this was not the case.
• that Ms Bowler’s conduct in relation to the third charge was dishonest, and/or misleading.

Despite being served with the Notice of Inquiry, Ms Bowler decided not to attend the hearing due to ill-health but was represented by a counsel and solicitors.

The Committee did not find that Ms Bowler was medically unfit to attend on the basis of the medical evidence before it.

The Committee also concluded that it was in the public interest and interests of Ms Bowler to proceed with the hearing in her absence so that it could be concluded in a timely manner.  

Ms Bowler’s counsel applied for parts of the hearing to be heard in private on health grounds, which was approved by the Committee.

It was also determined that any parts in the Committee’s decision or hearing that referred to Ms Bowler’s health would be redacted. 

At the outset of the hearing, Ms Bowler’s counsel made admissions to five of the sub-charges which the Committee therefore found proven.

She also made some partial admissions in relations to a further 11 sub-charges.

After hearing a wide range of evidence, both written and oral, from Ms Bowler, the College, from clients and from an expert witness, the Committee found all charges proved except for four sub-charges.

On deciding whether the proved charges amounted to serious professional misconduct, the Committee took the following aggravating factors into account.

• In respect of charges 1 and 2, several animals suffered unnecessary injury (these charges encompassed 18 animals).
• In respect of charge 2, Ms Bowler had acted recklessly in performing revision surgery and should have recognised that she was significantly beyond her surgical ability.
• In respect of charges 3 and 4, Ms Bowler’s conduct was aggravated by her lack of integrity.
• That, overall, the misconduct spanned approximately three years and eight months and involved repetition of egregious failings.
• It was also noted that the charges encompassed multiple animals that were either caused injury or were at risk of injury.

In mitigation: 

• Ms Bowler had been working in an atmosphere that generated a highly pressurised working environment, which was somewhat unsupportive to her.
• Regarding clinical record keeping, Ms Bowler had less time available due to her heavy workload.
• Personal circumstances which exacerbated the pressures she faced at work.
• Ms Bowler had no previous disciplinary findings against her.
• She received positive character references.'
• She had made partial admissions in her statement and response to the charges and had apologised to the owners in respect of charge 2 and acknowledged that she was inexperienced in performing total hip replacements.
• Ms Bowler has subsequently made substantial efforts to avoid repetition of some of the matters encompassed in the charges.

In all, the Committee decided that the seriousness of the misconduct meant that a sanction was necessary to meet the public interest.

When deciding on whether to issue a reprimand with or without a warning, the Committee once again decided that the misconduct was too serious to allow for this.

It also decided that a reprimand and/or warning was not sufficient to protect animals and the wider public interest.

It then went onto consider whether a sanction of ‘suspension’ was sufficient but noted that it did not have enough evidence to show that Ms Bowler had shown significant insight to continue to practise unrestricted in the future.

The Committee eventually concluded that Ms Bowler’s conduct was incompatible with remaining on the Register.

Neil Slater, chairing the Disciplinary Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: “The Committee decided that the broad range of Ms Bowler’s misconduct which had spanned three years and eight months and involving injury or risk of injury to 18 animals, was incompatible with remaining on the Register and the public interest required removal from the Register even when all of Ms Bowler’s mitigation was taken into account.

“The Committee decided that it did not have sufficient evidence overall on Ms Bowler’s insight, current competence and future risk to persuade it that the lesser sanction of suspension was appropriate in this case.

“Although Ms Bowler had shown some insight, the Committee decided that she would need to have provided detailed evidence about her current practice before it could decide that she no longer represented a risk to animals in the future.

“The Committee therefore concluded that ‘removal from the Register’ was the appropriate and proportionate sanction because there had been a serious departure from professional standards, a reckless disregard for professional standards, multiple cases involving harm or risk of harm to animals and because, in Ms Bowler’s absence, it had been difficult to unravel whether she had an attitudinal problem.

“These were all factors in the Disciplinary Committee Sanctions Guidance that indicated that a sanction of removal was the appropriate sanction and, in the Committee’s decision, removal from the Register was the only sanction which would meet the public interest.

"It concluded that a lesser sanction would undermine public confidence in the profession and in the regulatory process.”

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

The Privy Council has dismissed an appeal lodged against the RCVS Disciplinary Committee’s decision in May 2018 that Dr Horia Elefterescu should be removed from the Register.

The Committee had found Dr Elefterescu guilty of serious professional misconduct in relation to a number of charges which covered issues such as dishonesty, poor record-keeping, and failure to carry out adequate clinical examinations.

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

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council held the appeal hearing in October last year with three Justices of the Supreme Court - Lord Kerr, Lord Carnwath and Lord Kitchin – comprising the Board.

The basis of the appeal to the Privy Council was that the Committee’s findings on the facts of the case were flawed, with his counsel saying that Dr Elefterescu 'strenuously disputes the findings by the Committee of his dishonesty and lack of professional competence and submits that there is no adequate basis for them in the evidence’.

His counsel also told the Board that the Disciplinary Committee’s sanction failed to take into account mitigating factors and that the decision to remove Dr Elefterescu from the Register was disproportionate.

In relation to the appeal against the Disciplinary Committee’s findings on the facts, the Board was not persuaded by any of the arguments put forward on behalf of Dr Elefterescu. These arguments included that the RCVS had failed to call relevant witnesses and had failed to make Dr Elefterescu aware of the significance of some evidential matters, disclosed to him.

In respect of the sanction, the Board was also unpersuaded by the arguments put forward by Dr Elefterescu’s counsel, namely that it was too harsh in its assessment of aggravating factors, did not give adequate weight to mitigating factors, and that it failed to distinguish lack of competence from misconduct.

In its judgment on the arguments put forward by Dr Elefterescu’s counsel, the Board said: "It is the opinion of the Board that these criticisms are not well founded. The Committee considered with care Dr Elefterescu’s proven and admitted conduct in relation to each of the charges and whether it fell below or far below the standard to be expected. It is to be noted in this regard that a number of the charges which were either admitted or upheld were not the subject of any challenge on this appeal. 

"Overall, the Committee found that Dr Elefterescu’s clinical failures were very serious, involved failures in the basics of animal care, resulted in animal suffering and involved widespread breaches of the respondent’s [RCVS] code of professional conduct. It also expressed particular concern about its findings of dishonesty, and rightly so. That conduct was, in its view, ‘at the top end’ of disgraceful conduct in a professional respect. What is more, Dr Elefterescu had a lack of insight into his failings and a wholly unjustified confidence in his abilities which constituted an ongoing risk to animal welfare."

"These were findings which the Committee was clearly entitled to make and, in the light of them, the Board is firmly of the view that the decision of the Committee to direct the removal of Dr Elefterescu’s name from the Register cannot be impeached. The Board rejects the criticisms made of the Committee’s reasoning and the conclusions to which it came. The direction that Dr Elefterescu’s name must be removed from the Register was appropriate and proportionate."

The Judicial Committee’s full findings can be found at www.jcpc.uk/cases/docs/jcpc-2018-0060-judgment.pdf.

Royal Canin is holding two free webinars to help veterinary nurses who are looking after clients with obese pets. 

The 'Obesity Care in Practice' webinars are designed to help you recognise obesity, create individual weight-loss plans and turn failing cases into successful ones.

The webinars will be presented by Georgia Woods RVN, CertCFVHNut, VTS (Nutrition). Georgia is clinic nurse at the Royal Canin Weight Management Clinic at the University of Liverpool Small Animal Teaching Hospital. She has been dealing exclusively with obese pets and nutrition for the past five years.

Georgia said: “Pet obesity is on the rise and it’s one of the biggest challenges that veterinary professionals face. It reduces pets’ quality of life and leads to a range of illnesses that shorten life expectancy. This two-part webinar will help veterinarians, veterinary nurses and practice managers to effectively manage pet obesity and make a difference to the lives of their patients."

The first webinar: Obesity Care in Practice – Essential Elements, takes place on Tuesday 22nd September at 8pm. 

The second webinar: Tailored plans and problem cases, takes place on Tuesday 20th October 2020 at 8pm.

To register for the free webinars, visit: https://www.thewebinarvet.com/pages/register-royal-canin-weight-management-series/ 

Nutravet has launched Nutrafibre, a high fibre supplement to support normal anal gland function and digestive health, available exclusively from vets.

Nutrafibre contains high fibre pellets which use a combination of insoluble and soluble plant fibres, probiotic & prebiotics and fish hydrolysate which, the company says, optimises stool consistency and encourages normal bowel movements. 

The company claims Nutrafibre also assists anal gland clearance, helps maintain a sufficient level of fibre in the body, supports pets with sensitive digestion, helps reduce hairball in cats and also helps to balance raw and high meat content diets.

Chris Jones, Director at Nutravet said: “We’re incredibly excited to launch this innovative new fibre product.

"The team have worked in partnership with veterinary practices across the UK to create this high fibre supplement and the feedback has been incredibly positive from both vets and pet owners alike.”

For more information, contact: 0845 604 1688, email: info@nutravet.co.uk or visit www.nutravet.com.

CEVA Animal Health has updated its practice support materials to include an all-encompassing D.A.P. client leaflet, a website and a new vet detailer.

The new materials, which also include a D.A.P. and Feliway reference guide containing details of 31 published trials into the practical applications of pheromones, focus on using D.A.P. to prevent stress at key stages of a dog's life. Particular attention is paid to the benefits of fitting a D.A.P. Collar during early puppy consults in order to help prepare dogs for the modern world and helping to prevent anxiety-related problems such as separation anxiety and noise phobia, developing in later life. In addition, the vet brochure will draw practitioners' attention to the times in a dog's life when owners are particularly concerned about their dog becoming stressed including events like trips to boarding kennels.

Lucy Brett, product manager at CEVA Animal Health, said: "Over the last three years eight different trials have been published looking at the use of pheromones to reduce canine stress. The latest data backs up what we have believed for some time - that the management of stress during socialisation is vital if dogs are to grow into emotionally balanced and confident adult dogs.  We now have a much better idea of the impact of allowing puppies to get stressed or overwhelmed during socialisation and the difference providing pheromone support in the form of a D.A.P. Collar can make."

For further details, or for information on CEVA's range of educational resources for veterinary professionals interested in feline and canine behaviour, please contact your CEVA Animal Health representative or call 01494 781510.