pages/application.php||membership forms the following are eligible for full membership: veterinary surgeons who are engaged in veterinary practice in the united kingdom * and who are also members of the british veterinary association. at the discretion of the society's council, members of the british veterinary association who were in veterinary practice in the united kingdom * but are now retired. the following are eligible for associate membership: veterinary surgeons who are engaged in veterinary practice in the united kingdom * and who are not members of the british veterinary association. at the discretion of the society's council, veterinary surgeons who were working in veterinary practice in the united kingdom * , but are now retired and are not members of the british veterinary association. veterinary surgeons working in veterinary practice but not resident in the united kingdom * . non-veterinarians who are currently, or have spent a substantial proportion of their career, working in veterinary practice. non-veterinarians submitting themselves for associate membership shall provide a curriculum vitae, together with written references from two full members of the society. these are to be presented for discussion at the society's council. * united kingdom refers to england, wales, scotland, northern ireland, the channel islands and the isle of man. membership subscriptions from 1st september 2004: full and associate members £99 (£94.05 if paid before 1st september 2004). undergraduate veterinary students can get three years' membership, covering their last year at university plus their first two post-graduate years, for just £20 per year, or £2.50 permonth if paid by direct debit. members up to five years qualified £52.25 (£49.64 if paid before 1st september 2004). retired members £27.50 per year (£26.13 if paid before 1st september 2004), at the discretion of the council of the society. practice membership £176 for two members, £55 for each additional member in the same practice, 5% discount available for payment before 1st september 2004. click here for the application form for full, recent graduate and retired membership and for associate membership for veterinary surgeons who are not members of the bva . click here for the application form for associate membership for non-veterinarians. click here for the application form for practice membership. pages/bookdiscounts.php||discount for spvs members from the elsevier science online catalogue spvs is delighted to announce that we have negotiated a 10% discount on all elsevier science titles purchased from their on line catalogue. in addition, a commission on all such sales is paid to the spvs educational trust so your purchases benefit the society's own charity as well as yourself. to get your discount, it is important to go to the elsevier science site by using the links below: if you navigate there directly you cannot be identified as a spvs member and will not get your discount. click here to link directly to the elsevier science veterinary medicine pages click here to link to the full elsevier science online catalogue spvs home page.. .. .. .. list of products and services pages/benefits.php||membership benefits what do you get for your subscription? the spvs bulletin : eight page newsletter mailed bi-monthly. reduced rates for attendance at society events, courses and conferences . extensive portfolio of publications , most are free of charge to members, others at reduced cost. annual fee survey , report issued free to members. annual salaries survey , report issued free to members. discounts on purchases of books from the elsevier science online catalogue. preferential rates for credit card processing , via hsbc bank. email discussion lists , one for all members and the other specially for recent graduates. access to the spvs mediation service , an aid to resolving inter- and intra-practice disputes. access to the recent graduate support officer (email rgso@spvs.org.uk ) for support and advice for the recently qualified. a portfolio of services targeted at recent graduates , to help in those crucial early years. access to the honorary secretary (email honsec@spvs.org.uk ) and officer team for information and advice on any aspect of life in practice. ready to join? click here for an application form or scroll down for more information. the following are eligible for membership: veterinary surgeons and veterinary practitioners veterinary students in their final year at a uk veterinary school retired veterinary surgeons and veterinary practitioners, at the discretion of council non-veterinarians who are currently, or have spent a substantial portion of their career, working in veterinary practice. applicants for this category of membership are required to submit their cv for consideration. how much does it cost? full and associate members £99. undergraduate veterinary students can get three years' membership, covering their last year at university plus their first two post-graduate years, for just £20 per annum, or £2.50 per month if paid by direct debit. members up to five years qualified £52.25. retired members £27.50 per year, at the discretion of the council of the society. 5% discount available for early payment and for payment by direct debit. click here for an application form pages/constitution.php||constitution last altered may 2003. 1. the society shall be known as the society of practising veterinary surgeons. 2. the objects of the society shall be: (a) to protect and promote the status and privileges of veterinary surgeons who earn their living as practising veterinary surgeons; (b) to provide members with the facilities for increasing their knowledge and expertise in all matters relating to veterinary practice. membership 3. full membership of the society shall be open to the following: (a) veterinary surgeons who are engaged in veterinary practice in the united kingdom * and who are also members of the british veterinary association. (b) at the discretion of the society's council, members of the british veterinary association who were in veterinary practice in the united kingdom * but are now retired. (c) those who were members of the society prior to the annual general meeting of 2003. (d) other persons who are members of the british veterinary association and whose membership categories, terms and subscription rates shall be determined annually by the society's council. (e) members of the veterinary profession or others deemed suitable by the council of the society to become honorary members. 4. associate membership of the society shall be open to the following: (a) veterinary surgeons who are engaged in veterinary practice in the united kingdom * and who are not members of the british veterinary association. (b) at the discretion of the society's council, veterinary surgeons who were working in veterinary practice in the united kingdom * , but are now retired and are not members of the british veterinary association. (c) veterinary surgeons working in veterinary practice but not resident in the united kingdom * . (d) other persons whose membership categories, terms and subscription rates shall be determined annually by the society's council. (e) non-veterinarians who are currently, or have spent a substantial proportion of their career, working in veterinary practice. non-veterinarians submitting themselves for associate membership shall provide a curriculum vitae, together with written references from two full members of the society. these are to be presented for discussion at the society's council. associate membership shall have all the privileges of full membership but will be unable to hold office or be members of council. individual exceptions may be otherwise agreed by the society's council. 5. honorary membership may be granted by the society's council to any person deemed deserving of this honour. 6. advisers may be appointed, on an annual basis, by the society's council. such advisers may derive benefits from the society as may be approved by council. 7. a candidate for election to membership shall have his/her name submitted to a meeting of the society's council or at the annual general meeting. membership shall not be valid until approved by that meeting and the subscription paid. 8. council shall receive a report on the state of the membership, including outstanding subscriptions and resignations. council will determine the protocols to follow based on the laws of natural justice. officers 9. the officers of the society, who shall be members of the british veterinary association, shall be: president senior vice president president elect junior vice president honorary secretary honorary treasurer honorary public relations officer honorary editor 10. officers shall be elected annually at the annual general meeting and shall constitute the trustees and executive committee responsible to council. officers shall serve for a maximum period of nine consecutive years. the president may remain on council for up to three years after his/her term as an officer of the society and must then retire from council, but may seek re-election subject to rule13 below. 11. the honorary secretary shall be informed in writing of all nominations for officers duly proposed and seconded at least fifteen days before the annual general meeting. 12. on the occurrence of any vacancy among the officers, at the next meeting the council shall elect a successor who shall continue in office until the next annual general meeting. council 13. the council of the society shall consist of the officers and not more than sixteen members. twelve council members shall constitute a quorum at a meeting of council. council members shall be elected at the annual general meeting for a period of three years, and following retirement, shall be eligible for re-election. they shall serve for a maximum period of nine consecutive years subject to re-election. time spent serving as an officer of the society shall not be regarded as contributing to this nine year maximum. 14. the honorary secretary shall be notified in writing of all nominations, duly proposed and seconded, for membership of council at least fifteen days before the annual general meeting. such nominations shall contain the signature of the nominees and their proposers and seconders. all proposers and seconders must be members of the society. 15. the president shall call at least three meetings annually of the council as he/she thinks necessary and at least fifteen days notice of these shall be given in writing to members of the council. 16. council members shall retire automatically if they have failed to attend two consecutive meetings of council, unless council shall direct otherwise. 17. council may, at its discretion: (a) elect one of its members to assist any of the officers. (b) elect replacements to maintain its number, if a vacancy occurs between annual general meetings (c) set up working parties, committees or specialist groups as will further the objects of the society. (d) co-opt additional council members for the society's year. representation 18. (a) representatives to the council of the british veterinary association shall be elected from the council of the society annually at the annual general meeting. such representatives must be members of the british veterinary association. (b) in matters affecting outside bodies the society shall where appropriate consult the parent body, the british veterinary association, about its intended actions. meetings 19. meetings of the society shall be held at times and venues determined by the society's council. 20. the annual general meeting shall be held on a day each year between 1st april and 1st july. the honorary secretary shall give notice of the annual general meeting to the members at least thirty days previously. at an annual general meeting twenty five members of the society shall constitute a quorum. 21. notice of a resolution to the annual general meeting may be made by any voting member, duly seconded, but has to reach the honorary secretary thirty days before the due date. 22. the president shall call extraordinary general meetings if requested by not less than 5% of the society's membership. such requests shall be made in writing to the honorary secretary giving at least thirty days notice of the proposed date. the request shall state the business for which the meetings are to be called, and the meetings shall deal with no other business other than that stated in the requisition. 23. full, associate and honorary members are eligible to vote in person at an annual or extraordinary general meeting providing they are fellows or members of the royal college of veterinary surgeons and are resident in the united kingdom * . finance 24. each category of membership of the society shall pay an annual subscription as decided at the annual general meeting. 25. the income and property of the society shall be used solely for the promotion of the objects of the society as set forth. 26. an annual balance sheet and profit and loss account of the society shall be drawn up prior to the annual general meeting and a report shall be presented by the honorary treasurer for approval by those present and eligible to vote. 27. the honorary treasurer shall employ the services of a professional chartered accountant for the preparation of the statement of accounts, but he/she shall seek the prior approval of the society's council in the selection of the accountant employed. 28. the society's bank shall be such as the council may decide. 29. all or any of the accounts of the society shall be open to inspection by any member on written request to the president. 30. reasonable and proper remuneration or payment to any officer, council, society member or servant shall be paid out of the society's funds for any time, travel, accommodation or out of pocket expenses incurred whilst acting on behalf of the society. claims shall be made to the honorary treasurer with supporting documentation. the rates will be determined annually by the society's council. 31. (a) any two or more of the officers of the society shall have the power to enter into such guarantees and indemnities, limited or unlimited, of all kinds in relation to the affairs of the society and its income or property as the society's council shall consider appropriate, as are necessary to enable the collection of members' subscriptions by direct debit. (b) the officers of the society shall be entitled to be indemnified out of the society's income and property against liability under any guarantees or indemnities referred to in 31(a) above. 32. the spvs educational trust is a registered charity (number 286572), the trustees of which shall be a chairman and five others appointed annually by the society's council. the president and president elect shall also be 'ex officio' trustees. the management of the trust shall be governed by the trust deed approved by the council of the society dated 29th december 1982. the chairman of the trustees shall be responsible for reporting to the society's council all matters relating to the activities of the spvs educational trust. rules 33. the constitution and rules of the society may be altered or amended only at an annual general meeting provided that two-thirds of those members present and entitled to vote do so in favour of the proposed alterations or amendments. notice of proposed alterations and amendments shall be sent to all members at least thirty days before the annual general meeting. 34. any matter not provided for in the foregoing rules shall be left to the discretion of the society's council * united kingdom refers to england, wales, scotland, northern ireland, the channel islands and the isle of man. pages/bulletin.php||spvs bulletin the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with the titles of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. archives: may 2005 issue march 2005 issue january 2005 issue november 2004 issue september 2004 issue july 2004 issue may 2004 issue march 2004 issue january 2004 issue november 2003 issue september 2003 issue july 2003 issue may 2003 issue march 2003 issue january 2003 issue november 2002 issue september 2002 issue july 2002 issue may 2002 issue march 2002 issue january 2002 issue november 2001 issue september 2001 issue july 2001 issue may 2001 issue march 2001 issue january 2001 issue november 2000 issue september 2000 issue july 2000 issue may 2000 issue march 2000 issue january 2000 issue november 1999 issue september 1999 issue july 1999 issue .. .. may 1999 issue march 1999 issue january 1999 issue november 1998 issue september 1998 issue july 1998 issue may 1998 issue march 1998 issue january 1998 issue november 1997 issue pages/ca.php||clinical audit - optimising the provision of veterinary servicess due to demand this course is being held again on: 20th july 2005 ,  holiday inn, high wycombe under the new rcvs practice standards some degree of clinical audit will be necessary for all tier 2 and 3 standard practices and this roadshow helps explain how clinical audit can be used to improve your practice cost effectiveness and efficiency. for more information please contact the spvs office. download flier pages/citation.php||discount for spvs members from citation plc employment and health and safety legislation is both onerous and ever-growing. compliance is essential and yet time-consuming. getting it wrong can be both damaging and expensive. as a spvs membership benefit, we have negotiated a substantial discount on the fees of citation plc, a leading uk consultancy on employment and heath and safety issues. this discount will more than cover your spvs subscription! spvs members who have worked with citation have been extremely pleased with the service, commenting on their professional specialist knowledge and experience. do you have documented safe working procedures for animal handling? do you know what effect the working time directive has on your night rotas? have your staff been fully trained in manual handling? do you have a formally agreed process to recover training costs is a trainee leaves? do you know when your grievance procedure was last reviewed? do you have documented procedures for the disposal of clinical waste? have you taken steps to ensure you have disciplinary, grievance and dismissal procedures in place that will comply with october 2004's law changes? if you have answered "no" to any of these questions, you should seek help immediately. contact citation plc, quoting your spvs membership number: web site www.citation.co.uk phone nigel lea on 01565 650092 email nigel lea at nigellea@citation.co.uk pages/congress.php||congress and the agm may 12th-15th 2005 low wood hotel, windermere, cumbria provisional itinerary: thursday 12th may golf competition plus watersports. before supper we will have the first ever 'spvs motorised toilet race' with a champagne prize. buffet dinner. friday 13th may lectures on giving exceptional customer service from a company called esteem (who run part of the investors in people course) evening pre dinner drinks on a boat cruise on the lake with jazz band followed by dinner, with a magician. saturday 14th may morning lectures on 'practice for profit' - charging correctly for our services, run by an accountant firm, hazlewoods. barbecue lunch, weather permitting. the afternoon will split delegates into small groups for interactive seminars. there will be three, on vaccination, health screening pets and how to find lost profit. delegates will be able to choose any two of the three. the afternoon will end with a lecture on tiger preservation in russia, this last lecture is a charitable event for which spvs will give a donation to the charity concerned. evening, president's dinner with after dinner a ceilidh. sunday 15th may question time (presidents of different veterinary bodies 'face the audience'), followed by our agm . partners/families there will be trips to the aquarium of the lakes, windermere for shopping or to visit the world of beatrix potter museum, and a trip to a stately home and gardens. gerry richards, the wife of the spvs public relations officer will lead an exhibition up a local fell on the saturday. pages/creditcard.php||spvs and the hsbc bank offer a new service to members an large number of pet owners prefer to pay for their pet's veterinary bills by credit and debit cards. offering flexibility in payment methods makes good business sense, since it encourages your clients to settle their account promptly, whilst maintaining a steady cash flow for your practice. the society of practising veterinary surgeons and hsbc card services have developed a special card processing package for spvs members, with the following benefits: through electronic processing with hsbc card services you can offer your clients a fast, accurate and efficient service at all times. accept switch and all other major debit and credit cards, including mastercard, visa, visa debit and, by arrangement, american express and diners' club. save time and money with free automatic authorisation calls made via the terminal on all mastercard, visa and switch transactions above your floor limit. save time on paperwork - with electronic terminals you don't have to pay vouchers in at the bank, the terminal does it automatically. credit card transactions are charged at a percentage of transaction value, and debit cards are charged at a fixed rate. hsbc card services charges, for electronic transactions only, are as follows:   annual credit turnover up to £150,000 £150,001 - £500,000 £500,000 - £1m over £1m mastercard,visa credit,non uk issued visa electron,non uk issued visa debit,non uk issued maestro cards,% charge per transaction. 1.195% 1.145% 1.095% 1.05% uk issued maestro, solo, uk issued visa electron and uk issued visa debit cardsfixed charge per transaction. 16.0p 15.5p 15.5p 15.0p terminal rental £15 per month (plus vat). this includes polling, maintenance and authorisation calls made via the terminal on all mastercard, visa credit, visa electron, visa debit, maestro and solo transactions above your floor limit. no joining fee. the usual set-up fee of £150 will be waived for all spvs members. three months free terminal rental on joining if you are a new hsbc bank card processing customer and your business banking is already with hsbc, or you transfer your business banking to hsbc. next day crediting. if your bank account is with hsbc, it will be credited one banking day after the transaction day. floor limits. authorisation will usually be sought by your terminal automatically on all single transactions above the floor limit, which are set at the discretion of hsbc bank plc. minimum monthly service charge. there is a minimum service charge for our card processing service of £15. this is the minimum amount payable by you monthly, per outlet even if your total transaction charges are less than this. your terminal rental is not included in this calculation. these rates apply to members practising in the uk, the channel islands and the isle of man. these rates may be reviewed without notice. for more information or to arrange a meeting, simply call the hsbc card services helpdesk on 08457 023344 (9am - 5pm monday to friday) quoting reference ta47. this offer is open to uk practices where there is at least one spvs member. alternatively, click here to download an application form which can be completed then posted or faxed to hsbc. pages/contact.php||contact the society pages/mediation.php||spvs mediation service the society of practising veterinary surgeons is pleased to be able to offer the services of mediators who are available to help settle many matters of dispute within or between practices. the service will be in strictest confidence. this service has been instigated to enable the settlement of matters, which all the parties in dispute agree are best settled in an informal, confidential manner, by a mediator they believe has the necessary impartiality, experience and clarity and who is acceptable to all sides. the service is available only for disputes between veterinary surgeons. it is, however, available to all veterinary surgeons, whether employed or employee, and irrespective of membership of any professional organisation. it is expected that the service will be able to help in matters involving, for example, contracts, organisation, finance and partnership. the scheme is essentially an introduction service between parties in dispute and a mediator acceptable to those parties by virtue of his or her experience and impartiality. both (or all) parties must agree at the outset that the problem is suitable for resolution in this manner, and agree to bear the costs involved. they must agree to participate in good faith and to cooperate fully. in some circumstances other methods of dispute resolution may be considered more appropriate. the mediator's opinion will not have the force of law, and therefore at the outset should any party deem that the matter is not suitable for resolution by means of mediation, they should consider contacting their own legal advisers, the institute of arbitrators or the arbitration, conciliatory and advisory service (acas). however, experience has shown that an unbiased third party can often be successful in bringing minds together. the service will be administered by the spvs secretariat, under the supervision of a board nominated by spvs officers and re-appointed annually. the board has compiled a panel of mediators who have been invited to participate in the scheme. this panel will be subject to continuous review and revision. spvs believes that this new initiative will have a role to play alongside other methods of dispute resolution and make a valuable contribution to modern veterinary practice. for further information, contact the secretariat. pages/gallery.php|| pages/gca.php||glossary of clinical abbreviations this is a glossary of clinical abbreviations commonly used in patient records. each practice and individual is free to have their own system of abbreviations which may be quite different from those listed here, and in the list below many abbreviations have more than one possible interpretation. any abbreviation needs to be interpreted strictly in context, and while all attempts are made to ensure the accuracy of this glossary, neither the society of practising veterinary surgeons nor the site editor can accept any responsibility for any errors. practitioners may find this list useful when attempting to interpret clinical notes from unfamiliar colleagues such as locums and when cases are referred. foreign graduates working in the uk may find it particularly useful and for this reasons terms are included that may seem extremely obvious. any suggestions for inclusion in this list would be very welcome (click here to email your suggestions) but the site editor's decision on what will or will not be included is final. # fracture a- inappetant a/b antibiotic ab antibiotic abax abaxial abc antibiotics abd or abdo abdomen or abdominal abd n abdomen palpated and no abnormality detected abs or abs antibiotics abx antibiotics ac anterior chamber (of the eye) adr ain't doing right adv advise or advice ag anal glands aiha auto-immune haemolytic anaemia aon all others normal asap as soon as possible awe acute wet eczema ax axial b booster bar bright and responsive, or bright, alert, responsive barh bright, alert, responsive, hydrated bid twice daily bifn back if necessary biop been in owner's possession biw before if worried (as in revisit in 1 week or biw) bs or bs blood sample bt blood test b/w black and white c cervical (vertebra - usually followed by a number to denote which one) c cough c+ moderate cough c++ severe cough c- no cough cah chronic active hepatitis caud caudal cba cat bite abscess cbc complete blood count (= routine haematology) cc coccygeal (vertebra - usually followed by a number to denote which one) cchf chronic congestive heart failure cd caudal c7d recheck in 7 days cdrm chronic degenerative radiculomyelopathy cds cat and dog shelter ce clinical examination cep ceporex chf congestive heart failure chf chronic heart failure chq cheque ckcs cavalier king charles spaniel co cough cop cyclophosphamide/oncovin/prednisolone (chemotherapy protocol) cr cranial crf chronic renal failure cri chronic renal insufficiency cri constant rate infusion crt capillary refill time cs clinical signs cs corticosteroids c/s or c&s culture and sensitivity csk chronic superficial keratitis (otherwise known as pannus) c-v or cv cardio-vascular cva cardiovascular accident cx coccygeal (vertebra - usually followed by a number to denote which one) d days d- diarrhoea absent or diminished d+ diarrhoea d++ drinking increased d++ marked diarrhoea d+++ severe diarrhoea dba dog bite abscess dcm dilated cardiomyopathy dd, ddx or ddxx differential diagnosis d&d destroy and disposal dhlppi distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvovirus and parainfluenza: dog vaccine covering these diseases di diabetes insipidus dic disseminated intravascular coagulation djd degenerative joint disease dlh domestic long hair (non-pedigree cat) dm diabetes mellitus do days old (following a number) d/o drain out (removal of surgical drain) d/o dropped off (for treatment or examination) doa dead on arrival dors dorsal dsh domestic short hair (non-pedigree cat) dx diagnosis e&a euthanasia and aftercare eag empty (or express) anal glands ebt english bull terrier e/d+ eating and drinking normally edud eating, drinking, urinating and defaecating eod every other day epi exocrine pancreatic insufficiency est estimate e/t endo-tracheal eua examine under anaesthetic euth euthanase ex or ext external e(x)d every (x) days ex lap exploratory laparotomy e(x)wks every (x) weeks f female (see also fe and fn) f1/4 forequarters fad flea allergic dermatitis fat++ obese fb foreign body fe female (entire) felv feline leukaemia virus fia feline infectious anaemia (haemobartonellosis) fin finish this treatment fip feline infectious peritonitis fiv feline immunosuppressive virus f/l or fl front legs flutd feline lower urinary tract disease fmd feline miliary dermatitis fn female (neutered) fna fine needle aspirate fnab fine needle aspirate biopsy fq fore quarters fubar'd f****d up beyond all repair fuo fever of unknown origin fus feline urological syndrome ga or ga general anaesthetic gdv gastric dilitation and volvulus gork god only really knows gsd german shepherd dog gshp german short-haired pointer gsp german short-haired pointer h1/4 hindquarters h+ history hac hyperadrenocorticism hbb hit by bullet hbc hit by car hbt hit by truck hbtr hit by train hcm hypertrophic cardiomyopathy hct haematocrit hd hip dysplasia hge haemorrhagic gastro-enteritis h/l or hl hind legs hq hind quarters hr heart rate hrs hours hrs high rise syndrome (animal fell off balcony/windowsill) h's horner's syndrome hx or hx history hypert4 hyperthyroidism hypot4 hypothyroidism i incisor (tooth - followed by a number to indicate which one) id identification or identichip i/d inter-digital iid once a day im or i/m intramuscular imha immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia impr improved: followed by a variable number of +'s to indicate degree of improvement imtp immune-mediated thrombocytopenia inj inject or injection int internal iol intra ocular lens iop intra-ocular pressure ip or i/p intra-peritoneal iv or i/v intravenous jar "just ain't right" jt joint kc kennel cough (infectious tracheobronchitis) kcs kerato conjunctivitis sicca (otherwise known as dry eye) l lumbar (vertebra - usually followed by a number to denote which one) l left la left atrium la local anaesthetic lae left atrial enlargement lat lateral bd/ld big dog/little dog (re fight injuries) lf left fore lh left hind lhd long haired domestic (non-pedigree cat) li large intestine liu lens induced uveitis ll left lower (eg. eyelid, lip) ln lymph node/s ltf learning to fly (animal fell off balcony or similar) lu left upper (eg. eyelid, lip) lv left ventricle lve left ventricular enlargement m molar (tooth - followed by a number to indicate which one) m male (see also me and mn) manip manipulation m/c metacarpal md myocardial disease me male (entire) med medial min minutes mm or mmb mucous membranes mn male (neutered) mo months old (following a number) mt mammary tumour m/t metatarsal mva motor vehicle accident n normal nad no abnormality detected (or detectable) naf no abnormal findings nbg treatment not working n def nerve deficit nntsa no need to see again noad no other abnormality diagnosed noaf no other abnormal findings no c/s/v/d no coughing, sneezing, vomiting or diarrhoea nos no other symptoms npo nothing per os/nil per os n/s next step nsaid non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug nsf no significant finding nyd not yet diagnosed o owner oa osteoarthritis ocd osteochondritis dissecans ocne off colour, not eating oes old english sheepdog o/f off food ooh out of hours op operate or operation p pulse palp palpate or palpation pan peri-arteritis nodosa pbt pit bull terrier pcv packed cell volume (haematocrit) pda patent ductus arteriosis pe physical examination ppi parvovirus and parainfluenza: dog vaccine covering these diseases ppp pretty poor prognosis pm pre-molar (tooth - followed by a number to indicate which one) pm post mortem pts put to sleep (euthanase) pd polydipsia pop popliteal (lymph node) pred prednisolone prn as needed (pro re nata - latin) prob probably or problem pu/pd polyuria/polydipsia puo pyrexia of unknown origin px physical examination or physical examination findings px prognosis q200 owner has been given an estimate of £200 for this procedure (q for quoted) qid four times daily qol quality of life r right ra right atrium rae right atrial enlargement rbc red blood cell rc 1w recheck in 1 week rcm restrictive cardiomyopathy rdvm referring dr veterinary medicine rex re-examine rf right fore rh right hind ri re-examine/re-inspect ri 7d return in 7 days rl right lower (eg. eyelid, lip) rmrcvs referring mrcvs r/o rule out rost rostral rpt repeat rrm restricted range of movement, eg in a joint rrr resting respiration rate rs remove sutures rta road traffic accident ru right upper (eg. eyelid, lip) rv recheck rv right ventricle rve right ventricular enlargement rx prescription or dispense rx re-examine sc or s/c subcutaneous/subcuticular sbi something bad inside, diagnosis of exclusion for adr sbt staffordshire bull terrier shd short haired domestic (non-pedigree cat) si small intestine si self inflicted sibo small intestinal bacterial overgrowth sid once daily sig signalment sit self-inflicted trauma s/m submandibular sn sneezing s/o stitches (or staples) out s&p scale and polish (of teeth) sq subcutaneous s/r suture removal ss skin scrape sto speak to owner swb salt water bathing sx surgery t thoracic (vertebra - usually followed by a number to denote which one) tb tabby tb/w tabby and white tgo to go home tid three times daily t-l thoraco-lumbar tli trypsin-like immunoreactivity tmj temporo-mandibular joint tn or tn temperature normal tnt toenail trim tort tortoiseshell tort/w tortoiseshell and white tpn total parenteral nutrition tpr temperature, pulse and respiration tprn temperature, pulse and respiration all normal tto talked to owner twbc total white blood cells twds towards tx treatment u/a or ua urinalysis uga under general anaesthetic ula under local anaesthetic urt upper respiratory tract urti upper respiratory tract infection us urine sample us or us ultrasound uti urinary tract infection v- vomiting absent or diminished v+ vomiting v++ moderate vomiting v+++ severe vomiting vacc vaccinate or vaccine v&d or v/d+ vomiting and diarrhoea v/d - no vomiting, no diarrhoea vmb very much better vmi very much improved wbc white blood cell wmd white meat diet wnl within normal limits wo weeks old (following a number) wt weight wt!! overweight x/60 x minutes x/24 x hours x/7 x days x/52 x weeks x/12 x months xr or xr x-ray yo years old (following a number) pages/gnca.php|| glossary of non-clinical acronyms this glossary lists acronyms commonly found in veterinary political or management documents, excluding associations and societies. it may be useful for those new to the veterinary arena. ahdo animal health divisional office (of defra) atac approved training and assessment centre (for veterinary nurses, obsolete) atc animal test certificate (re drug licensing) atc approved training centre (for veterinary nurses - obsolete) atc animal treatment centre (term used by some charities) avm-gsl authorised veterinary medicine - general sales list (legal category of drugs, post-october 2005) boc bse offspring cull bp british pharmacopeia bse bovine spongiform encephalopathy bvetmed batchelor of veterinary medicine and surgery (veterinary degree awarded by london veterinary school) bvms batchelor of veterinary medicine and surgery (veterinary degree awarded by glasgow veterinary school) bvm&s batchelor of veterinary medicine and surgery (veterinary degree awarded by edinburgh veterinary school) bvsc batchelor of veterinary science (veterinary degree awarded by bristol and liverpool veterinary schools) cap common agricultural policy (of the european union) cd controlled drug ceec central and eastern european countries (in the context of states peripheral to the european union) coshh control of substances hazardous to health regulations cpd continuing professional development cts cattle tracing system cvpm certificate in veterinary practice management cvo chief veterinary officer (usually of defra) dbes date based export scheme (re bse controls) dbr diploma in bovine reproduction decar diploma of the european college of animal reproduction dibt diploma of the institute of biology in toxicology dipacvim diploma of the european college of veterinary internal medicine dipacvp diploma of the american college of veterinary pathology dipacvr diploma of the european college of veterinary radiology dipacvs diploma of the american college of veterinary surgeons dipecams diploma of the european college of avian medicine and surgery dipecva diploma of the european college of veterinary anaesthesia dipecvd diploma of the european college of veterinary dermatology dipecvdi diploma of the european college of veterinary diagnostic imaging dipecvim diploma of the european college of veterinary internal medicine dipecvn diploma of the european college of veterinary neurology dipecvo diploma of the european college of veterinary ophthalmology dipecvp diploma of the european college of veterinary pathologists dipecvph diplomate of the european college of veterinary public health dipecvs diploma of the european college of veterinary surgeons dipevdc diploma of the european veterinary dental college diptoxrcpath diploma in toxicology of the royal college of pathologists dg directorate general (of the european commission) dvm divisional veterinary manager (of defra) dvm doctor of veterinary medicine (veterinary degree awarded by most american and european veterinary schools) dvo divisional veterinary officer (of defra, obsolete, now dvm) eea european economic area eec european economic community emr extra-mural rotations (students "seeing practice") ems extra-mural studies (students "seeing practice") facvsc fellow of the australian college of veterinary scientists gsl general sales list (legal category of drugs, pre-october 2005) haccp hazard analysis critical control points has hygiene assessment system (for uk slaughterhouses) hivss highlands and islands veterinary services scheme hlca hill livestock compensatory allowance jsap journal of small animal practice lfa less favoured area lvi local veterinary inspector mep member of the european parliament mfs medicated feeding stuff (prescription for) mhi meat hygiene inspector mp member of parliament mrcpath member of the royal college of pathologists mrl maximum residue limit (of drugs in food animals) msp member of the scottish parliament mums minor uses, minor species (re medicines legislation) mwa member of the welsh assembly nfa-vpm non food animal - veterinarian, pharmacist, merchant (legal category of drugs, post-october 2005) nsp national scrapie plan nvq national vocational qualification oj official journal (of the european communities) ov official veterinarian ovs official veterinary surgeon p pharmacy (legal category of drug, pre-october 2005) pml pharmacy merchants list (legal category of drugs, pre-october 2005) pom prescription only medicine (legal category of drugs, pre-october 2005) pom-v prescription only medicine - veterinarian (legal category of drugs, post-october 2005) pom-vpm prescription only medicine - veterinarian, pharmacist, merchant (legal category of drugs, post-october 2005) povs principal official veterinary surgeon rfid radio frequency identification device (microchip) rpvd regional postgraduate veterinary dean (now defunct) sme small and medium-sized enterprise (ie. a small business) snoapad standard nomenclature of animal parasites and diseases snvq scottish national vocational qualification (see also nvq) srm specified risk materials (ref bse control) svq scottish vocational qualification (see also nvq) tp training practice (for veterinary nurses) tse transmissible spongiform encephalopathy tso trading standards officer tvi temporary veterinary inspector (of defra) upe undergraduate practical experience (students seeing practice) vic (or vi centre) veterinary investigation centre (vla laboratory) vio veterinary investigation officer (employed in a vi centre) vmha veterinary meat hygiene adviser vmp veterinary medicinal product vn veterinary nurse vnac veterinary nursing approved centre vwd veterinary written direction (obsolete) pages/gva.php||glossary of veterinary acronyms   a e i m q u b f j n r v c g k o s w d h l p t x/y/z a .. .. .. top of page aaa animal acupuncture academy aaa animal agriculture alliance aaaa association for applied animal andrology aaabem american association of acupuncture and bio-energetic medicine aaalac american association for accreditation of laboratory animal care aaas american association for the advancement of science aabp american association of bovine practitioners aacv australian association of cattle veterinarians aaem american association of electrodiagnostic medicine aaep american association of equine practitioners aafco association of american feed control officials aafhv american association of food hygiene veterinarians aafp american association of feline practitioners aaha american animal hospitals association aahc australian animal health council aahv american association of housecall and mobile veterinarians aala american association for laboratory accreditation aalas american association for laboratory animal science aaom american association of oriental medicine aapb association for applied psychophysiology and biofeedback aaphv american association of public health veterinarians aapm american academy of pain management aaps american association of pharmaceutical scientists aapv australian association of pig veterinarians aares australian agricultural and resource economics society aasp american association of swine practitioners aasrp american association of small ruminant practitioners aav association of avian veterinarians aav-aus association of avian veterinarians - australian chapter aava american association of veterinary anatomists aavc american association of veterinary clinicians aavcb australian association of veterinary conservation biologists aavdm american academy of veterinary disaster medicine aavi american association of veterinary immunologists aavi american academy of veterinary informatics aavld american association of veterinary laboratory diagnosticians aavmc association of american veterinary medical colleges aavp american association of veterinary parasitologists aavpt american academy of veterinary pharmacology and therapeutics aavsb american association of veterinary state boards aawv american association of wildlife veterinarians aazk american association of zookeepers aazv american association of zoo veterinarians abb associação brasileira de buiatria (brazilian veterinary cattle association) abc agricultural biotechnology center abdch association of british dogs' and cats' homes abka american boarding kennels association able association for biology laboratory education (canada) abm assured british meat abmve associação brasileira de médicos veterinários de equídeos (brazilian equine veterinary association) abpi association of the british pharmaceutical industry abravas associação brasileira de veterinarios de animais selvagens (brazilian small animal veterinary association) abrs association of british riding schools abs animal behavior society (usa) absa american biological safety association abva association of british veterinary acupuncturists abvp american board of veterinary practitioners abvt american board of veterinary toxicology acaf |advisory committee on animal feedingstuffs acahf australian companion animal health foundation acam american college for advancement in medicine acaphs advisory committee on agricultural product health and safety (of the eu) acas advisory, conciliation and arbitration service acdp advisory committee on dangerous pathogens (of the health & safety executive) acento animal care & equine national training organisation acf agriculture christian fellowship acgm advisory committee on genetic modification achhf animal chiropractic and holistic health forum aclad american committee on laboratory animal diseases aclam american college of laboratory animal medicine acmsf advisory committee on the microbiological safety of food acp association of circus proprietors acpat association of chartered physiotherapists in animal therapy acpv american college of poultry veterinarians acsh american council on science and health acsma american canine sports medicine association act american college of theriogenologists acva american college of veterinary anesthesiologists acvb american college of veterinary behaviorists acvcp american college of veterinary clinical pharmacology acvd american college of veterinary dermatology acvecc american college of veterinary emergency and critical care acvim american college of veterinary internal medicine acvm american college of veterinary microbiologists acvn american college of veterinary nutrition acvo american college of veterinary ophthalmologists acvp american college of veterinary pathologists acvpm american college of veterinary preventive medicine acvr american college of veterinary radiology acvs american college of veterinary surgeons acvt advisory committee on veterinary training (of the eu, obsolete) aczm american college of zoological medicine ada american dental association adas agricultural development advisory service adga american dairy goat association adi assistance dogs international adit-sic spanish association of slaughterhouse and meat industry veterinarians adsa american dairy science association aeb american egg board aebc agriculture and environment biotechnology committee (uk government) aemv association of exotic mammal veterinarians aet asociación española de toxicología (spanish toxicology association) aets australian embryo transfer society aeva australian equine veterinary association aevedi asociación española de veterinarios especialistas en diagnóstico por imagen (spanish diagnostic imaging association) afa american federation of aviculture afa american ferret association afb american farm bureau federation afc association française de cuniculture (french rabbit association) afdo association of food and drug officials (usa) afew african fund for endangered wildlife afssa french food standards agency (translation) afia american feed industry association afip armed forces institute of pathology (usa - department of veterinary pathology) afh american federation of herpetoculturists afrma american fancy rat and mouse association afs american fisheries society ag association for gnotobiotics agac advanced genetic analysis center (university of minnesota) agnic agriculture network information center agv association of government veterinarians (formerly asvo) agva australian greyhound veterinary association agvr advisory group on veterinary residues (of maff: now obsolete, replaced by vrc) aha american humane association ahda animal health distributors association ahead animal health/emerging animal diseases ahi animal health institute ahis animal health information specialists uk ahma american holisitic medical association ahs american heartworm society ahs arab horse society aht animal health trust ahvg animal health and veterinary group (of defra) aia aliança internacional do animal (international animal alliance - brazil) aieta artificial insemination equine trade association aif animal industry foundation (obsolete, now animal agriculture alliance) aifrb american institute of fisheries research biologists aivi associazione italiana veterinari igientisti (italy) aivpa associazione italiana veterinari piccoli animali (italian small animal veterinary association) akc american kennel club ama american medical association amduca animal medicines drug use clarification act (usa) ami association of meat inspectors ami american meat institute amia american medical informatics association amlc australian meat and livestock council ammvepe asociación mexicana de médicos veterinarios especialistas en pequeñas especies (mexican small animal veterinary association) amp americans for medical progress ams australian mammal society amsa american meat science association amta american massage therapy association amtra animal medicines training and regulatory authority amvhb associação médico veterinária homeopática brasileira (brazilian association of homoeopathic veterinarians) amvq académie de médecine vétérinaire du québec anclivepa-sp associação nacional dos clínicos veterinários de pequenos animais (brazilian small animal veterinary association) anembe asociación de veterinarios especialistas en medicina bovina de espana (spanish cattle veterinary association) angis australian national genomic information service anmvi associazione nazionale medeci veterinari italiani ansi american national standards institute anzccart australian and new zealand council for the care of animals in research and teaching anzfa australia-new zealand food authority (obsolete, now fsanz) aoa american ostrich association ao/asif arbeitsgemeinschaft fuer osteosynthesefragen - association for the study of internal fixation apbc association of pet behaviour counsellors apc animal procedures committee (under the animals (scientific procedures) act) ape asociación primatológica española apha american public health association aphin animal productivity and health information network (university of prince edward island) aphis animal and plant health inspection service (usa) aphsar appraisal panel for human suspected adverse reactions (of the vmd) api associazione primatologica italiana (italian primate association) aplb association for pet loss and bereavement apmveac associaco portuguesa de médicos vétérinarios especialistas em animais de portugal companhia (portuguese small animal veterinary association) appgaw all-party parliamentary group for animal welfare appma american pet products manufacturers association aps american physiological society apua alliance for the prudent use of antibiotics apvma australian pesticides and veterinary medicines authority (australia - formerly national registration authority) apvma american pre-veterinary medical association aqis australian quarantine and inspection service arav association of reptilian & amphibian veterinarians arazpa australasian regional association of zoological parks and aquaria arba american rabbit breeders association arcas asociación de rescate y conservación de vida silvestre (wildlife rescue and conservation association, guatemala) arc-usa animal rights coalition usa arena applied research ethics national association arini agricultural research institute of northern ireland ars agricultural research service (usa) asab association for the study of animal behaviour asae american society of agricultural engineers asas american society of animal science asava australian small animal veterinary association asbia associação brasileira de inseminação artificial (brazilian association for artificial insemination) ascb american society for cell biology ascobans agreement on the conservation of small cetaceans of the baltic and north seas ash australian society of herpetologists asia american sheep industry association asih american society of ichthyologists and herpetologists aslap american society of laboratory animal practitioners asm american society of mammalogists asm american society for microbiology asmpa/svk association suisse pour la médecine des petits animaux/schweizerische vereinigung für kleintiermedizin (swiss small animal veterinary association) asns american society for nutritional sciences asp american society of parasitologists asp american society of primatologists aspca american society for the prevention of cruelty to animals aspet american society for pharmacology and experimental therapeutics asrb australian society for reproductive biology astmh american society of tropical medicine and hygiene asv american society for virology asvdt american society of veterinary dental technicians asvin assisting and supporting veterinary information needs project, of rslp asvo association of state veterinary officers. osolete, now association of government veterinarians. asvo american society of veterinary ophthalmology asvs australian sheep veterinary society ata animal transport association ats american tarantula society ava association of veterinary anaesthetists (uk) ava australian veterinary association avaa australian veterinary acupuncture association avaci academy of veterinary allergy & clinical immunology avafes associació veterinària per a l'atenció a la fauna exòtica i salvatge (spain) avar association of veterinarians for animal rights avbc australasian veterinary boards council avca american veterinary chiropractic association avc association of veterinary consultants (international) avcpt association for veterinary clinical pharmacology and therapeutics avda american veterinary distributors association avdc american veterinary dental college avds australian veterinary dental association aveaca asociacion de veterinarios especialistas en animales de compania de la argentina. (argentinean association of veterinarians specialized in companion animals) avec association of veterinary emergency clinics (uk) avecct academy of veterinary emergency & critical care technicians avef association vétérinaire equine française avepa associacion veterinaria espanola de especialistas en pequenos animales (spanish small animal veterinary association) avh academy of veterinary homeopathy (usa) avhs australian veterinary history society avi association of veterinarians in industry avi association for veterinary informatics avi australian veterinarians in industry avis animal virus information system (university of pune, india) avma american veterinary medical association avma alabama veterinary medical association avma arkansas veterinary medical association avmf american veterinary medical foundation avmla american veterinary medical law association avpma australian veterinary practice management association avpa australian veterinary poultry association avs association of veterinary students avspni association of veterinary surgeons practising in northern ireland avsts association of veterinary soft tissue surgeons avta academy of veterinary technician anesthetists (usa) avt&rw association of veterinary teachers and research workers awa animal watch australia awf animal welfare foundation (of the bva) awic animal welfare information center (usda-nal) aws american warmblood society awselva animal welfare, science, ethics and law veterinary association awv association for women veterinarians (usa) awvp association of wholesalers to the veterinary profession azaa american zoo and aquarium association b .. .. .. top of page baa british agrochemicals association. obsolete, now called the crop protection association. bafsam british association of feed supplement and additives manufacturers bahvs british association of homoeopathic veterinary surgeons basc british association for shooting and conservation bats biosafety research and assessment of technology impacts of the swiss priority program biotechnology. bavec british association of veterinary emergency care bavp british association for veterinary parasitology bbsrc biotechnology and biological sciences research council bbt bundesverband der beamtetentierärzte (germany) bcg british chelonia group bci bat conservation international bcms british cattle movement service bcva british cattle veterinary association bcvma british columbia veterinary medical association bdbc british dog breeders' council bdga british dog groomers' association bdoa british domestic ostrich association bds british driving society (carriage horses) bds-w british driving society - wales (carriage horses) bef british equestrian federation belnet belgian research network ben belgian embnet node (molecular biology) bera british endurance riding association beta british equestrian trade association beva british equine veterinary association bfö berufsverband freiberuflich tätiger tierärzte österreichs (austrian veterinary association) bgrb british greyhound racing board bgs british goat society bha british hamster association bha british horseball association bhb british horseracing board bhic british horse industry confederation bhra british house rabbit association bhrc british harness racing association (horses) bhs british horse society bhvma british holistic veterinary medicine association biac british institute of agricultural consultants bic biotechnology information center big biosciences imaging group (university of southampton) bii biotechnology information institute binas biosafety information network and advisory service (of the united nations industrial development organization) blava british laboratory animal veterinary association (obsolete - now lava) bma british medical association bpa british pig association bpmf british poultry meat federation bprc biomedical primate research centre bps british pharmacological society bpt bundesverband praktischertierärzte (germany) bravo british association for veterinary ophthalmology brc british rabbit council brc british retail consortium bsas british society of animal science bsava british small animal veterinary association bsja british show jumping association (horses) bsp british society for parasitology bstp british society of toxicological pathologists btf british turkey federation btk bundestierärztekammer (germany) bto british trust for ornithology buav british union for the abolition of vivisection bva british veterinary association bva:awf british veterinary association: animal welfare foundation bvags british veterinary association golfing society bvca belgian veterinary computer association bvcs british veterinary camelid society bvda british veterinary dental association bvdsg british veterinary dermatology study group bvha british veterinary hospitals association bvna british veterinary nursing association bvoa british veterinary orthopaedic association bvosg british veterinary oncology study group bvpa british veterinary poultry association bvzs british veterinary zoological society bwha british wildlife health association bwrc british wildlife rehabilitation council c .. .. ..top of page caa center for animal alternatives (university of california-davis) caat (johns hopkins) center for alternatives to animal testing cabtsg companion animal behaviour therapy study group cadia center for animal disease and information analysis (us department of agriculture) cahm center for animal health monitoring (us department of agriculture) cahp center for animal health and productivity (university of pennsylvania) calas canadian association for laboratory animal science cappdt canadian association of professional pet dog trainers caps captive animal protection society cas companion animal society (new zealand) cast council for agricultural science and technology cauz consortium of aquariums universities & zoos cavo canadian association of veterinary ophthalmology cawc companion animal welfare council cbra california biomedical research association cbra colégio brasileiro de reprodução animal (brazilian college of animal reproduction) cbsg conservation breeding specialist group ccac canadian council on animal care cci canine companions for independence ccsf comparative clinical science foundation ccw countryside council for wales cdc centres for disease control (usa) cdsc communicable disease surveillance centre ceah centers for epidemiology and animal health (us department of agriculture) ceece coalition to end experimentation on chimpanzees in europe cefas centre for the environment, fisheries and aquaculture science (of defra) cei center for emerging issues (us department of agriculture) ceid centre for the epidemiology of infectious disease (oxford university) ceniap centro nacional de investigaciones agropecuarias (venezuela) cerf canine eye registration foundation cfa cat fancier's association cfia canadian food inspection agency cfmv conselho federal de medicina veterinária (brazil) cfsan center for food safety and applied nutrtition (usa, food and drug administration) cgcvm center for government and corporate veterinary medicine cgil centre for genetic improvement of livestock (university of guelph) cha canine hydrotherapy association chab center for the human-animal bond (purdue university school of veterinary medicine) chci chimpanzee and human communication institute checs cattle health certification standards chsmg canine health schemes management group (of bva) cidefa conférence internationale des doyens et directeurs d'établissements d'enseignement supérieur d'expression française des sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation cieh chartered institute of environmental health ciit chemical industry institute of toxicology cisab center for the integrative study of animal behavior cites convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora ciwf compassion in world farming ckc continental kennel club cla country landowners' association clive computer-aided learning in veterinary education clove colegio latinoamericano de oftalmologos veterinarios (latin american college of veterinary ophthalmologists) cmrg central mastitis review group (of the vla) cnah centre for north american herpetology cnarr center for north american amphibians and reptiles (university of kansas) cnitv centre national d'informations toxicologiques veterinaires cnprc california national primate research center cnvspa conférence nationale des vétérinaires spécialisés en petits animaux (french small animal veterinary association) cogeca general committee for agricultural co-operation in the eu comisa confédération mondiale de l'industrie de la sante animale (world federation of the animal health industry) convince consortium of north american veterinary interactive new concept education copa committee of agricultural organisations in the eu cordis community research and development information service (of the european union) cot committee on toxicity ... of chemicals in food, consumer products and the environment (of the department of health) cpa crop protection association cpc canadian pork council cpl cats protection league cpsm council for professions supplementary to medicine cpt carnivore preservation trust crfp council for the registration of forensic practitioners crhp council for the regulation of healthcare professionals crmv-pa/ap conselho regional de medicina veterinária do para/amapa crmv-rj conselho regional de medicina veterinária do rio de janeiro crmv-sp conselho regional de medicina veterinária de são paulo crr colorado reptile rescue crs comparative respiratory society crwad conference of research workers in animal diseases csba canadian swine breeders association csac company services advisory committee (of bva, obsolete) csava czech small animal veterinary association csba canadian swine breeders association csg crocodile specialist group csl central science laboratory cstf clinical studies trust fund ctnbio comissão técnica nacional de biossegurança (brazil) ctvm centre for tropical veterinary medicine (university of edinburgh) cure connecticut united for research excellence cva commonwealth veterinary association cvl central veterinary laboratory (of defra) cvm center for veterinary medicine (of the fda) cvm christian veterinary mission cvma canadian veterinary medical association cvma california veterinary medical association cvma colorado veterinary medical association cvmc christian veterinary missions of canada cvmp committee for veterinary medicinal products (of emea) cvo college of veterinarians of ontario cvs central veterinary society cwf canadian wildlife federation d .. .. ..top of page daf department of agriculture and food (republic of ireland) daff department of agriculture, fisheries and forestry (australia) dani department of agriculture for northern ireland (obsolete, now dardni) darc group defra antimicrobial resistance coordination group dardni department of agriculture and rural development for northern ireland (formerly dani) dcvma district of columbia veterinary medical association dda dispensing doctors' association ddd den danske dyrlaegeforening (danish veterinary association) defra department of the environment, food and rural affairs(uk: successor to maff) deni department of education for northern ireland devma delaware veterinary medical association dght deutsche gesellscaft fur herpetologie and terrarienkunde (german society for herpetology) di dýralæknafélag íslands (icelandic veterinary association) dia drug information association dif dairy industry federation dig dog identification group (of the department of transport, environment and the regions) dlag dog legislation advisory group dlo-nl netherlands organization for agricultural research dmb dutch meat board dnv den norske veterinærforening (norwegian veterinary association) doh department of health (of uk government) dpz deutsches primatenzentrum gmbh göttingen (german primate center) dsava danish small animal veterinary association dvg deutsche veterinaermedizinische gesellschaft (german veterinary association) dvl danish veterinary laboratory e.. .. ..top of page ea environment agency eaap european association of animal production eaav european association of avian veterinarians eaeve european association of establishments for veterinary education eashw european agency for safety and health at work easvo european association of state veterinary officers eavdi european association of veterinary diagnostic imaging eave european association of veterinary editors eavs european association of veterinary specialists eaw eurogroup for animal welfare eawt exotic animal welfare trust (formerly the reptile trust) eaza european association of zoos and aquaria eazwvs european association of zoo and wildlife veterinary surgeons ebra european biomedical research association ebsa european biosafety association ebvs european board of veterinary specialisation ecam&s european college of avian medicine and surgery ecar european college for animal reproduction ecavs european centre for advanced veterinary studies ecfvg educational commission for foreign veterinary graduates (of the avma) eclam european college of laboratory animal medicine ecosoc economic and social committee (of the eu) ecso european council of skeptical organisations ecva european college of veterinary anaesthesia ecvam european centre for the validation of alternative methods: part of the european commission's joint research centre ecvcn european college of veterinary and comparative nutrition ecvd european college of veterinary dermatology ecvdi european college of veterinary diagnostic imaging ecvim-ca european college of veterinary internal medicine - companion animals ecvn european college of veterinary neurology ecvo european college of veterinary ophthalmology ecvp european college of veterinary pathologists ecvph european college of veterinary public health ecvpt european college of veterinary pharmacology and toxicology ecvs european college of veterinary surgeons eea european environment agency efb european federation of biotechnology efracom environment, farming and rural affairs committee (of the house of commons) efta european free trade association egzf equine grass sickness fund ehps endurance horse and pony society of great britain eia environmental investigation agency eiinet emerging infections information network (yale university) emea european medicines evaluation agency emi egg marketing inspectorate epa environmental protection agency (ireland) epa environmental protection agency (usa) ergatt european research group for alternatives in toxicity testing erin environmental resources information network (australia) es endocrine society esa entomological society of america esac european surveillance on antimicrobial consumption (of dg sanco of the european commission) esava estonian small animal veterinary association esavs european school for advanced veterinary studieshttp://www.esavs.org esdar european society for domestic animal reproduction esfm european society of feline medicine eslav european society for laboratory animal veterinarians essg education strategy steering group (of the rcvs) estiv european society of toxicology in vitro esvc european society of veterinary cardiology esvce european society of veterinary clinical ethology esvcp european society of veterinary clinical pathology esvd european society of veterinary dermatology esvim european society of veterinary internal medicine esvn european society of veterinary neurology esvo european society of veterinary ophthalmology esvot european society of veterinary orthopaedics and traumatology esvp european society of veterinary pathology esvps european school of veterinary postgraduate studies eu european union eufmd european commission for the control of foot-and-mouth disease (of the fao) eupren european primate resources network eura european renderers' association eur-op office for official publications of the european commission eurotox association of european toxicologists & european societies of toxicology eva employed veterinarians association (australia) evdc european veterinary dental college evds european veterinary dental society evlg european veterinary libraries group evzs edinburgh veterinary zoological society evssar european veterinary society for the study of small animal reproduction ewda european wildlife disease association ewra european wildlife rehabilitation association extoxnet extension toxicology network f .. .. ..top of page fab feline advisory bureau fag farm animals group (of the bva) faim foundation for the advancement of integrative medicine fao food and agriculture organization (of the united nations) fapc food animal practitioners club (virginia-maryland regional college of veterinary medicine) farad food animal residue avoidance databank (see also gfarad) farm farm animal reform movement fas federation of american scientists faseb federation of american societies for experimental biology fava federation of asian veterinary associations favp finnish association of veterinary practitioners fawc farm animal welfare council fbas farm business advice service fbr foundation for biomedical research fci féderation cynologique internationale (international kennel club) fda food and drug administration (usa) fdli food & drug law institute fecava federation of european companion animal veterinary associations fedesa european federation of animal health (obsolete, now part of ifah) feeva federation of european equine veterinary associations fefana european feed additives manufacturers association felasa federation of european laboratory animal science associations fevir european federation of veterinarians in industry and research (fédération européenne de vétérinaires de l'industrie et de la recherche) ffa future farmers of america fgts finnish gene therapy society fife féderation internationale féline (international cat fancy) fin fishmeal information network finlas finnish laboratory animal scientists fips finnish physiological society fit fachgemeinschaft industrie-tieraerzte (germany) fkdvg fachgruppe kleintierkrankheiten der deutschen veterinärmedizinischen geselschaft (german small animal veterinary association) fqas farm quality assurance service (northern ireland) frame fund for the replacement of animals in medical experiments frc farriers registration council frca farming and rural conservation agency fsa food standards agency fsanz food standards australia new zealand (formerly australia new zealand food authority) fsb federation of small businesses fsis food safety and inspection service (of usda, usa) fspb food safety promotion board (all-ireland) fuw farmers' union of wales/undeb amaethwyr cymru fva finnish veterinary association fve federation of veterinarians of europe fvma florida veterinary medical association fvo food and veterinary office (of the european commission) fvs fish veterinary society fzggbi federation of zoological gardens of gb and ireland g .. .. ..top of page galva gay and lesbian veterinary association (australia) gats general agreement on trade in services (of the wto) gatt general agreement on tariffs and trade (of the wto) gccf governing council of the cat fancy gcvef gulf coast veterinary education foundation gdba guide dogs for the blind association gdc (institute for) genetic disease control gdc general dental council (human, uk) gdfb guide dog foundation for the blind (usa) gfarad global food animal residue avoidance databank gga global gecko association gisc general insurance standards council glmva lesbian & gay veterinary medical association gmac genetic manipulation advisory committee (australia - obsolete, now gttac) gmc general medical council (human, uk) goc general optical council (human, uk) gpvec great plains veterinary educational center (university of nebraska) gsl general sales list (legal category of drugs) gst gesellschaft schweizerischer tierärzte (swiss veterinary association) gtac gene therapy advisory committee gttac gene technology technical advisory committee (australia) guvma glasgow university veterinary medical association guvzs glasgow university veterinary zoological society gv gesellschaft für versuchstierkunde (society of laboratory animal science) gvs goat veterinary society gvs government veterinary service gv-solas gesellschaft für versuchstierkunde (swiss society of laboratory animal science) h.. .. .. top of page habac human-animal bond association of canada harc hoarding of animals research consortium hblb horserace betting levy board hedra heads of european veterinary regulatory agencies hefce higher education funding council for england hefcw higher education funding council for wales hesca health sciences communications association hevra heads of european veterinary regulatory agencies group hfs-gbi holstein freisian society of great britain and ireland hgca home-grown cereals authority hivss highlands and islands veterinary services scheme hkva hong kong veterinary association hovs heads of veterinary schools hsa health and safety authority (ireland) hsa humane slaughter association hsa hunt saboteurs association hsava hungarian small animal veterinary association hsc health and safety commission hse health and safety executive hsl health and safety laboratory hsus humane society of the united states hvk hrvatska veterinarska komora (croatian veterinary chamber) hvms hellenic veterinary medical society (greece) i.. .. .. top of page iaaam international association for aquatic animal medicine iaadp international association of assistance dog partners iaas international association of agricultural students iacp international academy of compounding pharmacists iacuc institutional animal care and use committee iaep international association of equine professionals iafwa international association of fish and wildlife agencies iag internal audit group (of bva) iah institute for animal health (uk) iaha international arabian horse association iahaio international association of human-animal interaction organisations iar international animal rescue ias international aviculturists society iasp international association for the study of pain iat institute of animal technology iatp institute for agriculture and trade policy icaae international center for aquaculture and aquatic environments icar international congress on animal reproduction icava irish companion animal veterinary association (obsolete, now part of vi) icgeb international centre for genetic engineering and biotechnology ich international co-operation on harmonisation (of technical requirements for the registration of veterinary medicinal products) iclas international council for laboratory animal science icrav international conference of racing analysts and veterinarians icrp international commission on radiological protection idb irish dairy board id-dlo institute for animal science and health (netherlands) ids internet dermatology society idsa infectious diseases society of america iets international embryo transfer society iewg international elbow working group ifa irish farmers' association ifah international federation of animal health ifap international federation of agricultural producers ifar international fund for avian research ifaw international fund for animal welfare ifb irish food board igdf international guide dog federation ifgdsb international guide dog schools for the blind (obsolete, now international guide dog federation ific international food information council ifis international food information service ifpa international federation of placental associations ifst institute of food science & technology ift institute of food technologists iha international hedgehog association ihp independent husbandry panel (ref. control of tuberculosis in cattle in the uk) ihs international herpetological symposium iicab institute for international cooperation in animal biologics iih institute of international health iis international iguana society iivs institute for in vitro science iivtg industrial in vitro toxicology group ilar institute of laboratory animal resources ilmvl institute of legal medicine and veterinary legislation (italy) ilph international league for the protection of horses ilrad international laboratory for research on animal diseases (nairobi, kenya) imb irish medicines board imrsa international medical regulatory and shipping association incb international narcotics control board iob institute of biology ipc international policy council (on agriculutre, food and trade) ipg inter-professional group ips international primatological society irba international reptile breeders' association ird independent review of dispensing iris international renal interest society irro information resource for the release of organisms to the environment irrp international registry of reproductive pathology irsnb (kbin) institut royal des sciences naturelles de belgique/koninklijk belgisch instituut voor natuurwetenschappen isag international society for animal genetics isaz international society for anthrozoology iser international symposia on equine reproduction isds international sheep dog society isdvma international sled dog veterinary medical association isfae international society for farm animal endocrinology isg independent scientific group (advises government on the control of tuberculosis in cattle in the uk) isga irish salmon growers association isga international sugar glider association isham international society for human and animal mycology isita irish society for information technology in agriculture iso international standards organisation isom international society for orthomolecular medicine isot international society of ocular toxicology isp international society for pathophysiology ispca irish society for the prevention of cruelty to animals isvma illinois state veterinary medical association isvo international society of veterinary ophthalmology isvp international society of veterinary perinatology itm institute for traditional medicine iutox international union of toxicology iva irish veterinary association (obsolete, now part of veterinary ireland) ivas international veterinary acupuncture society ivbg international veterinary biosafety group ivis international veterinary information service ivma idaho veterinary medical association ivma indiana veterinary medical association ivma israel veterinary medical association ivnta international veterinary nurses and technicians association ivoa irish veterinary officers association (obsolete, now part of veterinary ireland) ivoc international veterinary officers council ivpt institute of veterinary pharmacology and toxicology (university of zurich veterinary faculty) ivra international veterinary radiology association ivsa international veterinary students association ivu irish veterinary union (obsolete, now part of veterinary ireland) iwc international wildlife coalition izs istituto zooprofilattico sperimentale dell'abruzzo e del molise (italy) j.. .. .. top of page jacopis joint advisory committee on pets in society (obsolete, now pac) jalam japanese association for laboratory animal medicine javma journal of the american veterinary medical association jfa japanese farriers association jfssg joint food safety and standards group (of defra/doh) jmaff japanese ministry of agriculture, farming and fisheries jpfia japan pet food industry association jra japan racing authority jslae japanese society for laboratory animal and environment jsvs japanese society of veterinary science jvma japan veterinary medical association jvpa japanese veterinary pharmaceutical association k.. .. .. top of page kbin (irsnb) koninklijk belgisch instituut voor natuurwetenschappen/institut royal des sciences naturelles de belgique knmvd koninklijke nederlandse maatschappij voor diergheneeskunde (royal netherlands veterinary association) kvaps kenyan veterinary association privatisation scheme kvicr komory veterinárních lékaru ceské republiky (czech veterinary chamber) kvma kansas veterinary medical association kvma kentucky veterinary medical association kws kenyan wildlife service kc kennel club l.. .. .. top of page lacerta see nvht-lacerta lak letzebuerger association vun de klengdeiere-praktiker (luxembourg small animal veterinary association) lantra national training organisation for the land based industries lasa laboratory animal science association lassa licensed animal slaughter and salvage association lav latvian association of veterinarians lava laboratory animal veterinary association (formerly blava) lavoa local authority veterinary officers' association (ireland, obsolete, now part of vi) lawte laboratory animal welfare training exchange lci livestock conservation institute leaf linking environment and farming lga local government association lgi lietuvos gyvulininkystes institutas (lithuanian institute of animal science) lgvma lesbian & gay veterinary medical association lhrc lobster health research centre (atlantic veterinary college) lmcni livestock and meat commission for northern ireland ls lepidopterists' society lsaps latvian small animal practitioners section lsava lithuanian small animal veterinary association lsc learning and skills council lsird livestock systems in integrated rural development network lvma louisiana veterinary medical association m.. .. .. top of page maabre mid-continent association for agriculture, biomedical research and education maff ministry of agriculture, fisheries & food (uk: obsolete, now defra) marc marine animal rescue coalition masaav mid-atlantic states association of avian veterinarians mavis medicines act veterinary information service (see veterinary medicines directorate web site) mavma massachusetts veterinary medical association mca medicines control agency mdba masters of draghounds and bloodhounds association mdc milk development council mdvma maryland veterinary medical association mfha masters of fox hounds association mgagb mounted games association of great britain mhpf meat hygiene policy forum mhra medicines and healthcare regulatory authority mhs meat hygiene service mismr michigan society for medical research mlc meat and livestock commission mmb milk marketing board mmrg microchip manufacturers and retailers group mrc meat research corporation (australia) msava macedonian small animal veterinary association msc medicines select committee (of the bva) mscvma memphis-shelby county veterinary medical association msg members' services group (of bva) msmr massachusetts society for medical research msu-pvma michigan state university pre-veterinary medical association mu-radil university of missouri research animal diagnostic and investigative laboratory muvsa massey university veterinary student association mwva mid west veterinary association (uk) mva malta veterinary association mvma maine veterinary medical association mvma maryland veterinary medical association mvma massachusetts veterinary medical association mvma minnesota veterinary medical association mvma missouri veterinary medical association mvma montana veterinary medical association n.. .. .. top of page note that as this is a uk site, all organisations designating themselves "national" refer to the uk unless otherwise stated. naab national association of animal breeders (usa) naac national association of agricultural contractors nabr national association for biomedical research nacam netherlands association for companion animal medicine nacb national association of catering butchers nacft national association of cattle foot trimmers nadc national animal disease center (us department of agriculture) nadis national animal disease information service naeric north american equine ranching information council nafbae national association of farriers, blacksmiths and agricultural engineers nafm national association of farmers' markets nag nominations and awards group (of bva) nago national association of greyhound owners nahc national anti-hunt campaign (usa) nahis national association of healthcare information services (usa) naia national animal interest alliance naivpp national association of independent veterinary practices and practitioners (usa) nama national agri-marketing association (usa) napcc national animal poison control center (usa, university of illinois) napps national association of professional pet sitters (usa) narp national association of registered petsitters nasda national association of state departments of agriculture naspvh national association of state public health veterinarians (usa) nass national agriculture statistics service (usa) navbc national agricultural and veterinary biotechnology centre (ireland) navca north american veterinary college administrators navs national anti-vivisection society (usa) navta north american veterinary technician association nawad national assembly for wales agriculture department nba national beef association nba national bison association (usa) nbbg nebraska behavioral biology group nbec national board examination committee (for veterinary medicine, usa). obsolete, now called the national board of veterinary medical examiners. nbic national biotechnology information center (usa) nbvme national board of veterinary medical examiners (usa) ncba national cattlemen's beef association (usa) ncc national chicken council (usa) ncdl national canine defence league (obsolete: now dogs trust) ncpga national contract poultry growers association ncrr national center for research resources (usa) ncsu north carolina state university ncvei national commission on veterinary economic issues ncvma north carolina veterinary medical association ncvq national council for vocational qualifications. (see also nvq) (obsolete, now part of the qca) ncvma north carolina veterinary medical association ndc national dairy council ndfas national dairy farm assurance scheme ndhia national dairy herd improvement association (usa) ndsdf national disaster search dog foundation (usa) nerc natural environmental research council neva north of england veterinary association newc national equine welfare council nfbg national federation of badger groups nfi national fisheries institute (usa) nfo national farmers organization(usa) nfppc national federation of private pet crematoria nfrui national farm research unit nfu national farmers union (uk) nfu national farmers union (usa) nfus national farmers union of scotland nhc national hamster council (uk) nhm natural history museum, london ngfa national grain and feed association (usa) ngrc national greyhound racing council niab national institute of agricultural botany niah national institute of animal health (japan) nibsc national institute for biological standards and control (uk) nice national institute for clinical excellence nicvbp national institute for control of veterinary bioproducts and pharmaceuticals nig national institute of genetics genetic resources laboratory (shigen-japan) nih national institutes of health (usa) niva north of ireland veterinary association njvma new jersey veterinary medical association nlpa national livestock producers association (usa) nma national meat association nmc national mastitis council (usa) nmpf national milk producers federation (usa) nmvma new mexico veterinary medical association noah national office of animal health noah avma network of animal health norina norwegian reference centre for laboratory animal science & alternatives npa national pig association npha national pharmacists' association npia national pet insurance association nplc national pedigreed livestock council (usa) nppc national pork producers council (usa) npw national pet week nra national registration authority (for agricultural & veterinary chemicals) (australia). obsolete, now apvma. nraac national reptile and amphibian advisory council (usa) nrc national research council (usa) nrpb national radiological protection board nsa national sheep association nsava norwegian small animal veterinary association nsf national science foundation (usa) nsh national society for histotechnology (usa) nsha national swedish herpetological association nspac national scrapie plan administration centre nspca national council of societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals (republic of south africa) ntf national trainers federation (racehorses) ntf national turkey federation (usa) nuvac national unit for the veterinary advancement of communications skills: joint project between liverpool university and veterinary defence society. nval national veterinary assay laboratory (japan) nvht-lacerta nederlandse vereniging voor herpetelogie en terrariumkunde 'lacerta' (dutch herpetology society 'lacerta') nvma nebraska veterinary medical association nwf national wildlife federation (usa) nwra the national wildlife rehabilitators association (usa) nwtf national wild turkey federation (usa) nzva new zealand veterinary association o.. .. .. top of page oata ornamental aquatic trade association ltd oavt ontario association of veterinary technicians ocve la organización colegial veterinaria española (spanish veterinary association) oda oklahoma department of agriculture oecd organisation for economic co-operation and development ofa orthopedic foundation for animals oie office international des epizooties omafra ontario ministry of agriculture, food and rural affairs omsco organic milk suppliers cooperative omv ordem dos médicos veterinários (portugese veterinary association) orprc oregon regional primate research center os orthopterists' society osera ohio scientific education & research association ov ordre des vétérinaires (french equivalent of rcvs) ovma ohio veterinary medical association ovma oklahoma veterinary medical association ovma ontario veterinary medical association p.. .. .. top of page paa pet allergy association paag pet advertising advisory group pac pet advisory committee (formerly jacopis) pacas people against companion animal slaughter pads people and dogs society paho pan american health organisation pavma pennsylvania veterinary medical association paws performing animal welfare society pbss pet bereavement support service pc pony club pct pet care trust pdi predator defense institute pdic pig disease information centre pdsa people's dispensary for sick animals (uk) pdsc professional development sub-committee (of the rcvs) peta people for the ethical treatment of animals pets pet travel scheme (proposed new import regulations for cats and dogs entering the uk) pfma pet food manufacturers association pgeu pharmaceutical group of the european union phc pet health council phls public health laboratory service pijac pet industry joint advisory council (canada) pivag pet insurance veterinary advisory group plit professional liability insurance trust (of the avma) pmlg practitioner medicines liaison group prc pesticide residues committee (of defra) prim&r public responsibility in medicine and research psa poultry science association psbr pennsylvania society for biomedical research psd pesticides safety directorate psgb primate society of great britain psi pharmaceutical society of ireland psic primate supply information clearinghouse pswp practice standards working party (of the rcvs) ptia pet trade industry association pvma pre-veterinary medical association (auburn university, usa) pvs pig veterinary society q.. .. .. top of page qaa quality assessment agency (for higher education) qca qualifications and curriculum authority (supervises the s/nvq scheme) qkoa quarantine kennel owners association r.. .. .. top of page rabi royal agricultural benevolent institution rase royal agricultural society of england ravc royal army veterinary corps rbst rare breeds survival trust rcp registry of comparative pathology (defunct) rcvs royal college of veterinary surgeons rda riding for the disabled association rds research defence society rds rural development service rgt retired greyhound trust rhass royal highland and agricultural society of scotland ric rabbit industry council (usa) rivma rhode island veterinary medical association rki robert koch institute for infectious and non communicable diseases. rmca rat and mouse club of america rpa rural payments agency (formerly intervention board for agricultural produce) rpsgb royal pharmaceutical society of great britain rri rowett research institute rsin rural stress information network rslp research libraries support prgramme rsm royal society of medicine rsna radiological society of north america rspb royal society for the protection of birds rspca royal society for the prevention of cruelty to animals ruas royal ulster agricultural society ruma responsible use of medicines in agriculture alliance rural (society for the) responsible use of resources in agriculture and on the land rvc royal veterinary college rvczs royal veterinary college zoological society rwf rabbit welfare fund s.. .. .. top of page sac scottish agricultural colleges sacar specialist advisory committee on antimicrobial resistance (of department of health, uk government) saco swedish confederation of professional associations saf small abattoir federation samw scottish association of meat wholesalers sapam small animal practitioners' association of malaysia sarda search and rescue dog association sasas south african society of animal science sasblia south african stud book and livestock improvement association sava south african veterinary association savab small animal veterinary association of belgium savc south african veterinary council savma student american veterinary medical association sbrt sebakwe black rhino trust sbte sociedade brasileira de tecnologia de embriões (brazilian embryology society) sc society for cryobiology scahaw scientific committee for animal health and welfare (of the european commission) scand-las the scandinavian federation for laboratory animal science scaimvs south central australia institute of medical and veterinary science scas society for companion animal studies scaw scientists' center for animal welfare scaws scottish centre for animal welfare sciences scivac società culturale italiana veterinari per animali da compagnia (italian small animal veterinary association) scivet scottish campaign for international veterinary education and training (defunct?) scofcah standing committee on the food chain and animal health (of the eu) scu scottish crofters union scvmph scientific committee for veterinary measures relating to public health (of the european commission) sda scottish dairy association sdb society for developmental biology seac spongiform encephalopathy advisory committee seb society for experimental biology sei stockholm environment institute sell societas veterinariorum finlandiae (finnish veterinary association) sepa scottish environmental protection agency seplis european secretariat for the liberal professions serad scottish executive rural affairs department serc scottish endurance riding club setac society of environmental toxicology and chemistry sett society for the eradication of tuberculosis transmission sfacet scottish farm and countryside educational trust sfbr southwest foundation for biomedical research sfc society for cryobiology sfec specialisation & further education committee (of the rcvs) sff société française de félinotechnie (france) sft society for theriogenology sfta société française de toxicologie analytique sgm society for general microbiology sgv society of greyhound veterinarians sgv schweizerische gesellschaft für versuchstierkunde (swiss laboratory animal science association) shefc scottish higher education funding council shf stockholms herpetologiska förening (stockhom herpetological association - sweden) sicb society for integrative and comparative biology sidi societa italiana di ippologia italian association of equine practitioners sindan sindicato nacional das indústrias de produtos para saúde animal (national association of animal health product manufacturers - brazil) sindirações sindicato nacional da indústria de alimentação animal (national syndicate for the food animal industry - brazil) sivb society for in vitro biology sive società italiana veterinari per equini (italian equine veterinary association) sivelp sindacato italiano veterinari liberi professionisti (italy) sivemp sindacato italiano veterinari di medicina pubblica (italy) sjvf statens jordbrugs-og veterinærvidenskabelige forskningsråd (danish agricultural and veterinary research council) skk svenska kennelklubben (swedish kennel club) sksava slovakian small animal veterinary association smm society of marine mammalogy smru sea mammal research unit (st andrews university) sna sociedade nacional de agricultura (natioanl agricultural association - brazil) sngtv société nationale des groupements techniques vétérinaires (france) snoapad standard nomenclature of animal parasites and diseases snvel syndicat national des veterinaires d'exercice liberal (french veterinary association) soaefd scottish office agriculture, environment and fisheries department sobs save our breeds society (dogs) solove sociedad latinoamerican de oftalmologos veterinarios (latin american society of veterinary ophthalmologists) sop society of protozoologists sot society of toxicology spana society for the protection of animals abroad spcgb shar pei club of great britain spmv sociedade paulista de medicina veterinária (brazil) spvs society of practising veterinary surgeons (home page) sqa scottish qualifications authority srda search and rescue dog association ssa side saddle association ssab society for the study of animal breeding ssar society for the study of amphibians and reptiles ssava swedish small animal veterinary association sspca scottish society for the prevention of cruelty to animals ssr society for the study of reproduction ssstla society of study of the science and technology of laboratory animals sta specialist training authority (human, uk) stp society of toxicologic pathology stvm society for tropical veterinary medicine suipa sociedade uniáo internacional protetora dos animais (international society for the protection of animals - brazil) sva society of veterinary assistants (defunct?) sva singapore veterinary association sva statens veterinärmedicinska anstalt (swedish national veterinary institute) svcr society for veterinary clinical research sveccs student veterinary emergency and critical care society svepm society for veterinary epidemiology and preventive medicine svf sveriges veterinärförbund (swedish veterinary association) svk/asmpa schweizerische vereinigung für kleintiermedizin/association suisse pour la médecine des petits animaux (swiss small animal veterinary association) svme society for veterinary medical ethics svs state veterinary service (of defra) svs sheep veterinary society svs société des veterinaries suisses (swiss veterinary association) szvmz slovensko zdruzenje veterinariev za male zivali (slovenian small animal veterinary association) t.. .. .. top of page taiex technical assistance information exchange office (of eu, for prospective member states) taws world association for transport animal welfare and studies (translation) tba thoroughbred breeders' association tba tropical biology association tbc texas beef council tdhia texas dairy herd improvement association tfa tenant farmers association tiger tailored interactive guidance on employment rights (resource of the department of trade and industry) tmmsn texas marine mammal stranding network tnbvdvc thematic network on bovine viral diarrhoea virus control trcg thoroughbred research consultative group (of the veterinary advisory committee of the horserace betting levy board) trprc tulane regional primate research center ts teratology society ttt the tortoise trust tvi tropical veterinary institute (university of liege, belgium) tvma texas veterinary medical association u.. .. .. top of page ucd university college, dublin (faculty of veterinary medicine) uep united egg producers uevh union of european veterinary hygienists uevp union of european veterinary practitioners ufaw universities federation for animal welfare ukasta united kingdom agricultural supply trade association ukcc united kingdom central council (for nursing, midwifery and health visiting) ukerf university of kentucky equine research foundation ukfompo uk federation of milk producing organisations ukpa uk polocrosse association ukrcb uk registry of canine behaviourists ukrofs united kingdom register of organic food standards ukwct uk wolf conservation trust ukxira united kingdom xenotransplantation interim regulatory authority unep united nations environment programme usaha united states animal health association usda united states department of agriculture usdf united states dressage federation usfws united states fish and wildlife service usmef united states meat export federation usp u.s. pharmacopeia uspca ulster society for the prevention of cruelty to animals uvce unit for veterinary continuing education (of the rvc) uws urban wildlife society v.. .. .. top of page vaaj veterinary association for arbitration and jurisprudence vac veterinary advisory committee (of the hblb) vafstf vaccine associated feline sarcoma task force vasg veterinary anaesthesia support group vawm veterinary association for wildlife management vbf veterinary benevolent fund vblu veterinary business liaison unit (of the rvc, defunct) vbma veterinary botanical medicine association vcf veterinary christian fellowship vci veterinary council of ireland vcs veterinary cancer society vcs veterinary cardiovascular society vcnz veterinary council of new zealand vcu veterinary computer users (defunct) vdk vlaamse diergeneeskundige kring (university of ghent, belgium, veterinary student association) vds veterinary defence society ltd vds veterinary deer society veccs veterinary emergency critical care society veddra veterinary dictionary for drug related affairs veeru veterinary epidemiology and economics research unit (university of reading) vetcpd veterinary education trust for continuing professional development vetnnet veterinary nursing network (europe-wide) vhi veterinary heart institute vhma veterinary hospital management association (usa) vhs veterinary history society vi veterinary ireland vib vlaams interuniversitair instituut voor biotechnologie (flanders inter-university institute for biotechnology) vich veterinary international co-operation on harmonisation (of technical requirements for the registration of veterinary medicinal products - eu) vieu veterinary informatics and epidemiology unit (university of strathclyde & university of glasgow) vin veterinary information network vla veterinary laboratories agency vlms veterinary medical libraries section (of the medical library association) vmanyc veterinary medical association of new york city, inc. vmat veterinary medical assistance team (of the us government's national disaster medical system) vmbl veterinary molecular biology laboratory (montana state university) vmcas veterinary medical college application service vmd veterinary medicines directorate vmf veterinærmedicinsk forening (danish veterinary student association) vmf veterinarmedicinska foreningen (swedish veterinary students' union) vmi veterinary management institute (purdue university) vmls veterinary medical libraries section (medical library association) vmrfg veterinary mutual recognition facilitation group vnca veterinary nurses' council of australia voa veterinary officers association (ireland) vök vereinigung österreichischer kleintiermediziner (austrian small animal veterinary association) vpat veterinary practitioners' association of thailand vpc veterinary products committee (of vmd) vpg veterinary policy group (of bva) vpha veterinary public health association vpma veterinary practice management association vrc veterinary residues committee (of defra) vsaac veterinary school accreditation and advisory committee (of the avbc) vsac veterinary services advisory committee (of bva, now obsolete) vsb veterinary surgeons board (hong kong) vsf vétérinaires sans frontières vshsp veterinary surgeons' health support programme vsn veterinary specialist network vso voluntary service overseas vtas veterinary technician anesthetist society (obsolete, now avta) vvma virginia veterinary medical association vwha veterinary wound healing association w.. .. .. top of page wab world association for buiatrics wahvm world association for the history of veterinary medicine was world aquaculture society wava world association of veterinary anatomists wave world association of veterinary educators wawv world association of wildlife veterinarians waza world association of zoos and aquaria wcmc world conservation monitoring centre wcvsa western canadian veterinary students' association wdcs whale and dolphin conservation society weva world equine veterinary association wfp world federation of parasitologists wfu women's farming union who world health organization win wildlife information network windref windward islands research and education foundation woad welsh office agriculture department wos washington ornithological society wppr working party on pesticide residues (of defra: now obsolete, replaced by prc) wpsa world poultry science association wrprc wisconsin regional primate research center wrsa world rabbit science association wrvj wildlife rescue veterinarian association of japan wsava world small animal veterinary association wspa world society for the protection of animals wsvl wyoming state veterinary laboratory wsvma washington state veterinary medical association wto world trade organisation wva world veterinary association wvma wisconsin veterinary medical association wvvma west virginia veterinary medical association wwf worldwide fund for nature (formerly world wildlife fund) x/y/z.. .. .. top of page yas yorkshire agricultural society yasap yugoslav association of small animal practitioners yfcu young farmers clubs of ulster yrprc yerkes regional primate research center (emory university) zscsp zoological society for the conservation of species and populations pages/his1.php||  the society of practising veterinary surgeons its origins, and early history from 1933-1950. by t.a.r.chipperfield honorary secretary, s.v.p. 1938/40 president, s.p.v.s. 1963/64   the object of this review of the early history of the society of practising veterinary surgeons is to trace its origins through the formation of the veterinary practitioners league in 1933, the change of title to the society of veterinary practitioners in 1934 and so to the name by which it is known today at the agm in 1950.   it was hubert andrew of paisley, president spvs 1984/85, who suggested to me in 1983 that i should undertake this task. as i did in fact join the society in 1934 as my membership card shows, and i am one of the very few active surviving members from those days i felt i ought to make the effort. and i have indeed revived many happy memories in so doing.   emphasis has inevitably been laid on the close association and co-operation with the national veterinary medical association throughout as it is impossible to separate the activities of the two organisations. this in itself has created difficulties in telling a straightforward story, and i do hope that i have not made any serious factual omissions or failed to give individual credit where due.     part 1. the veterinary practitioners league. its origins and the early years to 1934   the veterinary practitioners league was the fore-runner of the society of veterinary practitioners and has its origins in two main albeit unrelated roots. the advent of the internal combustion engine in the early 1900's which was to change the emphasis of veterinary practice in the 1920's and 30's away from the horse to farm animals and domestic pets, and the setting up of the agricultural advisory service between 1911 and 19114 in university departments of agriculture and in agricultural colleges throughout england and wales.   the agricultural advisory service was intended primarily to pass on the results of research into matters affecting husbandry, plant nutrition and disease, horticulture and the like. but after the 1914/18 war the farming organisations were seeking technical advice on veterinary matters. this led to the appointment of veterinary advisory officers at the colleges, the first at cardiff in 1922, newcastle in 1923, bangor in 1924 followed by ten other centres over the years to 1943. the officers appointed were directly responsible to the principals of their institutions, and it was not until 1946 when the national agricultural advisory service was set up that they were absorbed into animal health division. it will be seen that these veterinary advisory officers were in effect free agents in no way subject to overall control as far as policy was concerned.   meantime there was an increasing public and official awareness of the need to raise the standards of health of dairy herds and improve the supply of fresh milk. over the years assorted legislation was introduced and thus section v. of the milk and dairies (consolidation) act 1915 and part iv. of the milk and dairies order 1926 provided for the routine inspection of dairy herds, and section 8 of the i915 act provided for the specific examination of herds for the detection of cows responsible for t.b. infected milk samples derived from churn samples taken on a dairyman's premises by health inspectors of the local authority. the inspections were initiated after a positive six-week guinea-pig test, and were primarily for the detection of t.b. udders. the tuberculosis order 1925 provided for the seize of 'open' t.b cases and the payment of compensation.   graded milks were covered by the milk (special designations) order 1923 which provided for certified (tuberculin tested) and grade 'a (tuberculin tested) herds which were tested and inspected twice yearly, and for grade 'a' herds which required quarterly clinical inspections only. from these modest beginnings stemmed the attested herds scheme and ultimately the eradication scheme successfully carried out in recent years.   the ministry of health was responsible for implementing these acts and orders, its agents being the local authorities such as county councils and city councils, e.g. birmingham and liverpool. the local authorities carried out their duties with varying degrees of enthusiasm and efficiency, the big cities leading the way whilst the county record was exceedingly patchy. however, slowly veterinary staffs were set up, a few with sufficient whole-time officers, others with maybe one or two veterinary officers assisted by general practitioners acting in a part-time capacity as and when required. the diseases of animals branch of the ministry of agriculture was not involved in any way, its then modest establishment of 105 veterinary officers was concerned with the then notifiable diseases, import and export regulations and the associated quarantine requirements, and the central veterinary laboratory at weybridge.   new fields of veterinary activity were thus developing together with a new concept of a veterinary career - namely whole-time salaried employment with pension prospects! this offered a sheltered existence with regular hours immune from the exigencies of the day and night fire-brigade service which was, and still is, an essential element of general practice.   the veterinary practitioners league, and thus the society of veterinary practitioners, was said by many to have been started by dr r.f.montgomery, the v.a.o. at bangor, it was his activities operating from the university of n.wales in advising welsh sheep farmers and treating disease on the farm without reference to the local practitioners that banded the n.wales practitioners together under the leadership of e.p.edwards of mold to found the league in 1933. but concurrently in england and scotland two factors were causing great concern to country practitioners, the post-war agricultural depression aggravated "by the decline of the horse and the gradual development of the above mentioned county veterinary services encroaching on the implementation of the designated milk schemes, with free clinical inspections and in some instances the offer of free or subsidised t.b. tests carried out by the whole-time staffs. furthermore the veterinary advisory officers, where appointed, were regarded with suspicion not only in wales but in both england and scotland.   in 1932 sydney jennings, newly qualified and working as an assistant for harry steele-bodger of tamworth, recalls driving his employer convalescent from a quinsy down to denbigh to the home of h.llewellyn jones to meet e.p.edwards and other local colleagues to discuss the current state of affairs. the period of gestation was coming to an end} the north wales division of the national veterinary medical association had for several years been trying through the parent body and the ministry of agriculture to influence the principal of bangor without success. and so, at the a.g.m. of the division on february 3rd 1933 the president, r.l.lewis of llanrwst, in his presidential address publicly expressed the members' disquiet at their inability to obtain any form of modification in the operation of the advisory service. thus the scene was set for the n.v.m.a's congress at llandudno where on september 20th 1933 'the wild men of n.wales', as they were known in some n.v.m.a. circles, under the leadership of e.p.edwards founded the veterinary practitioners league. the membership increased rapidly with recruits from all over the u.k. for this was the first time that practitioners had a non-territorial society to represent them, hitherto their representation was fragmented and uncordinated in local divisions unlike the associations of whole-time officers who had the association of veterinary inspectors of the ministry of agriculture, the scottish society of veterinary inspectors and the county and municipal officers association.   as early as 1930 the n.v.m.a. was urging the ministry of agriculture and the ministry of health to set up a royal commission to consider the eradication of bovine tuberculosis. the m.of a. rejected the suggestion on the grounds that "the circumstances did not warrant it." those of us who remember those days knew this to be utter nonsense!   in 1933 the n.v.m.a. was urging the ministers, the county councils association and the economic advisory council to place the routine inspection of dairy herds under the direction and control of one central government department with the establishment of a chief veterinary officer, area and district veterinary officers and a staff of general practitioners.   at the january council meeting of the n.v.m.a. in 1934 e.p.edwards, who represented the n.wales division on council for many years, proposed that the veterinary practitioners league "be accepted as a division of the 'national', council agreed somewhat reluctantly!   the first year was marred by the fact that the president, w.m.townson of peterborough, was struck by lightening, he survived but was not fit to take the chair at the first a.g.m. in july 1934, and despite re-election felt unable to accept and was succeeded by o.v.gunning of tutbury. townson's death was noted in the minutes of a meeting on july loth.1959 at the first a.g.m. john cane of wrexham resigned as honorary secretary and harry steele-3odger was elected in his stead agreeing to serve for one year, but he later succumbed to persuasion at considerable cost to himself and his practice and served for over two very strenuous years.   the v.p.l. changed its title to the society of veterinary practitioners at an extra-ordinary general meeting held in edinburgh on august 2nd 1934. once established the society, under the in spired leadership of e.p.edwards and harry steele-bodger, became a driving force within the n.v.m.a., working not only on behalf of its members but for the advancement of the profession as a whole and as an essential element in the maintenance of the health of fare livestock, and in all other fields of veterinary interest and endeavour.   the uphill struggle the year 1934 was noteworthy for two important events from the society's point of view. first the willingness of harry steele-bodger to serve as honorary secretary and then the publication of the government's economic advisory council's report from its committee on cattle diseases, set up in 1932 under the chairmanship of sir gowland hopkins, in may 1934. in brief the report proposed the setting up of a veterinary service composed entirely of whole-time officers. membership of the society increased by leaps and bounds! from then on the society's activities under harry steele-bodger's leadership were closely interwoven with the n.v.m.a's unremitting battle over the ensuing 3 1/2 years, to further and uphold the interests of the profession in the face of strong opposition from official government departments. in july the membership was 204, and on the basis of one for every 35 members the society became entitled to six representatives on council n.v.m.a, and so together with s.v.p. members representing the territorial divisions the society began to have a coordinated body of opinion at 'national' level, something which previously the practitioners' arm of the profession had lacked.   apart from urging the ministry of agriculture and the ministry of health in 1930 to set up a royal commission, the n.v.m.a, had drawn up a draft scheme for the eradication of bovine tuberculosis in the u.k. based on a scheme devised by the scottish branch; and by 1933 was recommending "that there should be a state veterinary service under one central government department of animal health and that the veterinary practitioner should be incorporated in the service as well as the whole-time officer."   it will be seen from the foregoing that the n.v.m.a. was far in advance of official thinking at government level, and when the gowland hopkins report was published it immediately formed a special committee to examine the report and to "frame proposals showing how best the services of the profession can be utilised."   the report had advocated veterinary services staffed by whole-time officers either under the central control of the ministry of agriculture or the existing local authorities; such veterinary officers to be holders of the d.v.s.m.! it envisaged that if a state service was set up that it would deal with the scheduled diseases, t.b., jonne's disease, brucellosis and mastitis and so although there was provision for the temporary employment of practitioners, if circumstances so required, it was clear the general practitioners of the day were regarded as unfit for employment on a permanent "basis.   at this point the background as seen by the profession, both the n.v.m.a. and the s.v.p. should be considered... the existing legislation and regulations affecting milk supplies were the responsibility of the ministry of health although largely delegated to local authorities and were designed for consumer protection, and thus in no way concerned with disease control and/or eradication. milk from tuberculin tested herds under the certified and grade "a" t.t. designations was available in limited quantities at premium prices, chiefly from retailer-producers and the smaller dairies but the bulk of wholesale supplies went to the large dairies, eg. united, express, cow and gate etc (note the author lives in s.e.england!) where" pasteurisation plants were being installed and it was freely argued that pasteurisation was the answer to ensuring the safety of milk supplies. consequently disease control, let alone eradication, took a back seat in the official mind. this was not the view of the veterinary profession or of the more enlightened agriculturists many of whom had an interest in the export of pedigree livestock.   the gowland hopkins committee had only one appointed veterinary member, major-general sir john moore whose distinguished career in the r.a.v.c. hardly fitted him for the task in hand; however he produced a minority report! the report admittedly recognised the need for and the desirability of disease control in cattle when recommending that a whole-time service be set up. but its exclusion of general practitioners on the grounds "that there is no doubt that employment of part-time officers is generally unsatisfactory", further suggesting that not infrequently a conflict of loyalties would arise did not endear it to the profession.   the s.v.p's task therefore in late 1934 and throughout 1935 was, working strictly within the n.v.h.a., to increase its membership and thus its representation on council n.v.m.a., and to enlighten the membership on the problems ahead* this latter objective it tackled with a countrywide series of meetings to discuss at local level "the present and future position of veterinary surgeons under county council authorities and ministries both as whole-time and part-time officers." but it was also necessary to improve its image in the eyes of the h.v.h.a.   the relationship between the two at this time was marred by the association's suspicions as to the intentions of the society even after it had been accepted as a division in january. it was feared that the society might act like a secret society and take independent action politicking behind the parent body's back. the latter still had vivid memories of the members of the n.wales division in their efforts to resolve the problems created by the activities of the veterinary advisory officer at bangor, as a result of which they were christened "the wild men of n.wales." the national feared that the s.v.p. might become an even larger and more troublesome rabble, these fears the society's officers strove to allay. but it is interesting to note from the minutes of the meeting held in edinburgh on aug. 2nd 1934 that the president of the n.v.m.a., william nairn of blairgowrie, a highly respected senior practitioner addressed the meeting and felt constrained to urge broad-minded and tolerant approaches to the problems ahead of the profession advocating a pragmatic attitude capable of compromise if necessary, and emphasised that representatives elected to serve on council n.v.m.a. should be men of this nature if they were to further the legitimate interests of the s.v.p. at 'national' level. wm. nairn was in fact elected to membership at a subsequent meeting in edinburgh on mar.30th 1935! harry steele-bodger welcoming the president's remarks agreed that tolerance must be the guiding principle of the society and went on to say "we do not want a mlu mlux mlan. we do not want any communism. we do not want any extreme left wing. what we want is a body to investigate matters that concern us as these come along, and support for our legitimate rights, and to take these matters to our parent body, the national, for their judgment upon our views and if they agree with us all the strenuous action they can take in the matter." from this point on it is fair to say that the attitudes and integrity of both harry steele-bodger and e.p.edwards and those working with them served to bring about a greatly improved atmosphere at headquarters. e.p.edwards served for many years on council n.v.m.a. as representative of the n.wales division and had considerable experience of the workings of the national. he was in fact the mastermind of society strategy, harry steele-bodger was the active general in the field; a relationship akin to that of alexander and montgomery in north africa, and a very close friendship developed between them greatly to the benefit of the society. to make life more difficult for the m.v.h.a. the whole-time veterinary officers, already with their own divisions within the national, were suspicious of the sudden organisation of general practitioners under the expanding umbrella of the s.v.p, and viewed its activities as likely to be inimical to their long term interests. thus within the national, the presidents and senior officers had to perform a difficult tight-rope act to reconcile the conflicting interests and it is greatly to their credit that they did achieve a large measure of agreed compromise proposals which gained wide enough support for them to adopted as the association's policy.     the n.v.m.a's proposals. the special committee under the chairmanship of wm.nairn, the president, and his deputy g. p.hale of heading issued its report in december and it was considered at the council meeting in early january 1935- its recommendations may be summarised as follows:- (a)    there should be a department of animal health, preferably as a separate department, or as a department of an existing ministry. (b)    the executive should consist of a principal veterinary officer, area veterinary officers, county veterinary officers, and laboratory officers. (c)    panels of veterinary practitioners should be created. (d)    the principal veterinary officer should be directly responsible to the minister of state. (e)    the area veterinary officers should coordinate the activities of the county and municipal veterinary officers and area laboratories. (f)    the county veterinary officers should superintend the routine work, which should be carried out by panels of as many veterinary practitioners as can be employed for the propose. these panels of veterinary practitioners should form a permanent feature of the service.   having thrashed out these proposals the task of presenting them to the ministry of health and the ministry of agriculture had its own problems. on the question of practitioner participation they were met by damning assertions of the widespread high percentage of bad reports from general practitioners, stemming in the first instance from the gowland hopkins report. under pressure the authorities admitted that adverse or wrong reports did in fact only come from small areas. also it was not clear what type of service would be set up and whether it would be under the ministry of health or of agriculture, and what part if any the existing county council services would play in it. in addition the milk marketing board had to be taken into account as it had an interest in the clean milk aspects of any scheme likely to be introduced; consequently the prospects of the existing whole-time officers were also uncertain and causing them anxiety- the n.v.m.a. had been striving to improve the conditions of service and salaries under local authorities and was anxious,, if possible to improve their lot in whatever service was eventually set up. the three years 1935/36/37 and the early months of 1938 were to elapse before the final solution on april 1st 1938 with the inauguration of the animal health division under the ministry of agriculture. it may seem strange to many that the royal college of veterinary surgeons appears to have played no part in the events of these years. the reason stated simply is that during the 1920's the n.v.h.a., having acquired the veterinary record in 1920, was able to represent the interests of all branches of the profession and gradually became the political watch-dog of the profession; of concerning itself with the conditions of service- and salaries/whole-time officers both at home and abroad in the colonial services, and also the economic welfare of all other "branches of the profession. the r.c.v.s. concerned itself with the duties imposed upon it by its charters and recognised that the n.v.m.a. was the active political organisation representing the profession as a whole. as today a number of councillors served on both councils, thus a free exchange of views was, and is, readily available. the r.c.v.s. was to bear the brunt of the battle to come on veterinary education and the demise of the cherished 'one portal system.   the year of the questionnaires. the year 1935 kicked off for the s.v.p. with five meetings between february 21st and april 2nd, to discuss the accredited and attested herd schemes, the threat of free testing and the clinical inspection of dairy herds. accredited milk was to receive a premium of 1d. per gallon as may 1st. the attested herd scheme had started on february 1st.   the meetings were at bristol, stafford, newcastle, edinburgh and london giving a fair spread throughout the u.k. a meeting at tunbridge wells at the end of june discussed the cattle diseases report and also the recently published milk (special designations) order 1935 and the threat of free t.b. testing thereunder. it was 'reported by e.p.edwards that during the previous six years free testing or semi-subsidised testing had been carried out in scotland in the counties of lanark, stirling, dumbarton, ayrshire and dumfries. paul crosfleld of chipping norton reported that all tt milk destined for the city of birmingham was subject to free testing of the herds by the city's own whole-time veterinary officers over a wide area up to even 45 miles away.   subsequently the society sent out a questionnaire regarding free and subsidised testing to all members, numbering slightly over three hundred. the n.v.m.a. congress that year was held in belfast in july, where amongst other business the council considered two resolutions submitted by the society: 1). stressing the serious economic effects on general practice caused "by the increasing growth of free services for tb testing and accredited herd inspections, which could well lead to the abandonment of practices in some areas, and requesting the n.v.m.a. to set up a committee to consider these matters in all their aspects. the council agreed to set up a special committee "to discuss the question of free services." 2). recommending that a letter be sent to the chief veterinary officer of each county employing whole-time staff expressing the willingness of all practitioners in the county to co-operate with and work under the supervision of their whole-time officers. the council also agreed to this proposal. subsequently the n.v.h.a. decided to send out its own questionnaire, to be sent to every veterinary surgeon on the register in the united mingdom. the society's agm was held in birmingham on september 25th when harry steele-bodger was able to announce that the membership stood at 303 making it the largest division in the n.v.m.a. he told the meeting that eleven members were serving on the council r.c.v.s. and forty on council n.v.m.a. he mentioned the value of the informal meetings held prior to those of the n.v.m.a, council which resulted in agreed policies being put. forward. the president, o.v.gunning, in his address reviewed the past year and in the course of his remarks on the gowland hopkins report the minutes record the following interesting side-light, 1- "out of eighteen veterinary surgeons who gave evidence before the committee only three were general practitioners and they represented the n.v.m.a., not a single veterinary surgeon was called upon to give evidence in a private capacity. one cannot say therefore that the evidence was of the whole profession." e.p.edwards reported on the questionnaire sent to members dealing with the free and semi-free testing. in scotland the list of counties reported at the tunbridge wells meeting had increased by the addition of renfrew and fife. in england birmingham had been carrying out free testing for 20 years with herds up to 20, 28 and even 45 miles away. bolton had started but stopped after discussions with the n.v.m.a. also in england the city of leeds and the counties of devon, herefordshire and surrey had been taken over by the local authorities (the last county the author well remembers as it cost his partner j.a.craft of cranleigh and himself £500 per annum!). donald campbell of rutherglen was elected as the new president, a particularly apt choice as he was well placed to appreciate the problems affecting scottish members who were more sorely pressed than their colleagues south of the border. harry steele-bodger reluctantly agreed to carry on as honorary secretary for another year in response to pleas from e.p. awards and other members present who felt that the society simply could not do without his drive and enthusiasm. at this point it is appropriate to mention one of the main difficulties facing the chronicler of these times: the minutes of many meetings simply have not survived! there are none recording the foundation of the society as the veterinary practitioners league or its first year until the acm on july 19th 1934; from this time up to a meeting in glasgow at the n.v.m.a. congress in early september 1938, a period of four years, the attendance book records those present at 47 meetings, 38 general and 9 council meetings. there are no minutes of the council meetings, and it is highly probable the council met on numerous other occasions. of the 38 general meetings only 18 have survived in minute form, so that of the 47 meetings 29 remain unrecorded. those that have survived have done so through the courtesy of the veterinary record! in the ‘30s the minutes of many divisional meetings were published, often recorded by w.brown,mrcvs who was editorial representative and attended meetings held in or within a reasonable distance of london, and who was able to take shorthand notes. photocopies of the nineteen recorded meetings were taken by the staff of the rcv5 library and are now in the society's minute file. from the agm on october 5 th 1938 successive honorary secretaries have produced regular minutes, some more extensive and detailed than others. the n.v.m.a.'s questionnaire was not ready for dispatch until the end of january 1936. no copy of either the n.v.m.a's or the society's questionnaire has yet been found, and consequently the questions therein have had to be inferred from the various discussions recorded in the extensive minutes published in the veterinary record. the first meeting in 1936 on january 7th was held in london, but here again no minutes have survived. the tensions existing within the profession at this time are high-lighted by correspondence in the veterinary record of february 15th. wm.tweed writing from county hall in taunton on the "organisation of the veterinary profession" concludes his letter: "the whole-time officer and the practitioner need confidence in each other and loyalty if they are to promote each other's interests." on the other hand hugh begg.senr, of hamilton a respected member of the profession in scotland wrote fearing the inevitability of a schism in the ranks of the profession, pointing out that "the needless, tactless acidity of much" published in the record which was causing many whole-time officers to feel uncomfortable and ostracised, with the risk that they might feel forced to secede from the n.v.m.a. harry steele-bodger, under the heading of "tolerance", wrote as honorary secretary of the s.v.p. appealing for a spirit of tolerance, and stressing that the needs of the profession were reorganisation and co-operation. he emphasised th*5 society's support for such reorganisation on the lines of the n.v.m.a's scheme, which he believed would result in mutual appreciation and co-operation. a fourth letter from w.philipson moss of woking appeared under the heading of "the profession and the encroachments of bureaucracy" and represented the view of the individulists, neatly summarised when he refers to "a further influx of legislation with inroads upon the liberties of owners of livestock and a choice for veterinary surgeons of regimentation or starvation." the fears and uncertainties of the time are understandable when one considers the innate conservatism and intense individuality of most practitioners; like-wise whole-time officers for their part had "broken new ground and were looking for stable careers in an expanding field. fortunately the leaders of the profession within the n.v.m.a. were well aware of the problems and were prepared to strive for an equitable solution in their negotiations with the establishment. the n.v.m.a. questionnaire was issued at the end of january and in february the society promptly started a series of meetings to discuss:- l). the present position of the veterinary practitioner in relation to public services, and his future position and place in such services under the county councils, municipal authorities and the ministries. 2). the bearing of the questionnaire now issued by the n.v.m.a. upon the above, and the vital importance of giving the questionnaire serious and careful consideration. the first meeting was held in london on february 17th and was chaired by george elmes of st albans in the absence of the president, donald campbell, who had been taken ill and was recovering in a nursing home. e.p. fdwards introduced the subjects for discussion with a wide-ranging-address covering the growth of the public services, short-listing the bodies concerned to include the ministries of agriculture and health, the municipal and county councils, the milk marketing board, the agricultural research council, the n.f.u., the r.s.p.c.a., the people's league of health and several others on few of which the veterinary profession, was represented and all of which had an interest and a 'finger in the pie' of the future of the veterinary profession. the limited veterinary representation on the few of the bodies was largely by 'dug-outs' like sir john moore, by now aged 68, and/or retired colonial administrators with little experience of the current problems of british agriculture. he welcomed the n.v.m.a. scheme with its conception of a ministry of animal health with a veterinary surgeon in control to direct the public health services, co-ordinating all the state, county, municipal and private veterinary personnel into a composite whole which he suggested would realise the professional motto of "vis unita fortior". the gowland hopkins report he felt could be welcomed in part, but he expressed fundamental disagreement with the exclusion of the general practitioner. he went on to outline the difficulties facing the n.v.m.a. in their representations to the ministries of health and agriculture and the county councils association when pressing for the retention of general practitioners in the veterinary services, which up to that time had not been listened to. he urged members to enlist the support of their local mps and their local n.f.u. branches. whilst admitting that the future was not rosy he contended it was by no means hopeless, and stressed that much of the present position was due to the deplorable apathy of practitioners in the past; he detected an awakening which was to be welcomed, and encouraged. in discussing the n.v.m.a. questionnaire he chose to epitomise it under six headings- l). "that the economic position of general practice is being made untenable by the uneconomic competition of veterinary officers of local authorities and other bodies." 2). "that the free or semi-free tb testing and clinical examination of accredited herds constituted 'forms of competition which cannot be justified in the public interest', especially as farmers could afford reasonable fees in order to sell their milk at a premium'." 3). "there is no justification for paying for these uneconomic services out of the public rates." 4). "that the free choice of agriculturists and others of their veterinary advisers is being denied to then-., and the professional activities of veterinary practitioners are being arbitrarily curtailed." 5). "concerning the advertising of free or semi-free services by circular, press adverts and in the m.m.b's official organ "horse farmer" that these forms of services are being publicly advertised." 6). "that interpretations are "being placed' upon the various acts and orders by local authorities which axe not justified by the acts themselves, which react detrimentally upon general practitioners."   the meeting then considered the questionnaire in detail and it is worthwhile listing the questions to appreciate the scope of the n.v.m.a's inquiry:- q1. invited information concerning instances of a number of practices such as state or local authorities offering free services which infringed private practice under the attested herds and accredited herds schemes. q2. evidence of misinterpretation of public health acts and orders relating to diseases of animals or meat and milk inspection. q3. evidence of whole-time officers advising clients or prescribing- for them in matters and cases other than those concerned with their official duties. q4. information regarding any free services granted by general practitioners for sick animals of the poor, and in other ways. q5. details of diminution of income from loss of tb testing, clinical herd inspection etc. q6. estimate of loss of income. q7. deprivation of areas of services of general practitioner because of economic losses from the growth of whole-time services. q8. this question was addressed to whole-time officers q9. was designed to enquire if practitioners would be willing to serve under the general direction of whole-time officers as proposed in the n.v.m.a. scheme. q1o. request for further relevant information. the questions were spoken to by many of those present with the hon. secretary and e.p.edwards replying and clarifying many of the points and anxieties raised. the above detailed account of the meeting is given as the six following meetings were conducted in a similar way; and undoubted1y this series of meetings was the most important held by the society in the pre-war era. they explained to the membership the size and complexity of the problem facing the profession, and put members clearly in the picture for the first time, assisted subsequently by the publication to a wider audience of the minutes in the veterinary record.   the london meeting was reported on march 28th and received 12 1/2 pages, the subsequent meetings were reported en bloc on april 11th and received 16 pages!   the full list of meetings is:- londont,feb.l7th, birmingham,20th. carlisle,24th. leeds,25th. oxford,26th. peterborough,27th. chester,28th. stirling,,29th. (leap year!) harry steele-bodger attended all these meetings, and e.p.edwards was able to attend four to give his address personally. eight long meetings held over   twelve days and covering such a widespread area must have been extremely arduous, and is an indication of harry steele-bodger's drive and his determination to awaken his professional brethren to the realities of the profession's plight. it is probably a record for the society which is unlikely ever to be broken.   one of these meetings, that at oxford, is of particular interest because it was attended by g.p.male of reading as a visitor. he was a past-president of the n.v.m.a. (1929/30.), a doyen among general practitioners, and at the time a member of the parliamentary, veterinary officers and public health committees, and as a senior member of the n.v.m.a. had been a representative on numerous deputations involved in negotiations both past and present. he was invited to address the meeting at the outset prior to e.p.edward's address, and was able to give members a detailed account of the n.v.m.a.'s view of the situation and the difficulties being encountered. he commenced by expressing his entire sympathy with the society's aims and objects as he realised the hardships and grievances of practitioners and the clash of interests between different arms of the profession- major factors in the development of the situation were the apathy of practitioners themselves, ang he regretted to say the opposition of many whole-time officers. the attitude of the latter was particularly disappointing because the n.v.m.a. had done everything to advance the claims of these officers regarding salaries and conditions of service; even to the extent of refusing to advertise posts in the record which were offering sub-standard salaries, and he felt that they were entitled to a little support from the whole-time men. he then went on to list the main sources of opposition, the ministry of health who considered that public health was their province and who liked veterinary officers to be under the control and supervision of a medical officer; the local authorities who paying part of the cost wanted to call the tune and have control of their veterinary staffs. the farming community were pressing for a whole-time service as this would provide them with free testing and clinical herd inspection; and finally the opposition of the general public who had been taught to believe that the general practitioner was incapable and that the milk supply was not safe in his hands. replying to criticisms that the n.v.m.a. had done nothing to help the practitioner he outlined what in fact had been done. it had sent its scheme for a department of animal health to both ministries, the royal agricultural society, the municipal corporations association, the county councils association and all local authorities; and deputations had waited on many of these bodies. he concluded by congratulating the society on its efforts to help the practitioner and commended especially the work of the hon. secretary and the hon. treasurer. between march 31st and september 15th the attendance book records two meetings in london, one of these a council meeting, two general meetings in derby and one local meeting for derbyshire practitioners to discuss their own problems within the county. meetings at edinburgh and finally at scarborough during the n.v.m.a. congress complete the list but unfortunately no minutes have survived. at the congress the society's president, donald campbell, was elected as president-elect for 1936/37 which was a considerable personal compliment and a boost for the society. the n.v.m.a. elected robert simpson, c.v.o, of cumberland, as president 1936/37. during the congress a round-table conference was held between the national and the society of veterinary officers, at which donald campbell and harry steel-bodger were present, in an effort to allay the whole-time officers suspicions, which were still persisting, of the objects and intensions of the practising arm of the   profession.   the outcome of the conference was that any matter of controversy should be referred to a tribunal consisting of the president n.v.m.a, one member of the s.v.p. and one member of the society of veterinary officers; the s.v.p, elected harry steele-bodger to serve at a meeting held subsequently in january 1937- the year 1937, which was to be a momentous one, started with a meeting on january 7th in london. alas no minutes but it was at that this meeting that barry steele-bodger was elected to serve on the three-man tribunal mentioned above. oft april 5th the society made history by beinf the first society of any kind to hold a meeting in the n.v.m.a's newly acquired offices at 36,gordon square when it held the 1936 agm there, preceded by a council meeting. the agm due in september 1936 had been dodged by ill-health; a.b mattinson of bamber bridge had agreed to relieve harry steele-bodger of the honorary secretaryship but the illness of his wife rendered this impossible at the time, and the serious and long continued illness of e. p.edwards in ruthin had made it impossible for a balance sheet to be prepared, all the necessary papers being stored in his home at bournemouth. to cap it all harry steele-bodger's secretary was away ill, and changes in the personnel of his staff had compelled him to give more time to his own practice. the postponement grew from week to week and month to month until april 1937, by which time harry steele-bodger's tenure of office had grown from one to two and a half very strenuous years. in his presidential address donald campbell was able to report that "many eminent whole-time officers have been more than willing to meet us half-way to discuss outstanding difficulties and try and conduct, with us, the affairs of the profession so that we might, if possible, attain unaninity where for a tine unanimity is threatened." he could say with assurance that there was more unity and disposition to get together and discuss frankly the difficulties facing the profession.   the hon.secretary in his report explained the delay in calling the meeting and then went on to describe the response to the nvma's questionnaire, and said that on the free services committee considering the replies the number of practitioners equalled the total representation from the rest of the profession. the committee's work was not yet over but he hoped and believed that its recommendations to the council of the nvma would have far-reaching effects on the future of the profession. the society's meetings held early in 1936 to consider the questionnaire had covered a very wide field of great diversity and many matters arising had subsequently received the consideration of the free services committee. these included “tuberculin testing; the administration of the work of investigation officers under the new rules; such problems as arise under the proposed panel system of the nvma scheme as they affect part-time inspectors and practitioners as a whole the question as to whether areas of inspectorships should be upon a geographical basis or whether complete freedom should be accorded to the agriculturists to employ any qualified practitioner, whose certificates would be accepted by the county councils) the administration of the accredited herds schemes. speaking broadly, it appeared that ,embers were agreed that if the nvma scheme was adopted and a ministry of animal health formed, there would be a basis upon which to found such solutions of these problems as should be equitable to all, and in the best interests of agriculture and the profession as a whole."   the society's resolution to the nvma passed on february l7th suggesting that letters be sent to the cvos of each county expressing the willing-ness of practitioners to co-operate with and work in harmony with whole-time officers had been adopted by the nvma council in april, with the minor reservation to omit any councils who had employed officers who had accepted appointments banned by the nvma. this 'olive branch' had been received "by some whole-time officers with suspicion and regarded as having some sinister interpretations; as a result the round-table conference at the scarborough congress, already mentioned, was held. in reporting on the relationships of the profession with the establishment and outside bodies such as the rspca, the milk marketing board and the royal veterinary college he mentioned that members of the society had been included on every committee or sub-committee appointed by the "national” and in every deputation. he was happy to say that "on all deputations and conferences other than those to the ministry of health we felt we were receiving a sympathetic hearing."   the meeting elected professor sir frederick hobday,cmg,frcvs,frse as president in succession to donald campbell. e.p.edwards continued in office as hon.treasurer and a.b.mattinson was confirmed as hon.secretary. an imposing list of vice-presidents was proposed and elected :- donald campbell and o.v.gunning, past-presidents; messrs d.brown of milwinning (ayrshire), h.w.dawes of west bromwich, george elmes of st.albans, dr james mccunn of the rvc, h.w.hall masheter of newnham-on-severn, professor w.m.mitchell of the r(dick)vc; j.o.powley, m.of a superintending inspector h.w.steele-bodger, a.h.watson of bradford and t.wilkinson of lanchester (co.durham).   amongst the fifteen members elected as representatives to the council nvma it is interesting to note the name of professor w.c.miller, currently in charge of animal husbandry at the rvc. in the early years the society welcomed to membership all who were in sympathy with the aims of the society; academic life and research were represented by professor james mccunn, emeritus professor dr j.share jones, professor w.m.mitchell, dr j.russell greig, professor w.c.miller, sir frederick hobday, dr tom hare, and professors wm.robb and g.w.weir of glasgow. in addition to j.o.powley, mentioned above, whole-time officers were represented by w.p.blount from the east sussex county council. h.t.matthews, cvo of the city of liverpool in succession to noel pillars, was a very active collaborator although not identifiable as a member; he later became 'our mole in the ministry.' it was at this meeting that the author was first elected to serve on council nvma at the tender age of twenty-five.   on vacating office harry steele-bodger announced that the membership stood at 442, and he forecast a considerable increase under the new officers.   the final struggle for professional cohesion and the dawn of reason.   the gowland hopkins report had been issued in may 1934 and exactly three years later the minister of agriculture, mr w.s.morrison, made a statement in the commons on may 27th 1937 on the long term policy for the eradication of disease in cattle. the editorial in the veterinary record of june 5th whilst giving a cautious welcome to the policy expressed the hope that the scheme adopted by the council nvma in january 1935. which had put forward frequently on deputations to the ministry and other influential bodies, would exercise a considerate influence on whatever scheme the government finally drafted; it concluded expressing the hope that the opportunity would not "in some cruel way be missed or abused in its execution."   in the same issue there was 'one straw in the wind', the amended scheme for attested herds (england and wales) 1937. this scheme allowed farmers to employ their own veterinary practitioner for the preliminary qualifying tests and provided financial aid toward the veterinary fees. it also provided for the post-attestation renewal tests to be carried out by veterinary practitioners nominated by the ministry. these official tests were to be at the expense of the ministry, with mileage allowance and the issue of free tuberculin. this brought england and wales into line with the scheme operating in scotland. the fee scale was: 1 to 20 cattle at 4s. per head, with a minimum fee of £1.11.6. additional cattle from 20-40 at 3s. per head, above 40 at 2s. per head. mileage at treasury rates, tuberculin supplied.   this scale survived unchanged certainly until well after the  1939-45 war. this concession to the general practitioner may have indicated a gentle 'wind of change' beginning to stir obdurate official minds.   the fee scale, although slightly lower than was at one time suggested, was considered acceptable as the ministry no longer required the caudal fold test to be carried out simultaneously with the intradermal test. further it was a stabilising factor where private fees were concerned; hitherto fees charged to farmers had varied enormously throughout the country, much to the irritation of the farming community who in consequence had welcomed free or semi-free services from county veterinary officers wherever available. the variation was from 1s. per head in s.w.scotland where 'cut-throat' competition between practitioners prevailed, to 5s. per head in s.england, with intermediate charges elsewhere.   at the nvma council meeting on june 8th at the r(d)vc the association's committee of investigation appointed on october 1st 1935 presented its report. the committee of thirteen members, representative of all branches of the profession, was under the chairmanship of dr w.r.wooldridge. the committee had considered the replies to the questionnaire sent out in february 1936; a total of 2366 copies had been circulated to msrcvs resident in england, scotland, wales and n.ireland. no replies were received from n.ireland, but 284 replies from various branches of the profession on the mainland reached the committee; 12% was considered a fair response comprising 253 replies front practitioners and 31 from whole-time officers. the report was extensive and comprehensive occupying 21 pages in the veterinary record and was composed of three parts. part 1 recorded, analysed and commented upon the causes of friction arising from recent legislation and other developments; part 2 reviewed the current organisation of the country's veterinary services showing approximately 1800 in general practice (excluding n.ireland), 102 whole-time officers in the maf and 133 employed by local authorities. it is interesting to note that the maf employed 291 local veterinary inspectors on a fee for the job basis, and that ?00 gps held part-time inspectorships with local authorities; thus although the growth of local authority vt staffs threatened the latter group it will be clear that the maf also were already accustomed to the assistance of lvis when necessary. part 3 summarised the committee's review and updated the nvma's detailed recommendations for the establishment of a state service with provisions for the employment of general practitioners as an essential part thereof. the council adopted the report unanimously. the agriculture bill 1937 was published on july 3rd and a week later the editorial in the veterinary record was able to report "that in broad outline the government's intention follows closely the scheme put forward by the nvma", and that "—diseases of cattle — and a policy for their eradication is recognised as fundamentally an agricultural and not a public health measure." the latter statement marked a big step forward in the working of the official mind of the establishment. part 4 of the act contained the sections relevant to the eradication and control of diseases of animals, and apart from details concerning the eradication of bovine tuberculosis section 20(1) gave the minister general powers to expend money for the eradication of diseases of animals. it was undoubtedly from this open-ended power that the latter-day eradication schemes for swine fever and brucellosis stemmed.   as the agriculture bill was debated in parliament the record was able successively to report the government's intention "to transfer to the ministry of agriculture the majority of the veterinary officers in the public services"; and that the minister stated "some apprehensions have been expressed ...... that in some way part-time practising veterinary surgeons will have their living interfered with, but there is no ground at all for that fear." also that the cost of the proposed centralisation of veterinary services under the control of the ministry of agriculture and the large-scale eradication schemes was estimated to increase the cost of the state veterinary service to £450,000; the local rates however being relieved to the extent of £170,000 per annum.   the nvma congress was held at bournemouth in the week july 25th/3oth, and at the agm donald campbell was elected president. the minister had suggested that the association appoint a small advisory committee to co-operate and consult with the ministry in discussion of all matters arising under part iv. of the agriculture act.   at the congress banquet the minister, mr w.s.morrison, was reported as saying "mine is no desire to magnify a state service at his (the general practitioner's) expense." the nvma had previously been assured by the minister that at the outset a large number of part-time officers would be required, and that where employment of such officers proved to "be best and most economical the ministry would continue to use it.   presentation to mr & mrs m.w.steele-bodger.   on july 28th during congress sir frederick hobday presided over a meeting of the society for the purpose of making a presentation to harry steele-bodger in recognition of his services to the society as honorary secretary. he was supported by robert simpson, president of the nvma, who in a short address paid the following tribute to mr steele-bodger, "i have known mr steele-bodger for a good many years, now and i am fully conscious of the great work he has done for the profession. he has been enthusiastic and he has spared no trouble in carrying out work which has been really for the good of the profession as a whole. i know something of his work on the "national." i know of the great enthusiasm which he gives to the work of its various committees and i am sure that that work is deserving of the fullest appreciation and recognition by the profession, i am delighted to think, sir, that his work has been recognised by the presentation which you are about to make. i am very grateful indeed for your permission to be associated with this little function and i congratulate mr steele-bodger most heartily on the recognition which is being extended to him for the work he has done so well for the profession.” sir frederick in making the presentation of a georgian tea set and tray concluded by saying "i may say it carries with it the greatest affection of your brother members and the wish, too, that mrs steele-bodger and yourself may have long life and good health to enjoy its use." harry steele-bodger's reply, as published in the veterinary record, was as follows:- "for once i am at a loss for words. i do thank you, on behalf of my wife and myself, very, very sincerely for this handsome present. i may as well confess that you are making this presentation to the wrong person. i have no qualms about that, but i am the person to know. sir frederick has referred to the care i have extended to and lavished on this society. he has said i was responsible for the growth of this society to its present maturity. i am not. mr edwards is the man to whom you owe everything. anything that i have done has only been made possible through the work, the intense work, of the honorary treasurer. your honorary treasurer has honestly been a most able assistant honorary secretary. i have come and i have gone. major hattinson has taken my place. he may stay and he may go, but if mr edwards leaves heaven help the soclety» major hattinson would not carry on the honorary secretaryship without mr edwards' help. any time when i felt fed up with it he has been there to rally me and at any time i wanted advice or assistance he has been there to offer and to give it to me. he has recently recovered from a serious illness, it is my candid opinion that this society is responsible for that illness, it was overwork on your behalf. in thanking you for this presentation i mist tell you that there is the gentleman to whom you should have presented it (pointing to mr edwards). he will not admit it and i must thank you for the gift. please give to my successor even more support than you gave to me. necessarily, in my view, this society will continue to grow. it must always be guided by a few for owing to geographical considerations it is impossible to call meetings at short notice. you must have people in whom you have confidence to guide you. you have at the present in your president and honorary secretary gentlemen of integrity who will guide this society. you have had in each of your presidents gentlemen who have guided this society successfully, but it is essential that you should have abundant confidence in those officers. i know that i have been criticised by members of the society and by veterinary surgeons outside the society, in that i have expressed my own views and not the views of the society. i think i have had my finger on the political pulse of the profession and i have tried to do my best for the profession. i have been called over-optimistic but i believe, gentlemen, that my optimisi is going to be justified very soon. i have no qualms as to the future of veterinary practice. i think we are about to embark on the best time the veterinary practitioner has ever known and, if i have been permitted, through this society, to play any part in bringing that about, then i am amply rewarded without this. "i thank you, mr president, for your kind remarks and you, gentlemen, for the way in which you have received them, and also for this very handsome gift which i know will be appreciated by my wife as well as myself. this georgian tea service was made in edinburgh in 1805, and that is an additional attraction to ay wife. she has reviled me as she has reviled you, but it has all been superficial. at the bottom she has been what all good wives must be, an absolute helpmate and a good adviser. (applause). i thank you very much on behalf of »y wife and myself. (applause). " by august 21st the record was able to report that "....the minister himself requested that a small advisory committee of the nvma shall work in close co-operation with the ministry during the period of development of the government plans....". and it understood that ".... above all the committee is one of consultation and co-operation , and may be regarded with much satisfaction by exponents of the association's general aim to secure results through co-operation wherever possible." in considering subsequent events during the autumn and early winter of 1937/38, the minister's desire for "close co-operation" and the concept of the committee as "one of consultation" should be remembered; but more anon. by the end of august the record was assessing the prospects ahead of local authority veterinary officers, hoping that their transfer to the state service would take place smoothly and without hardship; advising any who did suffer hardship as a result of the reorganisation to enlist the aid of the 'national' in seeking redress. it was also noted that they were disappointed that the prospects for veterinary officers in the public health fields of meat inspection and milk production were "bleak, as there were no plans to include these services within the new state organisation” however the editorial ended quoting the minister's hopeful expectation that the veterinary officer would fit "into the machine where he can work with credit to the whole enterprise and with great happiness to himself" and the hope of the nvma that this desirable end would be achieved.   the role of the general practitioner in the new service was under review in mid-september when the record noted that government's intention "to use the services of the veterinary practitioner" and "we are glad to say,   has decided in favour of the views expressed by the nvma and the practitioner is to be accorded his due place in the centralised service." recalling the minister's recent banquet statement:   "mine is no desire to magnify a state service at his (the general practitioner's) expense" it continued "it would seem to follow from this statement that the government's decision is a permanent one, provided the service is carried out efficiently." this optimism it might be considered premature in the light of subsequent events.   the svp's activities after the bournemouth congress were confined to two council meetings the first on september 24th prior to the. annual general meeting on 25th,   and a further council meeting on december 12th. once again     no minutes of these meetings have survived but the officers were re-elected at the agm,    sir frederick hobday as president supported by e.p.edwards as hon.treasurer and a.b.mattinson as hon. secretary. the december 12th meeting of council would have received an up-to-date report from its active nvma representatives,   such as harry steele-bodger, concerning the problems arising during the nvma's endeavours to negotiate with the ministry during the autumn.     the months of negotiation. the special consultative committee was duly formed under the chairmanship of the association's president, donald campbell (svp member), the other members being: j.r.rider, honorary secretary nvma, j.r.barker of hereford, past-president nvha (1935/36), h.simpson, cvo of cumberland;   past-president nvma (i936/37), v.j.brennan devine, cvo city of birmingham, j.g.mcgregor, county vo, stirling, d.s.rabagliati, cvo west riding of yorkshire, h.w.steele-bodger,    (svp member), dr w.r.vooldridge,   london school of tropical medicine and hygiene in december prior to employment in the new service d.s.rabagliati and r,simpson left the committee and the following new members were co-opted,:- h.w.dawes of west bromwich,    (svp member). s.g.abbott, chief veterinary inspector, glasgow, h.t.matthews,   cvo city of liverpool.   the ministry during the ensuing months of complex negotiations were represented by :- w.s.morrison, mp,   minister of agriculture & fisheries, sir donald ferguscwn,   permanent secretary, donald vandepeer, assistant secretary, sir john melland,   cvo of maf, mr toye,    establishment officer. the detailed day-to-day work and planning falling largely upon mr vandepeer, the cvo and the establishment officer.   the committee held six meetings between october and christmas,    its activities being recorded in its report to council mvma on december 23rd, and subsequently published in the veterinary record on january 1st i93s (vr,vol.50,mo.l pp3-12.).   the ensuing account is based on this report and correspondence between the president and the minister published in subsequent issues.   when the proposals for the new centralised service were published in june the n.v.m.a. had greatly deplored the omission of neat inspection and milk hygiene from the duties allocated to the service, a feeling shared "by many local authority whole-time officers already dealing with these important aspects of food production. during the committee stage of the bill the n.v.m.a. made strenuous efforts to move amendments on several aspects to ensure:- 1. that the head of the augmented service should be a veterinary surgeon having direct access to the minister. 2. for payment of compensation for loss of office. 3. that the term "veterinary officer" be substituted for "veterinary inspector". parliamentary approval for none of these amendments was forthcoming, nor from the minister in a subsequent interview. the committee's main concern during the early autumn was the conditions of service, salary scales and the transfer of local authority veterinary officers to the service. the ministry made the first move in october presenting the committee with "an approved" scale:- chief veterinary officer             £1,450-£l00-£l,650. deputy chief veterinary officer     £l,200-£50- £1,400. chief veterinary inspector           £1,000- £30-£l,200. superintending inspector            £850- £30- £1,000. divisional inspector                 £700- £25- £850. inspector                           £400-£l8-£508-£25-£700. the committee considered the scales to be quite inadequate, especially in view of the great extension of duties and responsibilities involved in the enlarged service contemplated. it was keenly disappointed that the association had been denied the opportunity to make representations before the scale was finally approved, and despite this apparent finality it decided to press for the adoption of a revised scale:- chief veterinary officer             a fixed salary of £2,000. deputy chief veterinary officer      £l,500-£l,750. chief veterinary inspector,          £1,250-£l,500. superintending inspector             £1,000-£l, 250. divisional inspector                 £800-£1,000. inspector                            £450- £750. in november 1936, in ignorance of any impending changes in the ministry's service, such as the enlarged service envisaged in the 1937 agriculture act the n.v.m.a, had put forward to the ministry proposals for improving the salaries of the existing whole-time staff; these were inevitably lower than the scale detailed above which reflected the association's view that the great extension of the veterinary service created special circumstances justifying special measures. it contended that the c.v.o's salary should indicate clearly that his appointment was the premier post open to the veterinary profession in the country, and that the salaries of the divisional inspectors and senior grades was not commensurate with the added duties and responsibilities they would have to accept. the ministry's proposal to recruit junior staff after only one year's experience in practice after qualification was considered premature, the association's view being that three years was desirable. the association's efforts were supported by resolutions from the society of veterinary officers and the scottish society of veterinary inspectors, although the latter society did agree to accept the proposed scale under protest whilst encouraging the n.v.m.a. in its efforts to obtain an improvement.   two meetings were held with the ministry when the deputation stressed the need to attract the very best type of recruit, emphasising that the salaries offered compared unfavourably with those open to medical officers in the state service, the more so in the case of future graduates who would need six years to qualify complete with a d.v.s.m. in addition it was requested that, at the outset, existing part-time inspectors of the ministry and local authorities together with practitioners in general be eligible to apply to join the new service at a higher initial salary, to be negotiated, in order to introduce a cadre of experienced men.   at the conclusion of these interviews it was left that the association's representations would be laid before the minister.   a letter received on november 6th stated that the minister, whilst regretting the misunderstanding that had arisen between the ministry and the association as to consultation between the parties over the question of salaries, was not prepared to reopen the matter which had been settled by the departmental whitley council. he considered the scales both appropriate and adequate in all respects. however he “looked forward to consulting with the association'scommittee on many questions arising out of the proposals of part iv of the one agriculture act and obtaining their advice and help." the   minor concession made was on the question of recruitment of junior officers: whilst not prepared to raise the period of post-graduate experience required from one to three years he would see that the association's views were conveyed to the selection board and was prepared to raise the minimum age for entry to the service from 21 as hitherto to 23. as the five year course had recently been introduced the number of graduates qualifying and then acquiring the one year's experience or a d.v.s.m. under the age of 23 was likely to be nil; to use the slang of the 1980's this was "no big deal".   the committee met again on nov,10th to consider this last letter, and suffered a further rebuff when an urgent attempt to arrange a personal interview that day with the minister was rejected. the only consolation was that the ministry representatives were now empowered to negotiate part iv proposals such as fees, panels of practitioners etc., but all arrangements regarding ministry staff would be considered internal matters pure and simple.   consequently the committee reluctantly decided in the interests of the community to co-operate as far as possible with the ministry. a dignified re-ply was drafted in which the association recorded its considered opinion that mr morrison's decision was an unfortunate one, but recognising a wider sense of responsibility and public duty it accepted the scale, taking note of "the assurance that it will be fully consulted on the matters pertaining to the organisation of the service before final decisions are taken."   a further meeting: followed on nov.29th by which time storm clouds were gathering. amongst the matters to be considered were five documents from the ministry which had been used at meetings between the ministry and representatives of local authorities and a draft letter from the ministry to local authorities concerning the transfer of whole-time staffs, in particular conditions to be applied to the veterinary officers of borough councils and municipal corporations.   in addition a record of a meeting of the society of veterinary officers and ministry officials on the same subject, which had given rise to fears that the ministry was reluctant to "honour its moral obligations towards veterinary officers of local authorities" contrary to "clear assurances given in the house of commons that all local authority veterinary officers would be invited to join the ministry's service." the society at a subsequent general meeting had passed a resolution calling the n.v.m.a's attention to these fears and offering support for any action the association thought fit to take.   the committee decided at a deputation later that day that all local authority veterinary officers, whether employed by county councils, borough councils or municipal corporations should be invited to join as it considered that the ministry had a moral obligation to do so under the terms of the statement made by mr ramsbotham in the house of commons (vide page 984 of hansard of july 12th 1937.). a further attempt would also be made to persuade the ministry to bring meat inspection and dairy and farm "buildings hygiene within the scope of part iv of the act by way of amendment. the results of this deputation were somewhat inconclusive, the ministry being unable to accept the association's interpretation of its moral obligations to municipal veterinary officers but conceding that they would be on the same footing as officers employed by county councils as far as the election board was concerned. some amendment of the proposed draft of the circular to local authorities was agreed.   a further meeting was held on dec.9th to consider letters from. mr toye,   establishment officer of the ministry, on points previously raised by the president concerning the transfer of pensions, the retirement age and the proposed medical examination of applicants. consideration was given to a letter from the society of veterinary officers taking strong exception to the failure of the ministry to omit from its letter to local authorities, as promised, the statement that "the ministry therefore can accept no obligation to offer an appointment, whether as superintending inspector, divisional inspector or inspector, to any officer of a "borough local authority." the committee decision is reported in the record:- "in view of this breach of faith, the publication in the 'journal of the ministry of agriculture' of information which the committee had been asked to regard as confidential, and difficulties previously met with in negotiating with the ministry's representatives, it was unanimously decided :- (1)    to request an interview with the minister of agriculture. (2)    to publish in the next issue of the veterinary record a note giving the reasons which had forced the committee to take this step. (3)    to follow this up with an editorial article based on a memorandum received from the society of veterinary officers. (4)    that in the event of the minister declining to receive a deputation, a special meeting of the council be called." the president in his letter to the minister requesting him to receive a deputation as a matter of urgency, on either 15th or 16th of the month, emphasised the disquiet prevailing among all sections of the profession where the view was widely held that the committee had on each occasion of meeting the ministry's representatives been presented with a "fait accompli." the minister's private secretary replied on dec.1oth and 15th; in the first instance the minister was absent in his constituency and the following letter requested core precise indications of the matters of extreme urgency and vital importance to the profession which the president had mentioned. the association's viewrs at this stage are made clear by the editorial on page 1575 of the veterinary record for dec.11th. :- 'the consultative committee is seriously perturbed at the rebuffs which it repeatedly receives from the ministry. following upon the failure of the ministry to meet the wishes of the profession in such matters as the status of the chief veterinary officer, the use of the term "officer" instead of "inspector; the question of salaries and the desirability of insisting on a minimum of three years practice in the profession, differences have arisen raising the question of confidence and of good faith." further fuel was added to the fire of the association's indignation on dec.12th by the publication in the 'farmers' weekly of information which the consultative committee had been asked to regard as confidential:- "the ministry of agriculture have decided to defer the introduction of the state veterinary service, for which prevision is made in the agriculture act, until april 1st, 1938* it had been provisionally arranged for the service to come into operation on january 1st. the service will play an important part in the government's great anti-disease campaign. "britain is to be divided into 78 divisions, each in charge of a divisional inspector, and the divisions will be grouped into areas, each in charge of a superintending inspector. "laboratory facilities will be provided in each division for the examination of milk samples under the milk and dairies order, and it is expected that provision will also be made for area laboratory facilities, "the ministry have been in communication with county and borough authorities on the staffing of the service, which will at first employ between 300 and 350 permanent whole-time officers. "in order to carry out the whole of the duties contemplated under the agriculture act, a staff of 500 will be needed. it is proposed that the staff will be assisted by panels of part-time veterinary surgeons, which will be reduced as the permanent staff is increased." in an ensuing editorial the record strongly condemned the way in which details of the reorganisation of the service were filtering through to the profession from non-professional sources whilst the consultative committee was bound secrecy. an early special meeting of council was urged to endeavour to arrest the loss of goodwill by the profession. on dec.15th the president replied to the minister's request for more specific information on the matters of urgency which the association wished to see him about personally. he stressed in particular that "every representation made to the ministry by the special committee has been met by what has appeared to be a decision, already and finally taken." in addition to the problems of transfer of whole-time officers referred to above, i.e. salaries, pensions, and the employment of borough council officers, the association was not satisfied with the intended procedure for the employment of veterinary practitioners under the scheme.   the private secretary replied on l7th in the minister's absence "in the country," and again on dec.22nd indicating that the minister was brushing aside the association's assertions and did "not feel that any useful purpose could be served by his receiving a further deputation," with the request that the correspondence be published in the veterinary record.   next day, dec.23rd, an emergency meeting of council was held at which the correspondence with the minister was read, and a report of the consultative committee meetings from oct.15th to date was presented. following detailed discussion council adjourned for half an hour to allow the special committee to draft a reply to the minister. the draft was read to council by dr tom hare on behalf of the committee and after further discussion it was agreed that it be submitted to the association's solicitor for final drafting in consultation with the president. council also agreed to the minister's request that the correspondence be published in the record, and empowered the editorial committee to amplify the consultative committee's report for the purposes of publication by quoting from other documents if it so wished. the consultative committee met on dec.23rd both before and after the emergency council meeting. at the earlier session the chairman of the editorial committee submitted an editorial which it was proposed to insert in the dec.25 th issue of the record; certain modifications were suggested and were accepted by the chairman, whereupon it was agreed to go ahead with publication. "disillusion." "the recent agriculture act contains the seeds of a veterinary service whose eventual growth cannot as yet be clearly envisaged. the premier stock-breeding country of the world is at last preparing for a concerted effort to combat disease among its animals and enhance the value of a great national asset. the importance of the project to us and to agriculture is paralleled by that of the national health insurance acts to the medical profession and to the wage-earning classes. we cannot contemplate with equanimity anything less than a truly auspicious beginning having the good wishes of everyone concerned. to plan and guide the launching of such an endeavour requires rare attributes. vision, creative power, understanding, an attitude of friendly co-operation, a willingness to give and accept help and to discuss and even adopt constructive suggestions put forward by others are among the essentials to success. unfortunately, the counsel of the profession has not truly been sought, its consultative committee has been presented with defined schemes in which it has been expected to acquiesce almost at once. a policy of secrecy, a spirit suggestive of dictatorship and an apparent assumption of omniscience have prevailed, secrecy has created fear and rumour, no display of outstanding competence has justified dictatorial methods, and the claim to omniscience has not been sanctioned by events. the goodwill of the profession has been shocked and dissipated, for on no material point have its wishes been met. its county men are to be absorbed by the state smarting under petty injustices, the municipal officer is to be left in large measure to work a broken system of duties concerning public health, while the practitioner is expected to welcome temporary inclusion within the service. such intentions are widely different from those which the profession had been led to expect and have not unnaturally annihilated its confidence. under these circumstances postponement of the appointed day would seem inevitable until such time as it is assured that the profession, which has to work the scheme, is truly organised on national lines and not in a way which takes one section into bondage and offers another an existence denuded of its vital interests in agriculture. this scheme, as disclosed up to the present, is a travesty of all that is meant "by a co-ordinated attack upon the diseases of livestock and has little, if any, hope of success." thus spake the n.v.m.a. on christmas day 1937. the foregoing editorial accurately sums up the attitude of the profession. it clearly points to a situation of deadlock as the year drew to its close. the serious student of these troubled times will find the issues of the veterinary record for the six months octoberl937/march 1938 essential, and fascinating!     "to be, or not to be??." the president's new year message published in the record of january 1st. 1938 outlining the problems and frustrations of the previous three months and affirming the n.v.m.a.'s determination to work for an acceptable solution announced the consultative committee's intention to publish as fully as possible every future development.   and whilst admitting that "this year opens in crisis", he expressed the hope and belief that "the exercise of resource,   patience, tenacity and courage directed by wisdom" would eventually produce the happy new year which he and his wife wished for the profession.   the same issue contained the report of the consultative committee to council on december 23rd 1937 covering the period from early october to date, together with the correspondence between the president and the minister   in all 8 ½ pages, and an editorial underlining a particular bone of contention. this matter went to the heart of the transfer of whole-time officers from the local authorities to the new service. the n.v.m.a. had always understood that the minister would invite all such whole-time officers to join , and in fact had a moral obligation to do so under the terms of the statement made by mr ramsbotham in the house of commons {p.984 of hansard 12.7.37.) :- "the government have already announced that they intend to invite all whole-time veterinary officers of local authorities to accept appointments under the ministry subject to the conditions which will ordinarily attach to the state veterinary service. in other words they will become civil servants. that is borne out by clause 25 sub-section (2), dealing with their superannuation rights. it is explicit and implicit in the bill     it is the government's declared intention to invite all whole-time officers to accept appointments under the ministry" further mr morrision was reported in the same debate :- "where a full-time officer is now operating under the orders of a local authority he will continue to operate under the ministry."   the ministry's draft letter to local authorities however had stated "the ministry, therefore, can accept no obligation to offer an appointment, whether as superintending inspector, divisional inspector or inspector, to any officer of a borough local authority". at a meeting on november 29th the association took strong exception to this sentence, and the ministry's representatives agreed to delete it. the revised letter issued without further consultation with the association however read- "there is therefore no obligation on the part of the ministry to offer appointments to the whole of the veterinary staff of the borough councils."   the society of veterinary officers and the n.v.m.a. regarded this as a breach of faith, which together with other difficulties encountered in the negotiations and the leaking of confidential matters to the "farmers' weekly" on december 12th had decided council on december 23rd to authorise a further request to the minister for a personal interview. the letter, approved by the association's solicitor, also set out four basic principles which the association deemed essential to the successful launching of the new service:- 1). the permanent inclusion of private practitioners in the service, 2). freedom of choice by the stockowner of the practitioner to be employed. 3). an invitation to all existing whole-time veterinary officers employed by local authorities to accept appointment in the service. 4). an arbitration board to deal with any question arising between the ministry and veterinary officers employed.   the consultative committee met again on january 4th and decided to invite donald vandepeer or another representative of the ministry to attend a special meeting of council and give an address on the ministry's proposals. on the following day the president called on mr vandepeer and the chief veterinary officer and issued the invitation. vandepeer emphatically declined the proposal describing some of the recent articles in the record as scurrilous and without their experience of negotiation. further, acceptance would not accord with the dignity of the ministry. (!!). both mr vandepeer and sir john melland appeared to resent the association's approach to the minister, calling it "going over their heads" and indicating that the association had no desire to negotiate further with them; also pointing out that the appeal to the minister automatically stopped negotiations pending his reply.   on january 10th the president sent a letter to mr vandepeer requesting that the association be supplied with a comprehensive statement of the scheme as a whole, as hitherto the ministry's proposals had had to be dealt with piecemeal.   the minister in his reply, dated january 12th, to the further request for a personal interview brushed aside the basic principles desired by the association and indicated quite clearly that he saw no useful purpose in granting a further interview; he concluded with the suggestion that if the association wished to discuss detailed proposals which were being formulated that it should utilise the method of discussion between the consultative committee and the ministry's representatives.   the record of january 22nd carried an editorial with the heading "a specious plea of dignity”, which reported the ministry's refusal to meet council and concluded :- "in the strong belief that expression of view, honestly held, is in the public interest, we cannot admit such censure and censorship as are implied in the refusal. nor can we sympathise with so delicate a departmental dignity. the council hazarded its own dignity in risking a friendly gesture and suffered a rebuff. the implied attitude that judgment, honesty of purpose and dignity, are a bureaucratic monopoly, is not one to which we can subscribe nor allow to pass unchallenged."   by this time the minister and his advisers must of necessity have become perplexed as to how to deal with these troublesome people. parlament had decreed that a state veterinary service was to be established, and the minister was under an obligation to set it up; already the 'appointed day' had been changed from january 1st. to april 1st, (all fools' day,), and the role of part-time officers had barely been touched upon in the negotiations to date. there were many loose ends concerning the transfer of the local authority officers yet to be resolved. it must have seemed imperative that the co-operation and goodwill of the profession be regained, as without it the scheme must founder.   further, the farming community's expectations for the early introduction of free tuberculin testing and herd inspection could not be deferred ndefinitely if the ministry's prestige and reputation was to be sustained.     "the olive branch" meanwhile within the ministry the matter seems to have at last been taken seriously. donald vandepeer took the president's letter of january 10th requesting a comprehensive statement of the ministry's proposals to sir donald fergusson, the permanent secretary. sir donald undertook to reply to the president and in a letter sent by his private secretary, dated january 17th, he issued an invitation to the president and a few of his leading colleagues to call on him as soon as possible, before discussions were resumed between the consultative committee and the ministry.   on january 29th the editorial in the record was headed "the agriculture act - consultation resumed.", and was able to report the meeting between sir donald and the association's representatives at which it was agreed "that no reference to matters arising from meetings between the ministry and the committee shall be made in the journal unless such statements are agreed "by both participants in the consultation." this decision had been taken to facilitate the discussion of the ministerial plans for utilising the services of practitioners, while these were still in the formative stare and it would be possible to take account of the association's view whilst modification was still possible.   reason and progress. the meeting "between sir donald fergusson and the association's representatives took place on january 20th and was fully reported to a special meeting of council on march 2nd, together with a full report of subsequent developments.   in the course of a frank discussion sir donald emphasised the necessity of the association regarding as confidential all documents outlining the ministry's proposals and statements made "by its representatives at meetings with the consultative committee; and was at pains to endeavour to remove any misconceptions as to what was possible and what was not possible in these negotiations. a subsequent meeting was necessary before the association's representatives finally agreed to resume discussions, accepting the need for confidentiality, after being informed that the ministry had proposals for the employment of part-time officers which they wished to discuss whilst they were in the formative stage; and further receiving assurances that details of the ministry's scheme as a whole would be placed before the committee and that decisions would only be taken after the association's views had been fully considered. it was also agreed that decisions arrived at would be released simultaneously to the lay and veterinary press; the ministry conceding that the association was free to express its views as freely and forcibly as it wished after publication.   on this basis the consultations were resumed forthwith with meeting, held on january 26th and 27th, and february 3rd. undoubtedly the ministry had done a great deal of preliminary spade-work and in the improved atmosphere prevailing prepress was rapid, and by february 5th the record was able to report modest concessions to transferred officers. these were a nominal certification fee in lieu of £8 normally required by the civil service rules from those entering the service, and exemption wherever possible from medical examination and where an examination was required a reduction in the medical fee. the first agreed outline for the employment of part-time officers appeared in the record on february 19th, certain duties such as diagnostic enquiries into suspected outbreaks of notifiable diseases and the routine inspection of dairy herds would be carried out wherever possible by whole-time officers, assisted by part-time officers if necessary.   two panels of part-time officers were to be set up, a limited one (panel a.) to carry out duties on a geographical basis concerning notifiable diseases and market inspection; and a wider one(panel b.) for the eradication duties for which panel a practitioners would be automatically eligible. the panel b duties would include tuberculin testing of attested and graded herds and the coincidental clinical examinations, and blood-testing for contagious abortion: these duties would normally be carried out among a practitioner's own clients. the scale of fees approved for the various duties would be published when the necessary treasury sanction had been obtained. the fees were published in the record on march 12th{ the following samples are exclusive of travelling allowances at the current rates, these even allowed for the use of bicycles. there was a maximum of £4.4.0. for all services rendered on one day. l). market inspection, according to size   10/6-£2.2.0. 2), milk and dairies orders, clinical inspection, including microscopic examination and report, up to 25 head      £1.1.0. additional animals, per head         0.0.9- 3). tuberculin test. £1.11.6. plus 2s.6d. per animal tested; the fee included the clinical examination of animals tested. the current test was the double intradermal test using only mammalian tuberculin, necessitating three visits over a period of 72 hours. tuberculin was supplied free. 4). contagious abortion, (from attested herds.). (a). special visit, up to 20 head    £1.1.0. (b). collection on a testing visit, per head     0.0.9. 5). anthrax. diagnostic inquiry, microscopic examination and report       £1.1.0. 6). swine fever. inclusive fee for 1st and 2nd visits       £1.5.0. subsequent visits, each 10.6. 7). sheep scab; diagnostic enquiry, microscopic examination and individual examination of up to 50 sheep and report    £1.1.0. individual examination of remainder, up to 50 sheep    5,0, 8). milk and dairies acts and orders. clinical inspection of herds, including microscopic    examination up to 25 animals   £1.1.0. additional animals, per head   0.0.6.   special meeting of council. march 2nd. this special meeting (fully reported in the record of march 25th) was called by the president, donald campbell, to receive the report of the consultative committee on the negotiations with the ministry since the meetings with sir donald fergusson at the earliest possible moment prior to the inauguration of the new service on april 5th, as the next routine quarterly meeting of council was not due until later in april. in his introductory summary of the report the president dealt with the four basic principles which council had insisted on at its december meeting as a prerequisite to reopening negotiations: l). the permanent inclusion of private practitioners. the position was that no ministry could ever give an absolute guarantee of permanence of anything; what one government set up, the next might knock down, ( a familiar pattern!). however the ministry assured them that as far as the panel b eradication duties were concerned "there was no intention that the employment of practitioners would be of a temporary nature". and as the ministry's intention was to limit its staff to 500-550, the increase in the scope of the work involved as the schemes expanded seemed to him and the committee as near an assurance of permanence as could possibly be expected.   2). freedom of choice for stockowners of practitioner. the committee had a hard fight on this issue and the negotiations "became strained and difficult. at the outset only one panel had been proposed, and the ministry intended to maintain control of notifiable disease investigations and herd inspections by using their own selected inspectors! the deadlock was broken by the suggestion from j.r.barker of hereford that there be a second and wider panel for the eradication duties with the stockowner able to nominate his own veterinary surgeon. this the ministry was able to accept, making the way clear for further progress.   3). invitation to all existing whole-time officers to join the service. assurances were forthcoming that applicants for appointment would be on exactly the same footing whether from county councils or municipalities, and that before any applicant was refused service with the ministry the consultative committee would be consulted.   4). the creation of an arbitration board. an effective system of consultation regarding the employment of veterinary surgeons by the ministry had been arranged, applying to both whole-time officers and private practitioners. any problems or difficulties arising would first be considered by the association and where appropriate taken up with the ministry. in cases of persistent disagreement, however, the minister himself would decide. he finally submitted that as far as was humanly possible the committee had achieved a fair measure of success in pressing these principles, and concluded by expressing his hope and belief that the scheme ushered in a new and brighter era for the profession.   dr w.r.wooldridge, a member of the committee, replied to suggestions from hamilton kirk that the committee had failed to gain their point regarding no.s 1, 2, and 4. to emphasise the efforts made by the committee he enlarged on the meetings with sir donald fergusson, pointing out that the first produced a very frank and very heated discussion lasting over an hour during the second the position was again frankly discussed before the committee undertook to continue consultations..   at the first meeting of the renewed consultations the president in his opening remarks said at the outset that he could not allow the committee to proceed unless the association was given satisfaction on the basic principles. and having amplified the president's summary replies somewhat dr wooldridge thought they could agree that the four cardinal points had been very largely met, and that the president and the committee had done right in reopening consultations with the ministry.   after further discussion the meeting carried unanimously a vote of confidence in the consultative committee proposed by or tom hare and seconded by r.h.h.over. the president in his closing remarks expressed his appreciation for all the hard work his colleagues had put in in a very hard task, which at times had seemed almost impossible. he also recorded his appreciation of the ministry's representatives who, despite earlier disagreements, had latterly been undeniably anxious to appreciate the association's point of view and go as far as possible towards meeting them.   mr steele-bodger paid a final tribute' to the general secretary, f.knight, for his untiring and unstinted work throughout the negotiations.   on march 12th the record published further details. the field organisation of the service had been divided into 22 areas and 78 divisions to which superintending and divisional inspectors had already been appointed. the remainder of the whole-time officers offered appointments would be transferred on april 1st, the "appointed day".   the retirement age of part-time officers, currently 70, would in future be 65(those approaching 70 or over to be allowed a period of grace to make suitable arrangements for the continuation of part-time inspectorship in their practices). the part-time fees, already listed, were published in full. a week later it was announced that the diseases of animals division of the ministry would after april 1st be known as the animaal health division.   and so on april 1st. the concept "became a reality, a centralised veterinary service was launched with a team of whole-time and part-time veterinarians working in partnership for the ultimate "benefit of british agriculture• it may well be that future historians will come to regard the formation of the animal health division as the most important development of the veterinary profession in the 20th century; it averted the fragmentation of the profession by giving it a common purpose and a strengthened unity, in keeping with its motto of "vis unita fortior". pages/history.php||spvs origins, and early history from 1933-1950. history reprinted from the veterinary record, december 15th, 1973 pp. 634 by past president john tandy. early in 1933, a group of some half-a-dozen veterinary surgeons in north wales were in the habit of meeting from time to time to discuss practice problems. it was from this small group that the society of practising veterinary surgeons - now with 1,300 members - grew over the ensuing 40 years. the founder member was e p edwards, and his colleagues were leonard jones, john cane, charlie cartwright, r l lewis and frank booth. the group had reached a membership of "unlucky 13" when the veterinary practitioners' league was launched at the national veterinary medical association congress in llandudno later that same year. during its first year, the vpl had a somewhat stormy passage. it was accused in the columns of the veterinary record of attempting to create "a schism within the body of the national association". this bogey was effectively laid in january, 1934, when it was proposed that the league should become a division of the "national". at the end of the 12 months there were 150 members. during the formative years, first as secretary, and then as president, h w steele-bodger worked tirelessly for the organisation with the enthusiasm and humour for which he was renowned. in spite of its name, membership of the vpl was not restricted to those in practice. research workers, whole-time officers of local and other authorities, and several professors became members. in fact sir frederick hobday, principal of the royal veterinary college, became president in the late 1930's. the original aims of the association were to unite practitioners scattered within the profession and in the council of the "national", in order to consider and discuss their special problems, to foster and promote all the practitioners' legitimate interests, and, through the "national", to protect those interests whenever they might be threatened. these original aims remain basically those of the society today. an early example occurred in 1936. in that year the ministry of agriculture had intended to extend the scope of the facilities given by its full time officers and thus encroach on the service given by practitioners. pressure from the society, however, effected the introduction of lvi s. about twelve months after its formation the name of the association was changed to the society of veterinary practitioners. the present title, the society of practising veterinary surgeons (spvs - usually referred to as "spivs") was taken, somewhat reluctantly, in 1950, due to the new meaning of the description "veterinary practitioner" which was introduced in the veterinary surgeons act 1948. during the early months of the 1939 to 1945 war, the society organised a series of meetings throughout the country at which the speaker was professor dalling who had a most distinguished career at cambridge university, the ministry of agriculture, and later as consultant to the fao . in his address, professor dalling drew attention to the lag that there was between the making of scientific discoveries and their application in the field of practice. some ideas of the activity at that time may be gathered from the fact that in one week the society arranged meetings in aberdeen, edinburgh, newcastle and preston and the next week in bristol and london. as a result of those meetings a resolution was sent to the nvma from which was born the scheme to control certain diseases of dairy cattle (mastitis, johnes disease, infertility and the use of s19 vaccine). the long established practice of nationwide coverage for general meetings continues to this day. during the year 1973/74, spvs meetings are planned in glasgow, dublin, inverness, salisbury, cambridge, swansea, sussex and cornwall. the society is still actively involved in all matters of interest to those members in practice, but at the present time particular attention is paid to promoting interest in economics and practice management. in 1957, an economics committee was formed. under the chairmanship of edward wilkinson, and with alasdair steele-bodger as secretary, a detailed study of practice economics was undertaken. after a tremendous amount of work, particularly by the secretary, a report was produced in which the following recommendations were made. general veterinary fees should be assessed on sound business and ethical lines. a logical system of costing under the headings drugs, distance and time should be employed. practice costs on both a national and an individual basis should be revised periodically. specific 1. the bulk of a practice's profit should be derived from professional fees - not from profit on the sale of drugs. accounts should be rendered promptly and regularly. monthly rendering is best, but sending out a third every month is better than the whole every quarter and entails no more work. book-keeping in the average practice is both costly and time consuming - several modern systems are now available which are eminently adaptable for veterinary practice. annual audits should be carried out as soon as possible after the close of the financial year so that "current " costs can be obtained. the costing system recommended by the society should be adopted. fee assessment thus becomes simplified and more flexible to allow adjustments to be made rapidly as and when the occasion arises. accepting the survey average times for work and travel, the equations shown should be used to calculate the cost of professional time and travel. these recommendations, with slight modification, are still valid. the full report is of great interest to those in practice today and copies are still available from the author. further surveys of practice economics were carried out by spvs to assist with negotiations for lvi fees in 1969, and another survey has just been completed, a report of which is in the process of preparation. the latest survey was mounted primarily for the preparation of factual evidence to present to the swann committee, but it's findings cover comparative details of practice profitability, capital invested, return on capital, numbers of professional employees, leisure time of principals and assistants and several other matters of great interest to the whole profession. the report will be made available to members in the coming months. another aspect of the society's work is illustrated by the major part it played in explaining the implications and suggesting the mechanics of the implementation of vat to the veterinary practice. john gripper spoke at meetings throughout britain. at the final vat meeting, at the churchill hotel in london, in february 1973, 150 members attended. john gripper was also a prime motivator of the spvs pension and life assurance scheme introduced in 1966 to assist such of its members as desired to provide pensions for qualified assistants and their staffs. the necessary modifications to the scheme are in hand to comply with new pension regulations scheduled to come into operation in 1975. in addition to that scheme spvs has made special arrangements to provide suitable pension policies for principals and partners in practice. the success of this scheme has meant that all those who join now receive free life cover of £5,000 under a group accident policy. the society is controlled by a council consisting of seven officers and 25 members elected at the annual general meeting. the current practice is to hold three council meetings a year at venues in london. members are kept fully informed of council discussion, general meetings and other matters of interest by regular mailings which now include the recently introduced spvs bulletin, which has proved very popular. among current projects being undertaken on behalf of members are a document to assist practitioners in the computation of goodwill and a book on practice management. to round off its interests in veterinary practice, spvs takes interest not only in the affairs of principals and partners but also those of veterinary assistants. a special meeting will be held at cambridge veterinary school in january 1974, at which assistants will be encouraged to discuss the problems which they have encountered in practice. with its lively interest and practical involvement in the affairs of the practising veterinary surgeon the society seems well set for its next 40 years. pages/home.php||the society of practising veterinary surgeons new: may 2005 bulletin online the society of practising veterinary surgeons exists to provide advice and information to veterinary surgeons and others actively involved in the management of veterinary practices. the society does not provide clinical advice or services to members of the public, who are advised to direct their queries to their own veterinary surgeon. please use the menu bar above to navigate around the site. pages/hs.php||safe and sound: bsava health and safety seminars 16th/17th june 2005 ramada hotel, gloucester 24th/25th november 2005 daresbury park hotel, warrington, cheshire thursday programme: outline of practice standards alcohol and drug abuse pregnancy in practice putting clinical governance into practice employment law how clean is my theatre? hygiene protocols claims and pitfalls in practice working out of hours avoiding trouble with clients and the rcvs friday programme: why health and safety is important steps to a health and safety manual safety and anaesthesia can i improve my image? xrays and rpa s risk assessments and coshh manual handling fire safety lone working and house calls delegates may participate in either or both of the days. price: £126 (plus vat ) per day for members of bsava , bva , spvs or bvna , £176 (plus vat ) per day for non-members. email practicestandards@bsava.com for more information. pages/itday.php||spvs it day following the success of last year's event, spvs are running another it day this year. practitioners are invited to come along to compare and contrast the various veterinary practice management systems side by side in the exhibition hall, and to catch up on the latest developments in a series of seminars. topics will include: taking advantage of technology breakthroughs within veterinary practice web based systems client education and the pms how a practice management system should deliver a return on investment? computers and the new medicines regulations and more... date: 18th november place: holiday inn, coventry exhibition will open at 9.30 am, seminars will start at 10am price: £99.50 inc. vat 2nd delegate from same practice: £49.50 inc. vat discount for bookings before 31st august: £10 discount for spvs/vpma members: £10 download booking form (pdf) pages/links.php||links this is the editor's selection of sites that may be interest to spvs members. if you know of any other sites that you think should be included, email the site editor and let him know, but the editor's decision is final. the sites included here are outwith the control of the society and no responsibility is accepted for their content. no commercial sites are included, but many can be accessed via the vetindex and vetweb sites below. uk veterinary associations veterinary schools of the uk and ireland other veterinary, medical and biological sites uk veterinary associations while the major associations are listed here, links to the sites of all of the smaller associations, societies and study groups for whom i have found the url are included in the glossary of veterinary and related associations british veterinary association royal college of veterinary surgeons british small animal veterinary association british cattle veterinary association british equine veterinary association british veterinary nursing association veterinary record, including the job adverts. veterinary schools of the uk and ireland university of bristol, department of clinical veterinary science cambridge university veterinary school university of edinburgh veterinary school glasgow university veterinary school university of liverpool, faculty of veterinary science royal veterinary college university college, dublin, faculty of veterinary medicine other veterinary, medical and biological sites spvs masters group- a group of experienced gp vets working together to develop veterinary education for the practising veterinary gp. defra's web site (formerly maff) gives information on farming, fisheries and food, also news releases, animal health matters and publications. vetweb is a general veterinary interest site, supported by the rcvs's charter 150 educational trust. animal health trust. information on the activities, facilities, staff and services of the trust. pig disease information centre. an absolute "must" for all pig vets, or for any practitioner needing information on matters piggy. cornell veterinary school has an interesting "consultant" section where symptoms can be input and a suggested diagnosis generated. netvet, run by the washington university division of comparative medicine, contains links to an enormous range of veterinary resources, both useful and bizarre. hms beagle is the on-line magazine of the biomednet, which describes itself as the world wide club for the biological and medical community. provides hours of happy surfing. vetscape contains links to lots of other interesting veterinary sites, and is aimed purely at veterinary surgeons. well worth a visit. crufts - everything you want to know about the uk's best known dog show. includes information about the kennel club. blue cross: site includes tips on petcare and responsible pet ownership. web sources for agricultural veterinarians: useful list of links, maintained by john gay at washington state university. dvm newsmagazine: the web site of an american monthly veterinary magazine. pet loss: site with sympathetic information and help for bereaved pet owners. biome: this site offers a valuable search facility that will interrogate a wide range of high quality medical internet resources. pet travel scheme this defra site gives details of the alternative to quarantine for cats and dogs imported into the uk, updated as the scheme develops. vetaid: edinburgh-based charity providing for the agricultural animals of the developing world. vetnurse.co.uk: a useful resource for uk veterinary nurses, including news, education, support and jobs. the cat group: pressure group on cat-related issues, members include the fab, aht, blue cross, rspca and esfm. sebakwe black rhino trust: very worthwhile group, run in the uk by spvs past president john gripper and his wife, annie. pages/list.php||spvs discussion list need a good stationery supplier in the south west? want to know how other people cope with "firing" problem clients? is this dental engine as good a buy as it looks? ask your colleagues on the spvs discussion list! join over 170 colleagues in this forum, which enables spvs members to talk freely among themselves about any aspect of veterinary practice management. this is not only for employers: employees can ask about their conditions of employment, how others cope with explaining fees to clients, even just share a grumble with others who understand. new: "young spvs " recent graduates discussion list. exclusively for those less than five years qualified and who have not become practice owners. an invaluable answer to the problems of isolation and loneliness that beset today's assistants. discuss your troubles with your peers, secure in the knowledge that your boss isn't listening! members of the young spvs list are free to also join the main spvs discussion list if they wish. to join, just fill either (or both) of the forms below and click the "click to send" button. you will receive an email back confirming your membership of the list(s) you have chosen. if you have any questions click here to email the listowner of the main list or here for the listowner of the young spvs list. if you have any problems using the form, send your name, address (so we can confirm that you are a member) and email address to the listowner at listowner@spvs.org.uk for the main list, younglistowner@spvs.org.uk for the young spvs list. your application will usually be processed within twenty four hours but may take longer if the listowner is away at a conference or meeting. please allow seven days, and if you have had no reply by then email the appropriate listowner using the links above. subscribe to the main spvs list powered by groups.yahoo.com subscribe to the youngspvs list powered by groups.yahoo.com pages/manual.php||spvs forms manual 3rd edition - list of contents section 1: staff management application for employment 1 and 2 disciplinary procedure termination terms maternity policy self certification absence form nurse's contract guidance notes performance review staff appraisal forms 1 to 5 statement of terms and conditions of employment veterinary surgeon's contract guidance notes employee driver history exit interview employee information equal opportunities policy 1 and 2 alteration to terms of contract job description working time agreement partnership agreement section 2: small animal forms anaesthetic record certificate of health diabetes: four forms canine and feline dental charts euthanasia consent form first vaccination notes gerbil, guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, rat / mouse notes pet health forms 1 and 2 hospitalisation form post op notes pre op and consent form pre op form (incl large animal) puppy party checklist canine and feline neutering notes unlicensed product consent forms, one off and lifetime, 2 forms vaccination notes, cat, dog and rabbit death certificate hyperthyroidism blood test information hyperadrenocorticism separation anxiety large animal forms ai record closed and open castration discharge forms equine tooth chart euthanasia horse equine consent form horse examination forms, 1 and 2 hospitalisation form lameness examination equine post op notes vet / farrier communication section 4: practice management hse form local rules, 4 forms medicines notes for clients registration form risk assessment waste disposal hse for work experience accident form almoning form coshh credit control display screen user risk assessment, 2 forms dispensing policy fire prevention client satisfaction questionnaire practice car details practice car problem reporting checklists for daily procedures section 5: assorted newsletter articles back to publications list pages/masters.php||spvs masters group the society of practising veterinary surgeons (spvs) have been very interested in promoting and developing the skills of the gp vet throughout its 70-year history.  in 1998, the discussions in the society had begun to be more intense and a working party was formed. this led to the presentation of a paper on the subject of postgraduate veterinary education by the three members of the working party at the spvs conference in torquay during chris chesney's presidential year 2000.  subsequently, the debate led to the formation of a partnership between spvs, the professional development foundation and middlesex university; and this produced the first spvs masters group.  this group was recruited in may 2001, and commenced their work to explore the question: was a gp certificate desirable, practical, achievable and feasible?  the group undertook a work-based learning experience accredited to qaa standards which involved a research project that was to prove of considerable importance to the profession. the findings of the group were presented to spvs and the royal college of veterinary surgeons (rcvs) in the autumn of 2003. the rcvs subsequently confirmed that the traditional postgraduate certificates would be replaced with a modular certificate in advanced veterinary practice (certavp) which reflected many of the recommendations of the group and the rcvs working party that had liaised considerably over the period of the research.  this is set to change the system of postgraduate education in the veterinary profession significantly for many years to come and may act as a model for other professions in the future. all 8 members of the group graduated at a ceremony at the rcvs in february 2004 which was a momentous occasion as they were the first pioneers to achieve an msc in general veterinary practice.  this was the first time that in practice research had been completed by gp vets for gp vets. seven of the original eight members of the group are now undertaking doctorate research projects to expand and develop their research and all of the members of the group remain committed to the introduction of the new rcvs modular certificate in advanced veterinary practice and the greater involvement of the practising arm of the profession in the development of veterinary education in the future.  http://www.vetgp.co.uk/ pages/policy.php||society policy in this section of the web site you can learn about spvs policy on a variety of topics by perusing responses sent to consultations documents from, amongst others, government and the rcvs. this is a new section on the web site and more documents will be added as time goes by. documents are listed in reverse date order, ie. most recent at the top. click on any of the links below to continue. a guide to the vmd new medicines regulations (noah). click here for relevant papers response to the competition commission's statement of hypothetical remedies: october 2002. click here to view the document response to the competition commission's interim statement of issues: april 2002. click here to download a zipped word file: the document is too large to be sensibly viewed online. response to the rcvs's education strategy steering group's consultation document "veterinary education and training: a framework for 2010 and beyond": october 2001. click here to download a zipped word file: the document is too large to be sensibly viewed online. submission to the independent review group on dispensing of veterinary medicines (marsh committee): october 2000. click here to view the document and here to download a pdf.   pages/pdfs.php||using pdf files pdf ( p ortable d ocument f ormat) files let you view and print a document as the author designed it, without needing to have the same application or fonts on your computer. to view or print a pdf file, you need the adobe reader, version 5 or later, on your computer. you can download a free copy of the reader from the adobe website . installation instructions are available from the adobe website. saving pdf files with larger pdf files (say, more than 50kb), it is better to save the file to your computer, and then print from that copy. using this method, you avoid the risk of having a printing task interupted if your internet connection fails. there are several ways to save pdf files onto your computer - use the method that best suits your computer set-up: you may get a message from a pop-up list - choose the "save target as ..." or "save link as ..." option; with the pdf file open on your screen, go to "file" and choose "save as"; or with the pdf file open on your screen, click on the floppy disk icon just above the document, on the left hand side. printing pdf files if you have difficulty printing a pdf file, please select 'use raster graphics' which is found in file/print/setup/properties/graphics. problems opening documents users sometimes report they cannot open pdf documents on their computer. usually this is due to a setting on the computer, rather than a fault with the file. adobe provides information to resolve many of these problems - please see the adobe help page . visually-impaired users people who use screen reader software may have trouble accessing pdfs . adobe provides tools for the visually impaired to access pdf documents. these tools are available at: http://access.adobe.com/ . pages/vmdregs.php|| untitled document an introduction to the new vmd regulations powerpoint presentation dti consultation document explanatory memo to the vmd regs regulatory impact assessment guidance for veterinary manufacturers and wholesalers guidance for veterinary surgeons full regulatory impact assessment the veterinary medicines regulations 2005 download all as a zipped file   pages/publications.php||society publications and merchandise prices: spvs members: free of charge non-member veterinary surgeons and practice managers: generally £5.50 each plus £2.50 post and packing, although some are more expensive. see the individual listings for details. those who seek the publications for non-veterinary business purposes (eg. accountants, lawyers, journalists): generally £10 each plus £2.50 post and packing, although some are more expensive. see the individual listings for details. ordering: by post: download and print out this form and post it to the secretariat (spvs, the governor's house, cape road, warwick, warwickshire, cv34 5dj) with your cheque, if applicable. by fax: download and print out this form and fax it to the society's office on 01926 411350 (+ 44 1926 411350 from outside the uk) with your credit card details. by phone: ring the society's office on 01926 410454 (+ 44 1926 410454 from outside the uk) with your credit card details. electronically: this form may be submitted electronically using the "click here to send order" button at the foot of the page. payment can be taken by credit card but not directly via the web site. if you want to pay by credit card please phone (01926 410454) or fax (01926 411350) the society's office with your requirements and credit card details. pages/reps.php||society officers and council members president philip c goddard bvetmed mba mrcvs   qualified from london in 1986. worked at a university, as a locum, and for the pdsa before starting in the family practice in london as an assistant. in a career break, he took a full time mba at cranfield, qualifying in 1990. he was a council member of the bvha 1992-8, president 1996-7, a council member of bva in 1996-7 as the bvha representative and am currently an alternate bva council representative for spvs. council member of the spvs since 1995, honorary secretary 1998-2001. rcvs veterinary hospital inspector since 2000. runs the goddard veterinary group, a 36 site small animal practice in london with about 55-60 vets. there are three night centres with full facilities for hospitalisation, emergencies and referrals. the practice is accredited investors in people, and for nurse training has a vnac centrally with tps. wanstead veterinary hospital, 84, new wanstead, london, e11 2sy. surgery phone 0208 989 7744, fax 0208 532 9115, email president@spvs.org.uk senior vice president michael clarke   qualified from london in 1984, worked in small animal and mixed practices for six years before becoming principal of a small animal practice in bamber bridge. studying for the certificate in dermatology and conducts an advice phone-in on local radio. member of council since 1996, bulletin editor 1997/2002. withy grove veterinary clinic, 39, station rd, bamber bridge, preston, lancashire, pr5 6qr. surgery phone 01772 330103, fax 01772 628865, email svp@spvs.org.uk . president elect ewan mcneill bvms certvr mrcvs   partner in a four vet small animal practice in nottinghamshire, qualified from glasgow in july 1984. co-opted onto spvs council for one year before being elected in 1999. honorary public relations officer 2000/'03. 61, castle boulevard, nottingham, ng7 1fd surgery phone 0115 941 7894, fax 0115 941 7833, email presidentelect@spvs.org.uk . junior vice president john hill mvb tcd mrcvs   principal of a mixed practice in northern ireland, qualified from dublin in 1975. elected to council in 2002 after previously serving a term from 1989 to 1998. email jvp@spvs.org.uk. honorary secretary richard w holborow bvsc mba mrcvs   richard holborow grew up on a dairy farm in the cotswolds and qualified from liverpool in 1975. first jobs in sheffield and corringham, then as locum, before starting single-handed small-animal practice in hebden bridge, west yorkshire. now five practice, eleven vet, investors in people partnership including a 24hr central surgery. studied part-time for an mba at huddersfield university. qualified (with distinction) in 2002. co-opted onto council 2001, elected in 2002. spvs computer/it seminar organiser 2003/04. honorary secretary from may 2004.west mount vet gp, 187, pellon lane, halifax, west yorkshire. hx1 5rj. surgery phone: 01422 320008, email honsec@spvs.org.uk. honorary treasurer jacqui molyneux bvsc bsc mrcvs   principal of four-vet small animal practice in county durham, qualified from bristol in 1981, co-opted onto council in 1999 and elected in 2000. treasurer since 2004.1, plantation st, leadgate, consett, co durham, dh8 7ppsurgery phone 01207 590340, fax 01207 590358, email treasurer@spvs.org.uk. honorary public relations officer iain m richards bvsc certva mrcvs   qualified from liverpool in 1988 and spent the next seven years in mixed practice in yorkshire, cumbria and derbyshire gaining his anaesthesia certificate in 1992. purchased five vet mixed practice in kendal, cumbria as principal in 1996. this has expanded to a two centre, seven vet practice of which iain is senior partner. president lakeland veterinary association 1998 - 1999, bva council member since 1999. elected to council in 2001. pro since 2003.westmorland veterinary group, natland road, kendal, cumbria, la9 7sx. surgery phone 01539 722692, fax 01539 724379, email pro@spvs.org.uk. honorary bulletin editor paul r manning ma vetmb mrcvs   qualified from cambridge in 1979, principal of a mixed practice in newport pagnell. member of spvs council since 1998, honorary treasurer 2001/04. email editor@spvs.org.uk. secretariat claire rosser (right) and sarah reeve keep the society's office running smoothly. council members the spvs council meeting in session, december 2001, then-president nicky paull (centre) presiding. j d (nick) blayney bvsc mrcvs qualified from liverpool in 1980, principal of a mixed practice in henley-in-arden. elected to spvs council in 1999, honorary secretary 2001/04. email nick.blayney@spvs.org.uk. sam duff bvm&s mrcvs partner in mixed practic in fife, qualified from edinburgh in 1970. council member from 1993 to 2002 then re-elected in 2003. email sam.duff@spvs.org.uk. john j duffy bvsc mrcvs partner in mixed practice in north yorkshire, qualified from liverpool 1978. elected to council in 2003. email john.duffy@spvs.org.uk. simon a godsall bvsc certsao mrcvs principle veterinary surgeon with the pdsa in shropshire, qualified from liverpool in 1986. elected to council in 2002. email simon.godsall@spvs.org.uk.   richard w hillman bvsc certva mrcvs principal of a four vet small animal practice in walsall, west midlands. qualified from liverpool in 1982, elected to council in 2001. email richard.hillman@spvs.org.uk. dr w kenelm b lewis dvm certvr mrcvs qualified from guelph in 1972. senior partner in a mixed practice in evesham, worcestershire. elected to spvs council in 1993, pro 1996/'00, president 2002/'03. email kenelm.lewis@spvs.org.uk. emma s leyland bvsc mrcvs partner in small animal practice on merseyside, qualified from liverpool in 1994. elected to council in 2003. recent graduate support officer since 2005. email emma.leyland@spvs.org.uk noelle morgan bvsc mrcvs qualified from liverpool in 1998, elected to council in 2004. email noelle.lowry@spvs.org.uk. nicky j paull bvsc mrcvs partner in a seven-vet mixed practice in cornwall, qualified from liverpool in 1979. first elected to spvs council in 1994, treasurer 1996/99, membership secretary 1999/2000, president 2001/'02. email nicky.paull@spvs.org.uk. neale j e roach bvsc mrcvs principal of small animal practice in lancashire, qualified from bristol in 1981. previously a member of council from 1993/99 then, after a break, elected once more in 2003. email neale.roach@spvs.org.uk. andrew robinson bvsc certvr certsao certva frcvs principal of small animal practice in derbyshire, qualified from liverpool in 1975. elected to spvs council in 1993, honorary secretary 1995/98, president 2000/01. email andrew.robinson@spvs.org.uk. john taylor ma vetmb mrcvs assistant in a small animal practice in suffolk, qualified from cambridge in 2000. elected to council in 2003. email john.taylor@spvs.org.uk. sue shuttleworth mrcvsqualified from liverpool university in 1979. principal of a five veterinary surgeon small animal practice in rossendale, lancashire. nvq5 management, cmgr, msc(vetgp), working towards a professional doctorate. elected to spvs council may 2005 nick lloyd mrcvsqualified from bristol 2001, elected to council may 2005 mervyn harris bvsc mrcvs partner in mixed practice in wiltshire, member of bva council, qualified from bristol in 1966. after two years in mixed practice in bristol and four years in leicester, started his own practice in 1972 in bradford on avon, now a four centre, six vet practice treating mainly small animals. past president and council member of the mid west veterinary association, and has represented the mwva on bva council since 1984. past member of csac. elected to council in 1998, recent graduate liaison officer 1999/2002, president 2003/04. email mervyn.harris@spvs.org.uk danielle greenberg bvsc mrcvs qualified from liverpool in 1998 then worked in mixed/mainly small animal practice in york before moving to the rspca in manchester in february 2000 to take up a post as a veterinary officer. co-opted onto spvs council 2000/01, elected 2001. email danielle.greenberg@spvs.org.uk. pages/retirement.php||the anval retirement seminar tuesday 14th june 2005 pear tree inn, smite, worcester entitled "retirement strategy for individuals and practices and part time working", this one day course is organised by anval ltd in conjunction with spvs and will cover planning for retirement and how to arrange matters from your own point of view and from that of the practice. the course is suitable for: partners planning to retire or cut down in the next 5-10 years, continuing partners who will need to ensure a smooth transition, practice managers who will be responsible for overseeing the changes within the practice. cost: £170 (including vat ) further information and a registration form from anval ltd at enquiries@anval.co.uk . pages/rgs.php||new graduates' area the society takes the support of recent graduates very seriously, and has a range of services targeted to their needs. reduced membership subscriptions. we understand that money can be tight in the first few years, with student debts to pay off as well as new borrowing taken out for houses, furniture and cars. undergraduate veterinary students can get three years' membership, covering their last year at university plus their first two post-graduate years, for just £20 per year, or £2.50 permonth if paid by direct debit. members up to five years qualified £52.25 (£49.64 if paid before 1st september each year). recent graduate support officer. richard hillman is responsible for the development of services for recent graduates and leads a team of five council members devoted to this role. telephone support is one of the most important roles of the team. it is operated by experienced practitioners who are sympathetic to the needs of the recent graduate but have the knowledge to advise them on all sorts of issues to do with, for example, employment contracts, and professional matters or just to give support at difficult times. richard is always available to discuss any problems that recent graduates may be having, and can be contacted via the society's office, or email rgso@spvs.org.uk. recent graduates' email discussion list. exclusively for those less than five years qualified and who have not become practice owners. an invaluable answer to the problems of isolation and loneliness that beset today's assistants. discuss your troubles with your peers, secure in the knowledge that your boss isn't listening! email the listowner at younglistowner@spvs.org.uk and ask to join the list: you will need to give your name, postal address and date of graduation as well as your email address, so that he can confirm that you are a member of the society and eligible for list membership. alternatively, click here to go to a web application form for this list as well as for the society's main discussion list, which recent graduates are also very welcome to join. cv reading service. before applying for those crucial first jobs have your cv reviewed by a team of experienced employers. the service is free of charge to spvs members and completely confidential. email your cv to the recent graduate support officer at rgso@spvs.org.uk and a report full of constructive criticism will be returned to you, generally within fourteen days. be sure to include your name and address so we can check that you are member of the society. new graduates' pack. this booklet summarises much of the information provided at the spvs educational trust students' seminar held in lancaster each september. it covers such important issues as cv writing, applying for jobs and interview technique as well as practice structure and economics and sources of support. click here to download a copy. information leaflets. a series of personal accounts covering everything from applying for jobs, interview skills, working abroad, the structure of the profession and much more. available to spvs members only, on request from the recent graduate liaison team. click here to email your request: don't forget to include your name and postal address so that they can check that you are a member. reading adverts writing a cv going for an interview first day matching expectations boss talk coping with stress time to move on the structure of the profession vds bva personal accounts of different careers- charity work overseas, intern, pdsa. young spvs snow conference. a new event for 2005 (held in january), this combines high quality cpd targeted at the needs of recent graduates with a great time on skis or snowboards. have some fun with your cpd budget! click here to email the organiser and be sure to be on the mailing list for the 2006 event. salaries survey. make sure that you know what you can expect by way of salary when you attend your first interviews. this survey is conducted annually in january and the report is usually ready in may. all spvs members are automatically sent a copy of the report when it is ready each year. additional copies are available from the society's office, free of charge to members, £99 plus £2.50 post and packing to non-members. mediation service. although targeted at all spvs members, this service can be an invaluable help in employment disputes, resolving disputes face to face and avoiding expensive lawyers and tribunals. click here for more details. spvs membership. the full range of membership benefits is of course available to recent graduates as well as to older members. if you have any ideas for additional recent graduate services, something that you would really like that you don't already provide, email the recent graduate support officer at rgso@spvs.org.uk and let him know. he's there to help. pages/sailtraining.php|| sailtraining june 11th - 17th 2005 sold outphoto gallery cpd on the high seas, aboard 'leader', built 1892 at galmpton on the river dart. after a varied history she is now refitted as she would have been when first built as a gaff ketch. she is 80 feet long on deck, 105 in all. she has accommodation for 12 plus the crew of five, in conditions considerably more comfortable then in 1892! no sailing experience is necessary, although if you have some then you will be given every opportunity to use your skills. with a bit of luck and a fair wind then a voyage to the scillies, the channel islands or the coast of brittany would be possible. it all depends on the weather. the boat will carry a crew of five and a dozen vets, who will get as involved in the sailing as they wish. when did you last read an article in the veterinary record (or elsewhere, for that matter) with a properly critical approach? academics who have to stay abreast of the literature assist each other by means of journal clubs, where they meet and discuss papers which they have read and pool their knowledge. we intend to run a journal club. papers will be chosen for their interest and relevance and all vets will contribute to discussion of the papers, their strengths, weaknesses, value and shortcomings. clinical meetings will be convened around the sailing. this format has worked extremely well in the past and you will read clinical papers better for it when you return to terra firma. click here to download a flier and here to download a registration form. price: £530 plus vat .   pages/sitemap.php||sitemap pages/sources.php||sources of useful information this is one of five glossaries/links pages on this site. each of these glossaries are copyright society of practising veterinary surgeons. you may download them for your own personal use but it may not be distributed in any form whatsoever without prior permission. foreign readers should bear in mind that these have been prepared for the uk. the officers of the society will not give specific advice on legal, insurance or tax matters as we are neither qualified nor insured to do so. we are all practising veterinary surgeons. below are some links to definitive sources of information on a variety of business matters. email the site editor if you know any any other resources that could be included, or any topics that have been omitted. the bva legal helpline is an invaluable resource for bva members and is worth the membership subscription on its own. free confidential legal advice, 24 hours per day, on any subject, business or personal. phone 0870 523 4500 and be ready to quote your membership number (on the wrapper of your veterinary record or ring their membership department on 0207 636 6541) contents taxation vat employment law data protection health and safety credit control general business information miscellaneous client resources taxation - (back to contents list) inland revenue pages include a lot of useful information including basic tax statistics and a faqs page. small business service: a government resource giving information on taxation, employing staff and legislation. chartered association of certified accountants: the site has the facility to search for accountants by area and speciality. one of the listed specialities is veterinary surgeons. payroll giving: guidance for employers who want to set up a scheme for employees to make donations to charity from their wages at source. vat - (back to contents list) hm customs & excise: for your vat queries. employment law - (back to contents list) employment law information on-line. the site is a taster for a cd-based law textbook so the information contained is not in-depth, but it also contains a listing of solicitors specialising in employment law. equality north east, useful one-stop source of equal opportunities employment legislation and information. tailored interactive guidance on employment rights (tiger): a valuable resource provided by the department of trade and industry, for both employers and employees. small business service: a government resource giving information on taxation, employing staff and legislation. acas: as well as information, the site includes free online training modules on aspects of good employment practice. data protection - (back to contents list) data protection registrar: registration criteria, on-line help and information. data protection scams: click to download pdf of letter to a member from his local trading standards office on the subject of scam letters asking for inflated sums for unnecessary data protection registration. includes the address to which to notify such activities. health and safety - (back to contents list) health and safety executive have an on-line enquiry service from their home page, covering all aspects of health and safety in the workplace, also the text of many of their guidance notes. credit control - (back to contents list) better payment practice group: includes information on how to avoid debt and how to choose a debt collection agency. general business information - (back to contents list) federation of small businesses site includes information about the federation and its services, which include lobbying, insurance deals and local contacts. office of fair trading ukstate.com is a new on-line service from the stationery office enabling small business owners to access reliable official information on a wide range of regulatory matters. small business service: a government resource giving information on taxation, employing staff and legislation. business link: a government network of resources offering help and advice on all aspects of starting and running a small or medium-sized business.clearly business: a wide range of resources useful to business people. some are commercial and chargeable (and do not come with any spvs endorsement or recommendation) but many are free. connect online: from the small business service, a resource library covering many areas of business management. miscellaneous - (back to contents list) telephone directory enquiries - free on-line search, save the cost of a phoned enquiry. better payment practice group: information and advice on credit control, including a suite of debt collection letters available for free download. disability.gov.uk: government information on disability-related issues in the workplace. client resources - (back to contents list) this section lists sites that might be of use to clients seeking further information or support regarding their pet's condition. note that these sites are not endorsed or vetted by the spvs: you must make your own assessment of their worth before recommending them to your clients. disabled animals club anti-docking alliance pages/sunscene.php||spvs/ intervet sunscene 27th august to 3rd september 2005 club perili, datca, turkey a repeat of last year's highly successful event, combining warm water sailing and other watersports with high quality cpd. susan dawson will be speaking on "emerging diseases". the club perili offers excellent instruction and rescue facilities, and families are welcome. the unique "perili kosk", meaning fairy castle, offers an unforgettable experience. built in an ottoman style with beautiful gardens and traditional turkish charm no two rooms are identical, but all have air conditioning and ensuite facilities. email the office for a registration form. price: £985 per person (sharing twin or double room) plus £150 (plus vat ) registration fee for spvs members, £200 plus vat for non-members. pages/tn.php|| pages/vshsp.php||veterinary surgeons' health support programme the veterinary surgeons' health support programme (vshsp) has been established by the veterinary profession to help combat problems of alcohol and drug abuse or addiction amongst a proportion of its members. the programme aims to increase awareness by providing information and advice on alcohol and drug abuse and addiction and, for those in need of help to overcome an alcohol or drug problem, to provide guidance and assistance in procuring appropriate treatment and progressing successfully through the recovery process. the health support programme for veterinary surgeons is based on similar schemes which have been available to members of the dental and of the pharmaceutical professions, and have operated successfully, over several years. the essential components of the programme are: awareness - informing and educating members and their families of the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse and addiction, and how to recognise the problem; and to make them aware that help is readily available. identification - encouraging family, colleagues, staff or others concerned that a veterinary surgeon may have an alcohol or drug problem to seek help on his/her behalf, in total confidence. verification - accumulating sufficient substantive information to ensure that the veterinary surgeon has a problem and is in need of help. intervention - approaching the veterinary surgeon and, by a sympathetic but informed process, helping him/her to recognise his/her problem and to accept help. this approach will be undertaken by programme carers, at least one of whom will be a recovered alcoholic or drug addict. referral - arranging for the ailing veterinary surgeon to be referred for appropriate treatment. practical support - arranging assistance to deal with problems affecting the veterinary surgeon`s family, practice staff, etc., and, where appropriate, professional colleagues. peer and other support - establishing peer support for the veterinary surgeon during treatment and arranging for aftercare facilities, including introduction to alcoholics anonymous or narcotics anonymous and to other health professionals in recovery. monitoring - maintaining contact with and providing encouragement and support when the veterinary surgeon returns to professional duties. what are the day to day signs of addictive disease? being withdrawn and not associating with former friends .. .. .. inappropriate dispensing and drug ordering, keeping large stocks of controlled drugs in the surgery deterioration in general health, increased visits to the doctor   reduced fee income cancelling appointments without warning, especially on monday mornings   secretive about income and debts smelling of drink or appearing unsteady   domestic problems become evident increased/numerous client complaints   prosecution for drink driving etc. deterioration in appearance or personal hygiene   loss of interest in hobbies correspondence neglected and bills not paid   personality changes and mood swings. nurses often notice this. because of denial, very few addicted vets ask for help themselves. others who perceive the problem and recognise that a vet is incapable of asking for help often need to intervene. the vshsp is autonomous and totally confidential for those needing help and for those seeking help for others. its primary purpose is the welfare of colleagues in need. it is recognised that the path to recovery offered by the profession's own health support programme is not the only one available to a veterinary surgeon but it is hoped that those seeking help or advice will make use of this freely available, confidential service by contacting the vshsp programme co-ordinator on telephone number 01926 315119 or email jcrwillis@btinternet.com. pages/whatis.php||what is the society of practising veterinary surgeons the society of practising veterinary surgeons was founded in 1933 with the aim of promoting the interests of veterinary surgeons in private practice. the society is a division of the bva and concentrates primarily on matters of practice management and finance providing a source of information for both partners and assistants. there are many problems facing today's practitioners, and the economic climate of the 21st century poses challenges to all businesses, veterinary practice included.the society exists to offer advice and practical guidance to practitioners. society meetings move around the country to cover as much of the membership as possible. currently we hold one-day roadshows for professional and support staff, together with in-depth one and two day seminars on a variety of management topics. we utilise the skills of professionals from outside the profession as well as experienced veterinary surgeons with particular expertise. education combined with sociability have always been a keynote for spvs. snowscene, usually in february, combines a lecture course with healthy exercise on the slopes. the annual congress and agm caters for the whole family, offering lectures, sporting competitions and elegant social occasions in comfortable surroundings. the society produces a bi-monthly bulletin which is sent automatically to all members, together with survey reports, guidance notes and other materials of value to the practitioner. the society operates an email discussion list for members, where they can discuss any aspect of life in practice in a friendly and informal atmosphere. the society also produces an annual yearbook, which gives practitioners across the country an overview of the issues of the day that can affect them as well as a useful source of practical information that they will want to refer to time and time again. this is sent free of charge to all uk practices. the society's council meets three times per year, discussing all aspects of current development within the profession, and gives considerable time to bva policy matters and the papers produced for bva council. the society has two representatives on bva council and has always been keen to give the society's views in debate on matters of concern to the profession. council identifies issues of concern and establishes working parties to investigate and establish policy or guidelines on matters concerning all age-groups of the profession. this is clearly seen from the list of publications which are available to the membership. the society supports the vet helpline and is represented on the steering committee. the society also supports the veterinary surgeons' health support programme (vshsp), which offers practical help and advice to veterinary surgeons with addictive problems. the society has a recent graduate support officer, who will do his best to assist new graduates with any problems that they may be experiencing as they settle into their new life in practice. his name is richard hillman and he can be contacted via the society's office, or email rgso@spvs.org.uk. the society runs a confidential mediation service to try to settle matters of dispute within and between practices. the need for this was identified in a survey of recent graduates which, among other things, showed that many were unhappy about their conditions of employment and the way that promises made at interview had not been kept, but were reluctant to enter the formality and expense of legal proceedings or industrial tribunal. we hope that this new service will provide an inexpensive, informal and confidential way of settling such disputes that both parties will find acceptable. the society tries to negotiate special rates for its members for a variety of services, such as preferential rates for credit card processing offered through the hsbc bank and a 10% discount on titles purchased from the elsevier science online catalogue. docs/bulletin/images|| docs/bulletin/Jan98.htm|| bulletin 1/98 spvs bulletin january 1998 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with the titles of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. the care and use of drugs in practicethis is a summary of a talk given to prospective veterinary surgeons at the spvs student seminar at lancaster by bas hardy. importance of controls. drugs and vaccines account for a sizeable part of any practice's turnover and profit. in small animal practice, vaccines may represent up to 20% of turnover and in large animal practice drugs used and drug sales may well represent more than 60% of turnover. if drugs and vaccines are abused, they may well not perform their desired functions. clients are increasingly better trained and observant. it is not just pet-owning pharmacists, hospital consultants, doctors and pharmacy dispensers or nurses who might question your actions. employees from a whole range of industries and services are working, day in, day out, within quality procedure systems and customer-care requirements. on farms, one meets, on a daily basis, not just the agriculture graduate and others who have been trained at national or college diploma level but also many farm workers will have the nptc certificate, including training on drug storage, handling and use on the farm. none of the above is happy when confronted with careless drug handling. such things as using out of date or part-used bottles, unlabelled or poorly labelled bottles with poor instructions or safety warnings should be things of the past. drug licensing and industry regulation lead to a safe and efficacious product of consistent quality and it is important the drug is stored properly after it leaves the wholesalers to maintain these characteristics. thus, we must store, handle, dispense, transport, use and dispose of these drugs correctly. professional responsibilities. the pharmaceutical profession has come to grips with these problems. pharmacists must maintain their standards and are subject to premises' inspections and audits as well as maintaining documented ethical standards and conducting formal self-audits. vets, of course, must comply with the law and are expected to observe the bva codes of practice and guides such as the noah guide to safe storage. we should remember that the eu is about competition and quality. pharmacists and merchants have formal training and premises' inspections and in order to protect our right to dispense we must ensure that our own standards are high. responsible persons. the practice supervisor, be he or she vet or practice manager, should lay down the requirements for the way a practice is organised and worked to optimise the service to patients and clients, whilst also remaining within the law. these requirements should all be documented in a booklet of practice rules or standard operating procedures (sops) and obviously should include health and safety policy as well as rules on drug storage and usage. it is a good idea to have someone at the practice who is responsible for drug updates, bringing to everyone's attention changes in a drug's use or indications, and monitoring the changes in each new edition of the compendium when it comes out (changes are highlighted in the compendium by a vertical line in the margin). a "drug" notice board is a good way of not only informing staff of relevant changes in drug usage and new products but can also be used to inform and remind staff of changes in practice policy with regard to drugs. obviously, such a notice board must be positioned in a place where it may be readily seen. some details. correct labelling is important, both to enable vaccines and drugs to be easily identified for appropriate temperature storage and to aid dispensing. drugs often have to be stored within a set temperature range and it is important that we are aware of this. if the label says under 25'c, then we need to know that in summer our dispensaries do not go above this temperature. equally, some products must not be stored below 0'c, so our rooms and our cars must not fall below freezing in winter. regulations also apply to vials taken out of boxes and these should be noted and adhered to. all fridges should have a maximum/minimum thermometer which should be periodically re-calibrated and a record of the (preferably daily) temperatures should be maintained. specialised pharmacy fridges are available from at least three manufacturers. practices should have a procedure for drugs in the boot because in the car temperature changes in summer and winter may be more marked: keeping drugs in the car to minimum day to day needs is advisable. maintaining cleanliness and hygiene in the boot of a car is as important as on the practice premises; security is another factor if drugs are stored in the car. audits. regular audits of the drugs in the practice, including drugs in the fridge and all the cars will help to minimise problems and will also curtail financial losses due to unbooked items. audits will also continually ensure that suitable storage for a drug is separate, designated, secure, protected and appropriate to comply with the law, codes and data sheets. noting on the vials the date when they are first broached is a good idea. part-used vials of doubtful history should always be discarded. finally, we should never forget our obligation to report any suspected adverse reactions to drugs on the yellow forms provided for this purpose in each edition of the compendium. the bva runs a regular course in veterinary pharmacy which includes such topics as the storage of drugs, pharmacy rules, prescribing, dispensing, medicated feed requirements, sops, coshh and vds experiences. details can be obtained from the bva at 7 mansfield street, london w1m oat. other articles in the january 1998 spvs bulletin include: first impressions count: a review of the roadshows delegates to the spvs roadshows were treated to a programme about first impressions: kenelm lewis and michael clarke report. the orange deal: orange tops what cellphone survey. ergometrics in the workplace harry-steele-bodger memorial scholarship now available. highlights from the spvs council meeting on 2nd december 1997 a new variant of cpd: penny lazarus outlines some of the current problems. the working time directive: what is it and how can it affect you? "pets, pets, pets" roadshows: letter giving information about the shows and seeking volunteer vets for these events. report of spvs past presidents' dinner. the bulletin is published for the society of practising veterinary surgeons by veterinary business development ltd. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/March98.htm||bulletin march 1998 spvs bulletin march 1998 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with the titles of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. setting up a local veterinary groupgood communication between vets in a close geographical area helps to preserve friendly relations with neighbouring practices, lets you see the faces of vets who may otherwise just be a voice on the end of the phone and allows local practices to discuss, and act on, problems that may affect them all. setting up a local veterinary group is one way to get vets together. here, neale roach summarises the history of the preston veterinary group. this group started life in 1988 after the efforts of neale roach and andy hutcheson. andy had apparently been thinking about starting such a group for some years but it needed some additional impetus to get it up and running. the concept was to form a group that represented every practice in the (bt-based) preston area, i.e. all those practices with a preston phone number. later, the group expanded to include all practices with a preston postcode and now we also invite colleagues from practices in neighbouring towns! non-clinical business meeting the initial set-up involved personally speaking to the principal or a partner in each individual practice to enquire if he or she would attend a non-clinical business meeting of all the local practices: all agreed. there was a little trepidation from some colleagues in sitting next to their competitors at a meeting which was why we decided to organise the meeting together rather than just one of us on our own. subsequently, the venue, date, time and format of meeting were decided and appropriate details mailed out. the initial format was to gather privately round a table with a semi-formal agenda to discuss matters of mutual interest and concern. we provided refreshments - tea, coffee, soft drinks and light snacks - and ?the first meeting took place one evening in the meeting room at the offices of a friendly solicitor and it lasted about two and a half hours. evening meetings over time, some practices dropped out and the net widened to take other interested practices on board. the group became nomadic for a while and now we have settled on a format of an evening meeting in a meeting room at the local post graduate medical centre: neale roach is a member of the pgmc and this allows free room costs, with coffee and tea only being provided. all participants pay about £3 each to cover costs. the group meets once a year and we aim to rattle through everything in about two hours. we have now instigated a management slot of 10-15 minutes, "how i do xxx in my practice", which we run in turns at every meeting. last time we had: "how i handle the new client in my practice" and "a practice survey of our clients". we mail a notice out approximately four weeks beforehand to notify everyone and provide a rough agenda. a record of the meeting is made and minutes mailed out a few weeks later. in previous meetings we have invited outside speakers for discussion - rspca regional manager, maff vets, etc. - on the thought that if there is a problem, then try to discuss and resolve rather than just carp on about it. a typical agenda for a meeting could be as below: review of last meeting. cpl. rspca. the police. microchips. bad debtors. sa matters. management topics. aob. next meeting. the format of meetings and their contents are entirely up to the vets attending and you can discuss whatever you like. there will be topics introduced by other vets that you will never have thought of or considered! well worth the effort? in summary, it does involve a small amount of work for the "secretary", but otherwise donating two to three hours per annum to meet on a business basis with all the other practices in the area is well worth the effort. it helps to meet the vets in other practices and put a face to a name and it does encourage strong inter-practice relations other articles in the march 1998 spvs bulletin include: microchipping mayhem? the introduction of a standardised microchip and the regulation of these and the reader network has been much in the news in recent months. this article separates fact from fiction. cpd - distance learning using cds puppy parties: two views - part one. the harry steele-bodger memorial scholarship 1998 still available. first aid and the riddor regulations. spvs/bvha register of recommended designers. spvs internet site shows rapid growth. spvs members make a clean sweep in the veterinary business journal awards. rcvs council elections - list of spvs members who are standing. notice of the annual general meeting. the bulletin is published for the society of practising veterinary surgeons by veterinary business development ltd. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/Nov97.htm|| bulletin 11/97 spvs bulletin november 1997 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with the titles of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. keeping wild animals as pets: council of europe conventionsthe council of europe produces conventions which may or may not be ratified by member nations. the conventions relating to stray animals, keeping wild animals as pets, and to mutilations are currently being revised. keeping wild animals as pets has been revised by fred nind and is presented below. uevp (the european union of veterinary practitioners) and fecava (the federation of companion animal veterinary associations) represent all veterinary surgeons practising companion animal veterinary medicine in europe. the practising veterinarian is in a unique position to appreciate the benefits and problems associated with keeping pet animals and is also in the premier position to understand the welfare problems created. the term "wild animals" needs stricter definition. while it is unlikely to apply to a siamese cat and probably does apply to a lion, it is not clear whether it covers tropical parrots or reptiles. uevp and fecava appreciate that there are welfare concerns associated with the keeping of certain species in captivity and also that the management under which the animal is maintained may be more important in defining whether there is an acceptable or unacceptable welfare standard. we feel that rather than calling for a blanket ban on the keeping of wild animals as pets, it is more productive to define the terms and conditions under which such species may be maintained: 1. rare species species which are listed under cites (the convention on the international trade in endangered species) should not normally be maintained as pets. but the species recorded in the cites appendices change with time. testudo graecei (tortoise) was a popular pet in many northern european counties. under suitable conditions of husbandry they can live for many decades. the species was added to cites appendix 1 in 1985. it would be quite unreasonable to expect the many thousands of members of the public keeping this species to now dispose of them. pere david's deer are kept as non-commercial livestock in various parks. they are extinct in the wild. their very survival, therefore, depends on them being kept as "companion animals". recommendation. species listed under cites as endangered or threatened should not be the subject of international movement in any form for keeping as companion animals. breeding of species already in captivity should be permitted or even encouraged and trade in such captive animals should be permitted under licence. 2. dangerous or venomous species in general, dangerous or venomous species should not be kept as companion animals. the problem arises in defining the term dangerous. most animals can inflict injury if provoked and some can certainly be said to be dangerous. recommendation. no dangerous or venomous species should be permitted to be kept as companion animals except under specific licence from the competent authority. lists should be drawn up giving all species regarded as dangerous or venomous. 3. management many of the problems associated with the keeping of so-called wild species relate to the conditions under which they are kept. sometimes mistakes in this field are the result of ignorance by the owner rather than deliberate cruelty. gregarious intelligent species such as macaws should not be kept in isolation. species normally ranging widely in their home environment should not be kept in a cage too small to do this, e.g. chipmunks. recommendation. prospective owners of exotic species should be required to demonstrate that they have sufficient understanding of the requirements of the particular species to look after it properly, rather as a driving licence indicates proficiency to drive a car. 4. age of owner some exotic species are more commonly kept as children's pets than others. recommendation. live animals should not be given as prizes and should not be purchased by anyone under the age of consent. 5. keeping exotic species keeping animals as pets has been demonstrated to be beneficial for human health and welfare. heart attack survivors given a cage bird to look after had a risk of a second heart attack which was considerably lower than those given a pot plant. companion animals visiting hospitals and old people's homes considerably benefit human patients. dogs and cats are not suitable pets for all situations. dogs can constitute a noise disturbance to neighbours. cats may be unsuitable for people with allergies to their fur. pet owners may not be able to afford the upkeep of these species. recommendation. keeping of so-called exotic species should be permitted where the requirements laid down above have been fulfilled. other articles in the november 1997 spvs bulletin include: the production of transgenic animals for food. using vdus safely "the art of veterinary medicine": a participant reports on the spvs seminar for final-year students held at lancaster university from 18th-21st september 1997. a short course in public relations: humourous piece contributed by paul manning. spvs practice leaflets, compendium and guide: appeal for feedback from users. cpd recording harry-steele-bodger memorial scholarship now available. the bulletin is published for the society of practising veterinary surgeons by veterinary business development ltd. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/jan00.htm|| spvs bulletin january 2000 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with the titles of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. alternative methods for the provision of out-of-hours cover by the veterinary profession this is an important and relevant paper prepared by nic blayney: every veterinary surgeon should read it. your responsibilities to your patients: "a veterinarian must make proper arrangements if in general practice for the provision of 24-hour emergency cover for all species, and at all times, including house calls on the rare occasions when these may be necessary. (this applies equally to veterinarians employed by charities providing general veterinary services, to veterinarians working in neutering clinics, and to referring veterinarians who must identify another source of emergency referral if necessary)".(rcvs guide to professional conduct, november 1999) 24-hour cover: the profession's responsibility and burden. the veterinary profession is undergoing change. newer generations of veterinary surgeons have lifestyles that differ in substance and ambition from those of their predecessors. workers in many different spheres have greater expectation of leisure time; this is true of the veterinary profession also and coupled with the gender shift that this profession is experiencing along with other professions. the working time directive might also have an impact on working patterns. the veterinary profession has one burden which most other professions do not share: its members are obliged under the terms of membership of the rcvs to provide veterinary attention in emergency at all times. the obligation rests upon every member of the profession, including part-time workers. comparison of the job advertisements in the veterinary record now and 20 years ago demonstrates that the conditions offered have changed in many respects, including on-call duty rotas expected of assistant veterinary surgeons. rotas of one in three and one in two were commonplace; newer graduates are seeking employment with a duty rota of not worse than one in four and better (quo vadis survey 1998). the veterinary profession seems to suffer more than most from stress-related disorders. no serious attempt has yet been made to identify the reasons for this although many reasons have been postulated: the ambitious "type a" nature of the individuals who seek to join the profession, working hours, the expectations of the clients and the expectations by vets of their own ability, have all been put forward. for many practitioners, the prospect of night and weekend duty is a major burden that prevents them from enjoying their relaxation which is an essential part of a balanced personal and productive professional life. it has been accepted that the provision of emergency cover was in addition to normal working hours; this is a paradigm that is now being questioned. the profession has been justifiably proud of its reputation for providing care for its patients at all times. the desire to uphold this tenet seems to be weakening. methods of reducing the load it imposes are being examined throughout the country. the traditional picture was one of each practice providing a service for its own clients using its own staff. sole practitioners shouldered the load at all times. in all areas there would be a significant number of veterinarians available to offer, by and large, a quick and convenient service. the time given to the practice in this manner generates very little income but inconveniences a large number of vets. new ideas are coming forward which involve practices sharing the load. little has yet been written about the practicalities of developing these ideas into practice, with the exception of one recent article [hyde, p. (1997) "open all hours - is it really necessary?" in practice 19: 511-514]. the advantages to practitioners in terms of improved lifestyle are tantalising. perhaps we have been too much at the beck and call of our clients. perhaps clients are less loyal than they used to be and therefore do not deserve the levels of professionalism that have been delivered in the past. the present paper is intended to examine the issues involved and provide some principles upon which practitioners might develop their own ideas. reservations and objections. veterinary surgeons have been reluctant to move towards shared duty rotas in the past because of many concerns that have been held. one definition of 'professional' is precisely that the professional person puts the client's interest before his or her own; veterinary surgeons have habitually put their clients' interests before their own when it comes to providing out-of-hours cover. veterinary surgeons tend to guard their clients jealously and fear that if the client is not seen by a member of the practice, he or she has not been properly served. difficulties and complaints are thought more likely to arise when a client is attended by an unknown veterinary surgeon. there are often differences in style and culture between practices that might become obvious to clients with potential for dissatisfaction. it may be perceived that the practice is not 'pulling its weight' if it is not providing the same level of personal service as a practice which does all its own duties. clients are going to be distressed by having to visit premises they are not familiar with. a duty veterinary surgeon covering the work of a number of neighbouring practices may be too busy to offer a prompt service or less inclined to treat clients of neighbouring practices with the same care and attention. larger practices with a less onerous duty rota might be less inclined to help smaller practices and thereby make their lives easier. one of the reasons for enlarging a practice has been to improve the duty rota. sharing duties requires a greater degree of organisation and communication between practices and is not just a matter of 'putting the phones through'. practitioners may have concerns about the distances their clients are asked to travel. they may also be concerned that their clients will find it more complicated to seek veterinary attention out of hours. some practices habitually offer their clients a service out of hours based on the perceived needs of the client rather than the genuine needs of the animal. that is the right of each veterinary surgeon to decide but one where policy might vary from practice to practice. all these reservations might cross the mind of a veterinary surgeon contemplating the prospect of moving towards duty sharing with other practices. in the course of the preparation of this paper, the author has discussed these issues widely with practitioners involved in all sorts of shared duty rotas; the overwhelming opinion of these individuals is that such reservations, which may well have been shared initially, prove to be groundless. with co-operation, organisation and good intentions between practices, alternative forms of emergency cover can be made to work effectively with no greater levels of client dissatisfaction than hitherto; and the benefits to the profession far outweigh the disadvantages. large animal and equine practice have their own idiosyncrasies. the relationship between a practice and its agricultural clients is often extremely close and founded over a long time such that visiting vets carry out their duties based on an intimate knowledge of the attitudes and aspirations of the farmer. the approach can vary from farm to farm. the difficulties facing a veterinary surgeon new to a practice in getting to know the farm clients needs no explanation to any vet who has been in that position. an understanding of a farmer's abilities and skills (and even where the farm is!) makes the job of his veterinary surgeon easier. a veterinary surgeon visiting at night without knowledge of the farm and perhaps having a different style of practice might be seen to be at a disadvantage. the likelihood of dissatisfaction might be greater with potential consequences. equine practice is also intensely personal and there is often competition between practices, based on the greater lack of client loyalty that seems to punctuate equine practice. long travelling distances are often involved. in these two areas of practice it is harder to envisage an easy move to shared duty rotas, especially to the more sophisticated arrangements than simply sharing duties, and will depend upon the existing relationship between practices, the intensity of competition, the degree of trust, the levels of expertise, the travelling distances involved and the economic outlook of each sector. the rapidly changing agricultural sector is currently putting a number of mixed practices under a strain where they have found their farm client base shrinking. there could soon be areas of the country where there will be difficulty on the part of increasingly small animal-orientated practices to provide emergency cover for farmers who contribute very little to the practice income during the day. the sense of professional duty can only go so far, especially when levels of expertise may no longer be adequate and there is a risk of professional liability actions resulting from unsuccessful treatment. little more can be said about these sectors other than that there are large animal schemes operating within the country so the problems are not insurmountable. the rest of the paper concentrates upon small animal practice. standards of service. any intention to change the manner in which out-of-hours cover is provided must include the commitment that the new level of service shall be at least as good, if not better, for the patients under our care than previous arrangements. this must relate to facilities, staff and the ease with which clients can obtain emergency attention in time of need. the distances that clients have to travel must be reasonable. this is one of the major constraints to the development of shared rotas in many rural areas where practices can be considerable distances apart, further than clients would really wish to travel. an interesting observation of those practitioners involved in arrangements which involve clients driving longer distances than hitherto is that the complaints received from clients are extremely few, as long as the standards of care then received are perceived to be satisfactory. however, such complaints have been received and some clients have changed to an alternative practice as a result. in several instances the limitation upon the growth of emergency clinics has been the size of the catchment area and the limitation has been recognised by the profession rather than its clients. record keeping. it is absolutely paramount that a system of record keeping is used by all participants which allows the prompt and efficient transmission of relevant information about a case. there may be difficulties with regard to complex cases (such as diabetics) where it might prove difficult for the attending vet to obtain all the information about previous treatment. there must be an agreed protocol for the manner in which information is recorded and passed on and it must be done according to an agreed policy. the absence of clinical notes or their late arrival will do nothing to gain the confidence of clients. transportation of cases. the ethics of transporting sick or injured animals must be addressed; it may well be that the interests of the animal might be better served by not being transported from the initial attending practice. these matters need to be agreed in advance of the problem to avoid disagreements, especially those which might come to the attention of the client. complications that arise from recent surgery (such as the haemorrhaging bitch spay) need to be addressed. such cases will arise and a policy needs to be in place to uphold the good name of all practices involved. the question of the nature of ownership of the practice can present many obstacles. the structures for providing out-of-hours services. the manner in which a few individuals may shoulder the workload of many veterinary surgeons out-of-hours falls into four main structures: a shared duty rota between the veterinary surgeons of neighbouring practices; a separate out-of-hours practice owned and run by a group of practices; one practice providing the service for neighbours; an emergency clinic that is only open out of normal working hours. the first option is quite evidently the simplest and cheapest to set up in the short-term; the others evolve from it. after discussions with operators of all such schemes, a few points emerged which applied to any approach. the problem which was cited most frequently was that of agreeing who managed the scheme and how difficult it proved to establish a common operations policy - but that these decisions were vital. partners in relatively small partnerships will be aware of the occasional difficulties of achieving consensus of view; such problems are experienced between practices in establishing and running these out-of-hours schemes. another point raised was that without mutual trust and respect, any scheme would fail: a common observation was that through the establishment of shared schemes inter-practice communication and co-operation had been seen to increase. each scheme will be examined in some detail. there are several factors to consider, including staffing, equipment, ownership and finance. a shared duty rota between neighbouring practices. this is in essence the simplest arrangement. neighbouring practices simply cover each other's night work. however, there are several matters that will need to be ironed out and agreed if the system is to work effectively. the fear of client supercession is commonly raised in this context and all participants must be of the same opinion that they will do their utmost to avoid this happening. experience suggests that it is a much overrated fear. differences in charging policy between practices must not become an issue. most participating practices have agreed a price list, which applies out-of-hours to all practices. all practices must be confident in the attitudes and expertise in all the other practices involved and that it will be possible to support each other's decisions and treatment. duty rotas must be drawn up fairly and well in advance. practices which are not already achieving that are probably not ready to get involved in duty sharing. many different approaches to the matter of collecting fees have been devised. there are some complicated systems involving apportionment of fees and even turnover-related bonuses to vets involved. by far the simplest idea is that the duty vet collects the fee at the time and his or her practice keeps it. it is likely to be as fair as any other system in the long run. the actual mechanics of phone answering need to be agreed. some practices still feel that mobile phones are not sufficiently reliable. in general, the systems for out-of-hours cover need to be slightly more formal than the fairly relaxed systems which apply internally in many practices. the standards need to be the same for all participants. whether an answerphone message is involved and whether by this means the client is advised of the costs involved is something which needs to be decided. a unified approach is essential. the new (november 1999) guide to professional conduct encourages members to be forthright about their fees. occasional complaints are received from clients because the charges levied out-of-hours are greater than expected and come as a shock to those clients who have not stopped to think before calling a vet. on the other hand, some clients perceive quoting of charges to be an attempt to avoid turning out. it is difficult to conceive of a policy that will satisfy all clients but certainly all practices must have an agreed approach. other practical matters need to be agreed. will the client be seen at his or her own practice or at the duty practice? will cases be handed over to the client's practice as soon as is practicable? saturday arrangements often differ between practices: at which point will the duty vet take over? there are some shared rotas which only apply to weekends or even just sundays. the costs of setting up such a system are minimal. the result is that colleagues are on duty less frequently but probably are busier when they are. time on duty can more easily be rewarded by time off in lieu. there are many practices which are slightly overstaffed in order to spread ??the load of night duties. a shared rota may well pave the way for lower staffing levels during the day. since there are no costs directly attributable for the out-of-hours work, there need not be an attempt to make the service self-financing. that is not to say that it would be an unwise decision to examine this aspect. the main disadvantage of this system is that the same veterinary surgeons are involved day and night. their time may be better rewarded but the requirement to be part of the duty rota remains. changes in membership of such schemes can be accommodated easily. purpose night practice owned and run by participating practices. in more urban areas with large catchment areas, practices can band together to run a separate emergency clinic at dedicated premises. there are several such schemes running successfully. there are many complexities to such an approach, sufficient to make some schemes founder. there must be enough practices within a reasonable geographic area that might choose to secure a premises and then run it as an emergency clinic. the advantages of such a scheme are that all participating practices are relieved of the burden of duties. night staff can be employed in a dedicated centre, well enough equipped to serve a large population of clients. this separate entity needs to run as such. it requires its own equipment as well as staff. there are costs in providing a building. a considerable amount of time must be spent setting the system up and managing it. initial injection of capital will be required. this has been achieved in some instances by running such a system from participating practices using their own facilities and diverting the income into a fund to accumulate capital. the question of the nature of the ownership of the practice can present many obstacles, even if all parties are broadly in agreement. in essence, a separate practice is being founded, owned in some form by the participating practices. with buildings, stock and equipment, the matter of ownership becomes very important. there are many different methods of ownership. the fixed assets can be owned by a limited company, a mutual association (in much the same way as many golf clubs are 'owned' by their members and, similarly, the manner in which one drug wholesaler is structured) or a partnership in the conventional manner. the night practice can then rent the premises and carry out its function. alternatively, the whole entity of assets and trading company can be jointly owned. a difficulty seems to be the large number of individual veterinary surgeons from several different practices, all of whom have an interest in the project and, therefore, a say in its running. several such organisations have appointed trustees who develop and manage the practice according to guidelines decided by all participants. whilst the original will and energy may be present to get the operation off the ground, considerable thought has to be given to suitable agreements between participating practices and individuals to allow for the smooth transference of ownership and responsibility in the future. the advantage of group ownership is that it will be supported by those practices having an interest. it can be extremely difficult to dismantle a partnership agreement that was drawn up in haste and the first flush of enthusiasm! there are many factors to consider; for example, the investment potential in the property and tax implications. quite clearly, joint and separate legal and accountancy advice must be sought at an early stage. premises. the choosing of a suitable site is something that could have an impact on the success of the venture. the emergency clinic needs to be easy to find; most of the clients will be visiting it for the first time. it needs to be secure and in an area where such nocturnal activities will not cause complaint. the emergency premises would be closed during the day. finance. such a model requires sufficient workload to make it financially viable. it is possible to measure the income generated out-of-hours and also the costs of providing the service. the emergency workload of around 30 vets would seem to be the target. participants would have to be satisfied with breaking even. few do more than that. a retainer may need to be paid by participants to ensure viability. staffing. sufficient workload in one place allows fees to be generated that can pay a veterinary surgeon and support staff appropriately for working antisocial hours and provide the incentive to work hard. one view is that the salary for working weekends should be sufficient to take the weekdays off, allowing the staff to be fresh. however, this has proved contentious in practice. those individuals who are sufficiently motivated to work hard weekends tend to want to work weeks as well but move on to pastures new after a while. staffing of such a clinic can be a major headache for the manager. it seems to be easier to employ support staff willing to stay for longer periods than veterinary surgeons. recruiting is not always easy. experience suggests that it is not always a good idea to use local vets who are moonlighting? since they are not fresh enough to perform properly. there are potential problems with the working time directive that would need to be ironed out before employing people rather than facing the issue later on in a dispute. it has proved difficult to staff some clinics entirely independently of the participating vets and problematic areas of the duty rota have to be covered by participating vets. back-up cover might also be required from the participating practices. management. this model is an extension of the partnerships which set it up. it can be unwieldy to run with multiple partners' meetings. those individuals who have invested time and energy and their practice reputation in the venture can feel entitled to a say in the direction. with the best will in the world, it can be difficult to take speedy management decisions in such a forum. an individual from the partnership must be entrusted with the day-to-day decisions at least for a period of time. this eats into their own practice management time. the appointment of a full-time manager may well be the answer, with the costs being reflected in the fees charged. the risks of client succession are entirely obviated since the clinic is closed when other practices are open. high levels of service can be expected from a vet and nursing and reception staff who are keen to work. workload. under orthodox arrangements veterinary surgeons on duty feel entitled to decline to turn out simply to allay the fears of a client if, in their professional opinion, attendance is not required. in the event of clients ringing the emergency clinic, they will never be refused. thus, such a clinic tends to create rather more work than a duty vet. the decision to attend rests solely with the client. another phenomenon that has been observed is that of clients attending the clinic who are not registered with any of the participating practices but who are prepared to pay extra for the convenience of having their dog vaccinated at three o'clock in the morning! clients can be assisted if required by the provision of an ambulance or a co-operative taxi firm who will know where to find the clinic. it can be understood that there are many difficulties with a clinic set up and run by a group of practices. these problems are surmountable. the advantage of group ownership is that it will be supported by those practices having an interest in it and that it will be run to their satisfaction. an alternative is a separately owned entity serving all the practices of the area. independent emergency clinic. the concept is a practice run like any other but it is only open out-of-hours. all the aggravations are shouldered by the principal or partners. it is considerably simpler than a group ownership but, to be successful, must satisfy the practices that support it. the financial considerations are similar to group ownership; it might also require a retainer from participating practices. it has been observed that emergency clinics could be made more profitable by using the building for other purposes during the day. this could be as a veterinary practice, which comes back to the prospect of one practice providing the service for the others in the area. there is reluctance amongst practitioners to back such an idea because of the risk of losing clients to a practice perceived as offering a better service than their own. this obstacle can be overcome; one of the limitations of the stand-alone practice is the cost of the premises; the premises could be used 24 hours a day if different personnel offered a night service which was separate to the day practice. a clear understanding of the difference between the day staff and the night staff and probably a clearly different name and approach has proved sufficient to make such a system feasible. this saves considerably on the costs and duplication of equipment. many practices are now successfully providing such a service. professional indemnity insurance in emergency clinics. the development of external emergency services is a move away from the typical patterns of veterinary practice. whilst a veterinary surgeon is working in an emergency clinic of any type, he or she should be properly insured with professional indemnity insurance to an appropriate magnitude of potential claim. the veterinary defence society is watching with interest the development of emergency clinics and would advise the proprietors of these clinics to discuss their particular arrangements with their professional indemnity insurers. under the terms of the vds policy, all veterinary surgeons working in a practice must be insured with the society. in the situation where a veterinary surgeon from such a member practice works part-time on the duty roster at an emergency clinic, the vds would not seek to collect another premium and cover would be provided for any action brought against that veterinary surgeon relating to work done at the emergency clinic. practitioners insured through other organisations should check if cover extends beyond the practice that pays the pii premium. other pii schemes do not necessarily function in the same manner as vds and individual veterinary surgeons may find themselves vulnerable when working at an emergency clinic. there is no doubt that the profession wishes to offer its clientele an effective out-of-hours service. it behoves all veterinary surgeons involved to check that they are properly insured (and that they are not infringing the terms of their employment contracts in working at an emergency clinic); and it behoves every manager of an emergency clinic to ensure that all professional and support staff are properly insured. veterinary hospitals. the veterinary hospital standards require someone directly involved in the nursing of patients to be on the hospital premises 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. the standards go on to say that: "the services of the veterinary hospital must be available at all times and a veterinary surgeon must attend daily." this means that a client of a veterinary hospital can rightly expect to be seen out-of-hours at the veterinary hospital - hospitals are not allowed to send their out-of-hours clients to another practice (even another veterinary hospital). however, veterinary hospitals may act as the emergency centre for neighbouring practices; they may also employ other veterinary surgeons as locums (possibly from neighbouring practices) to attend out-of-hours calls at the veterinary hospital. bvha policy is that the status of "hospital" requires the provision of hospital level care 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. referral practices with the development of referral practices with more than one specialist in several disciplines, the prospect of genuine, round the clock availability of specialist expertise starts to become a possibility. however, this is the exception, and it is noteworthy that currently few, if any universities, referral practices or other institutions have sufficient diplomate or specialist clinicians to provide full cover in even the popular specialities such as orthopaedics, internal medicine or equine surgery. within most disciplines there are insufficient specialists to provide 24-hour cover 365 days of the year. however, practices or institutions that normally accept referrals are expected to make specific alternative arrangements for periods when the specialist is away from the practice or otherwise unavailable. in most cases this involves redirection of the client and patient to another similarly qualified clinician with whom formal prior arrangement has been made. because referral practices generally, and specialists in particular, are quite thin on the ground at present, this redirection may involve the client in a considerable journey. the future. there is no doubt that the profession wishes to offer its clientele an effective out-of-hours service. with co-operation and good intentions it is possible to do this at less personal inconvenience than hitherto. this is going to change some aspects of practice. some practitioners have chosen to practise on their own and shoulder the burden of duties. they will more likely be able to make alternative arrangements. however, this will also remove one of the obstacles to individuals setting up their plate and may well lead to more practice start-ups. those practices that have proudly maintained the highest standards of emergency care for their clients may well be able to maintain the same standards by a different route. practices which have been less attentive may be less likely to suffer the opprobrium of the rcvs. acknowledgements. this paper is a distillation of the views of many practitioners. i am extremely grateful for the gracious manner in which so many colleagues shared their experiences and opinions. i must also thank colleagues from the veterinary defence society and the british veterinary hospitals association for commenting upon specific aspects of the paper. other articles in the january 2000 spvs bulletin include: vpma congress 2000: at the northampton moat house hotel corporate ownership of veterinary practices: some opinions from brian pound, corporate development director of cvs (uk)ltd, and neale roach, a sole practitioner from lancashire planning your retirement: once again anval and spvs are presenting a seminar at the swallow hotel, northampton spvs congress 2000: palace hotel, torquay, 18th to 21st may was it a "happy new millennium" for your computer system? come along to the spvs computer seminar in peterborough the bulletin is published for the society of practising veterinary surgeons by veterinary business development ltd. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/jan01.htm|| january 2001 spvs bulletin january 2001 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with the titles of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. submission to the independent review of dispensing by veterinary surgeons from the society of practising veterinary surgeonsclick here to download this paper as a word document, or click here to download a pdf file. the society is grateful to vetsfriend ltd for help with the file conversion. click here to skip to the end of this article. the society of practising veterinary surgeons is a division of the british veterinary association. it has nearly 1,600 members who represent an equivalent number of practices throughout the united kingdom. we are grateful to veterinary business development ltd, which has provided figures from the quo vadis? survey in 1998 and to anval ltd, which has provided figures from previous bva/spvs financial surveys of veterinary practice. we have also received financial comment from brian pound of cvs ltd, which is a corporate group currently investing in veterinary practice purchase. summary this submission from the society of practising veterinary surgeons explains certain aspects of veterinary practice in respect of the dispensing of medicines and the animal welfare matters associated with this activity. the most important factors to be considered are the continued welfare of the animals treated, the high standard of disease surveillance provided by private practice in the united kingdom and the availability of veterinary treatment to all. veterinary practice should not be complacent with regard to its ability to provide all of these but the evidence shows that the veterinary profession is fully focused on achieving these ideals. the society of practising veterinary surgeons considers that veterinary surgeons are best placed to oversee the use of medicinal products. they are well versed in all aspects of adverse reactions, withdrawal periods to prevent tissue residues and administration and storage of medicines used on animals under their care. this is particularly important in food-producing animals where veterinary surgeons can help to ensure maximum food safety with minimum residues. the society of practising veterinary surgeons considers that there is no doubt that the loss of the privilege to dispense will have a profound effect on the ability of private practice to maintain the current level of service and care. the risk for our clients is the likely decrease in the level of service accompanied by an increase in the total cost of medicines and veterinary attention. this review shows that, in order to maintain the current level of service to our clients and the standard of care to our patients, each practice must maintain its financial viability. the financial status of veterinary practice as part of its remit, the independent review of dispensing by veterinary surgeons has to look at the current pricing structure used by veterinarians in practice. it is the strong belief of the society of practising veterinary surgeons that the profitability of practice is not excessive. client expectations continue to grow apace, necessitating continuing investment in better facilities, new and complex equipment and highly-trained staff. this investment has to be set against a continuing need to control costs to our clients, particularly in the farm animal sector where farming clients are faced with severe economic difficulties due to the current crisis in agriculture. for example, the recent net profit figures per partner (median results) for large animal practice are £62,378, for mixed practice £65,378 and for small animal practice (with its associated higher investment in buildings and equipment) £72,841. these figures are produced from the bva/spvs annual survey of practice finance, analysed by anval ltd, and relate to 1998. it is important to recognise exactly what this net profit figure means. it represents the total income available to a partner prior to paying personal nic charges, income tax and capital retained within the practice to pay off existing or newly-arranged business loans and capital purchases. in funding this structure, the partners accept their responsibility to support continuing professional development for their employees. it will be noted that this figure is not excessive in terms of supporting the development of their practice, their clients' needs and, at the end of the day, their family. the need to maintain this net profit return is essential if the practice is to be enabled to develop, support cpd for themselves and their employees, maintain its facilities in line with client requirements and expectations and to attract new partners to a vibrant scenario. we are not a particularly well-remunerated profession, as noted by the interprofessional group incomes, where we are shown to be considerably less rewarded financially than our other medical colleagues. an average 45-year-old veterinary partner earning about £62,378 per annum will have an investment value well in excess of £100,000. when one considers that in order to raise finance for a start-up company, the investors would expect to see at least a 20% return on capital employed, it makes the £62,000 seem rather poor. in many cases the overall economics are so unexceptional in most median sized practices that 'corporate investors' will not even consider them for acquisition. figures supplied by cvs ltd show figures from a typical greater london practice: turnover £750,000, cost of goods £215,000 (29%) profit (after rent/partners' salaries) £78,000 (11%) total margin on 'goods', including re-sold and consumed, £92,000 (30% gross margin on sales of £307,000) of the £108,000 of pom medicines dispensed a gross margin of only £48,000 is achieved (44%) the remaining £175,000 of other purchases generate just £44,000 (= to 25% mark-up) if the privilege to dispense is lost the £48,000 margin is lost - assuming no change in fee structure if dispensing privilege is lost then the net profit drops to £30,000 the capital invested in such a typical practice is £550,000 without goodwill the cost of borrowing £550,000 (property and fixed assets) at 2% over base is £46,500 this leaves insufficient profit to service the debt and no loan repayment possible. in order for this business to remain viable it would involve an extensive restructuring in fee charges if the privilege to dispense were lost in a large survey, carried out by veterinary business development in 1998 under the name quo vadis?, clients of veterinary practices were questioned as to their views on their overall satisfaction of veterinary services and the value for money that they receive. in the small animal sector, client satisfaction with their veterinary surgeon gave an average score of 4.6 on a scale of 1 (not satisfied) to 5 (very satisfied). only 1% of the 882 people surveyed chose their veterinary practice on low price. with such high client satisfaction it is not surprising that very few of the participants were considering a change to another veterinary practice in the next year or so (only 4% of those surveyed and some of these were changing purely as they were moving to a different area). this does not mean the veterinary profession should be complacent but it does indicate a good satisfaction level in respect of our overall level of service to our clients and their animals. equine practitioners' clients often raise the issue of expense with veterinary surgeons. the quo vadis? survey asked respondents (208 equine clients) to rate (in marks out of 10) the value for money of the professional services provided by their veterinary surgeons. respondents were asked to put this in the context of other professional fees such as solicitors/accountants. two thirds scored their veterinary practice 8 or higher. the mean score was 8; 75% of respondents were very satisfied (5) with their veterinary surgeon and out of the 208 clients surveyed there was a mean core of 4.7 out of 5 for client satisfaction; 69% had no cause for dissatisfaction and only 13% found price as a cause for concern. the quo vadis? survey split farm practice into cattle, sheep and pig clients. in farm practice there is an ever-increasing concern for the cost of veterinary services. it was decided, therefore, for the needs of the survey, to address this subject head-on by asking the farmers to rate (in terms of marks out of 10) the perceived value for money of the professional services provided by their veterinary surgeon. respondents were asked, as with the equine survey, that when assessing the rating they should put it in the context of other professional fees. cattle farmers gave a mean score of 8.1, sheep farmers 7.1 and pig farmers 7.7. although a handful of cattle farmers felt veterinary surgeons were poor value for money, the majority (almost three-quarters) scored them 8 or higher. farmers were also questioned as to their satisfaction with the service provided by their veterinary surgeon. cattle farmers gave a mean score of 4.5, sheep farmers 4.4 and pig farmers 4.5 (5 being very satisfied down to 1 being not satisfied at all). the society of practising veterinary surgeons concludes that veterinary practices in the united kingdom are not making excessive profits particularly when one takes into account the large amount of investment required. technological advances in equipment for treatment and diagnosis result in an ever-increasing spiral of capital investment. similarly, the need to maintain building standards, particularly in companion animal practice, as the expectations of clients increase, involves large amounts of capital tied into the practice. one of the largest costs within practice is the staff. there is a need to employ more qualified veterinary nurses to maintain the high level of nursing required in modern veterinary practice. newly-qualified veterinary surgeons are leaving university with increasing overdraft levels. this is due to the fact that with decreased student support there is a greater need for self-finance over the five-year course at university. veterinary undergraduates are selected from the top 2% of academic achievers in the united kingdom. they must be allowed some expectation of a reasonable financial return for their time at university and for their years in practice where they will be working long hours. the average hours worked per week, as reported by the royal college of veterinary surgeons' manpower survey of 1998, were 48 hours (excluding out of hours cover); 25% of veterinary surgeons were working over 52 hours per week. the average hours worked per week on out of hours call-outs was 31 hours. a new veterinary graduate can expect to earn on average an annual total remuneration of £25,627, compared to a first-year trainee doctor working a 72-hour week who will be paid £24,164. a doctor in his or her fourth year after graduation receives £36,400, compared to an equivalent stage veterinary surgeon's average remuneration of £33,020. a new consultant 10 years qualified starting on a salary of £48,905 compares with a veterinary assistant of the same level who receives on average £40,175. the consultant will also expect to receive revenue from private patient care. this compares with a partner in practice whose annual income has been shown above. the new veterinary partner, however, will have needed to source finance to buy into a partnership. the veterinary profession is already aware that there is a decline in those veterinary surgeons wishing to invest in the future of veterinary practice. in a 1994 survey, only 26% of employed veterinary surgeons had no intention of ever becoming a partner or principal. this figure rose to 36% in a more recent survey in 1998. (veterinary remuneration figures are obtained from the salary survey 2000, spvs) veterinary practice will need to continue to make an adequate return on investment to allow re-investment in its facilities and service expected by their clients. dispensing of veterinary medicinal products and the costs of pharmacy traditionally, veterinary practice has been maintained by income from both professional fees and the sale of medicines for use in the animals under their veterinary care. any income from the sale of veterinary medicinal products also has to cover the cost of the pharmacy requirements to dispense the items. the remaining margin goes to support the overall operational costs of the practice. there is no doubt that the loss of income derived from medicine sales, which often helps to offset the cost of professional fees charged to the client, may well result in extra financial pressures in some areas of service. the least profitable areas of practice, such as the 24-hour cover, are extremely important to the client and essential for the continued welfare of our patients. the "free" 24-hour telephone advice given by practices is a particularly valuable service provided for our clients. income from medicinal products goes some way to help support these services. various figures have been presented as to the ratio of fee income to medicines sold. the bva/spvs practice survey shows figures of approximately 1 fee income to 2 medicines sold in farm practice. in the quo vadis? survey, however, cattle farmers reported on average that their veterinary bills were divided 1:1.13 between professional services and medicines. on sheep farms the ratio was nearer the 1:2 quoted in the bva/spvs survey and on pig farms the bill was roughly divided 1:3. this is not unexpected as sheep and pigs are more usually treated in large groups rather than as individuals with a much greater reliance on population medicine. one visit will often involve discussion and advice including management, husbandry, welfare, nutrition, etc., which will then lead to preventive medicine programmes for all the stock to reduce the need for individual therapeutic medication. this is particularly so on pig units. combining these three groups brings the result very close to the overall 1:2 ratio suggested. the balance between fees and medicine sales has been under greater pressure over recent years as veterinary practices work hard to support their farm clients through the current crisis. the latest fee surveys from spvs show that farm practices have been foregoing even inflation-based price rises. in 1997, 75% of practices increased their fees for farm work. in 1998 this figure was 64%, 1999 was 55% and in 2000 it was only 50%. if margins were to be maintained on medicine sales then this would have resulted in an increase of the ratio of medicines to fees sold. yet the bva/spvs survey shows a decline from a high of 1:2.31 in 1997 down to 1:1.95 in 2000. this is a mirror of the efforts of large animal practice to support the farming community by trying to keep all veterinary charges low. in small animal practice the balance of fees to medicines shows a ratio of 1:0.66 and in equine practice 1:0.53. statistics from the bva/spvs survey show that, if veterinary practices are not permitted to dispense medicines to animals under their care or charge a compensatory prescription fee, service fees would have to increase if they are to maintain their operating income. in some farm practices this could be an increase of as much as 454%. account should also be taken of the removal from the practice of the cost of pharmacy, but even so, any saving achieved would not be great. there is no doubt that, with the loss of the facility to dispense within veterinary practice, professional fees would need to rise a great deal in order for practices to remain viable. the most profound effect would be on the loss of subsidy to the provision of 24-hour cover for farm work. if a realistic fee were charged to cover this service, the additional cost would force many to delay seeking veterinary attention, thereby presenting a real risk of suffering and reducing the effectiveness of treatment due to delay. the income derived from the sale of medicines can be defined as the difference between the cost price of the product (less any discounts received) and the price at which the product is sold. this is a very narrow definition of profit, as it does not take into account the cost of the pharmacy involved in purchasing, handling, storing and dispensing medicinal products. one should also consider that, when looking at individual products in isolation, there is no account taken of the many items of stock required which are not specifically charged for. in farm practice, for example, there are such items as obstetrical gloves, lubricants and disinfectants. the list is much more extensive in companion animal practice, hence a lower achieved mark-up. all such items must be accounted for when looking at returns from medicinal sales. the bva/spvs survey takes the gross sale of all medicines and consumables and matches this against the actual sum paid by the practice to purchase these products at a net cost. in the last completed bva/spvs survey, the "mark-up" on purchase price based on this method of analysis showed a range of figures from 43.06% to 60.65%. it is essential, however, when looking at income from medicine sales, that the cost of pharmacy should be included in the equation. it is the responsibility of all veterinary surgeons to ensure that all the medicinal products supplied to a client are used only for animals under the care of the practice, and that the product is handled correctly from delivery to the practice until the administration to the animal. this is further complicated in the treatment of food-producing animals by the necessary requirement for complete batch traceability of all medicines used. this requirement does not exist in human product pharmacy. medicinal products coming into the practice need to be correctly checked in, batch numbers need to be recorded, then all medicines need to be stored correctly until they are required. tight stock control must be practised to ensure no out-of-date product is used. all such out-of-date stock is disposed of at a cost to the practice, as all pharmaceutical waste has to be collected and incinerated by the appropriate waste handler. the cost centres for correct pharmacy include salaries for all the staff with a designated responsibility for ordering, stock control, stock rotation, dispensing and so on. they include provision of storage space within the practice including cold storage and secure lockable cabinets for dangerous drugs and anaesthetics. they also include the cost of holding a rolling stock ensuring instant availability of medicines required. this either ties up capital that could be gaining interest or it has been bought by the practice using a loan from the bank and therefore represents a nil return on investment. within the stock held, certain medicines are required for urgent use but are needed so rarely that they may well go out-of-date before they are used. these are then discarded with a cost for disposal and no income to the practice. an example of this is sodium calcium edetate, required to treat lead poisoning. it is a matter of welfare that these items are held within practice. supply the next day or even later in the day could still result in the loss of an animal in some instances. there is also a cost of the stock held in the cars and this should take into account mobile cold boxes for the carrying of vaccines. further cost centres of pharmacy are those involved in dispensing to the client. veterinary surgeons are required to follow a tight code of practice when handling and dispensing medicines. legally, the dispensing is initiated by the veterinary surgeon. time spent discussing treatments and their correct usage can be extensive in some situations. this is often not charged for by the practice. it is quite common for a veterinary surgeon to discuss anthelmintic usage with a farm client over 10 to 15 minutes, for example. the farmer may then be advised that he or she does not need to be using any worming product at that time. alternatively, the farmer may be advised on the best product to use but then purchase this from an alternative source. time taken for advice should be included in the overall cost of dispensing. the loss of the privilege to dispense could well result in the time involved being charged out to the client. advice that attracts a cost may then no longer be sought, with the attendant risk that inappropriate treatments are given. once the decision to dispense has been taken, the act of dispensing may be undertaken by the veterinary surgeon, or by a qualified veterinary nurse or a trained and authorised person. packs may be split but medication must be dispensed in correct containers and all products must be labelled correctly. in the case of food-producing animals, this includes recording of the batch number and providing the client with the batch number and the meat and milk withdrawals where applicable. in order to fully comply with the appropriate regulations it has become increasingly necessary for practices to become fully-computerised. this is particularly true when practices dispense to food-producing animals with the associated need for batch traceability. in the past two months, following the announcement of the medicine review, the society of practising veterinary surgeons has been looking into the cost of all the above elements of providing the dispensing needs of our patients. in this way we can show how much of the perceived margin veterinary practice makes on medicine sales is used to finance the pharmacy involved. the veterinary practices surveyed looked at the value of medicine sales less the net cost of purchase to give a figure of the gross margin obtained. they then looked at the cost of pharmacy within their practice and expressed that as a percentage of the margin. one of the most difficult costs to judge is the manpower involvement in dispensing rather than prescribing alone. since there was no formula from which to work, there was concern that figures may be inaccurate. in fact the practices involved, working individually, all returned very similar results, suggesting that this does give a good insight into the cost of dispensing. results varied mainly due to the degree of computerisation, particularly in the light of the recent requirement for full batch traceability. one practice that was relying on paper records of batch numbers was able to keep costs down but admitted that should they undergo a batch recall, the man hours required to complete this would be excessive. this practice stated it would consider stopping all farm work if they were forced to go down the route of computerised batch traceability as the number of farms they were visiting had dropped following the current farm crisis. the most recent software package available on the market, which will provide a complete traceability system, will cost veterinary practice about £25-30 per vet per week. note that the cost of this package has not been included in the figures we have received from practices. the figures obtained from the practices questioned indicate that the cost of dispensing varied between 17-25% of the total margin of drug sales. let us assume a practice buys a drug at 120 discounted to a net price of £100. if one takes a "mark-up" of 50%, then the client would be charged £150; 20% of this £50 margin is the cost of pharmacy, i.e. £10. the actual final net contribution is therefore reduced to £40 on £150 of gross turnover, which equates to a margin of 26.6%. problems that animals and veterinary clients may face, following the impact on veterinary surgeons in practice should their facility to dispense be removed one cannot assume that any major savings will be achieved by having to purchase all their veterinary medicinal products from the pharmacists. pharmacists are also business people and it is clear that they will have to obtain a reasonable margin on veterinary medicine sales.this is especially so with regard to products used in farm animal practice, as they will be required to install methods for batch traceability. this is not required in the dispensing of medicines for human use. therefore, there will be an additional cost to pharmacies in handling animal medicines.it therefore appears likely that any saving on medicine costs to the consumer will be small. veterinary surgeons would need to increase their fees in order to maintain the current level of service as shown earlier in this submission.it is therefore very likely that the final cost to the consumer of the total of professional fees plus medicines will increase, not decrease. it is usually the case that there is an increase in price when an extra tier is added to a chain of supply. veterinary surgeons are only allowed to supply medicines for use in animals under their care. on-farm use of medicines is served by regular visits to farm clients, so that the veterinary surgeon is able to dispense for an individual case that has not been seen but where the vet involved is happy with the ability of the farmer to assess the problem correctly.if the veterinary surgeon were not attending a farm regularly, then the treatment of that individual animal would require a visit. if professional fees rise and the cost of medicines falls, then the pressure may well be on the farmer to request the treatment without the expense of a visit, particularly when dealing with low value stock, e.g. heifer beef calves, ewes.the farmer may then be forced not to treat, resulting in welfare problems, or they may be driven towards black market drugs where veterinary supervision is avoided. we have been led to believe that this has happened in denmark where drugs can be bought in from germany and holland, thereby avoiding veterinary control. this potential overall increase in the cost of treatment will result in welfare problems, particularly in rural areas. some farm animal practices are already finding it difficult to provide the service required at an affordable cost to the farmer.there is a risk that large areas of the united kingdom will no longer have farm animal practitioners at hand. this will result in farms having to rely on practices further and further away, leading to animals waiting longer than is acceptable for treatment.a worse scenario is that it will no longer be economical for the farmer to seek veterinary assistance due to the cost of travel for the veterinary surgeon to attend. there is also a very real risk that a decrease in the number of farm animal practitioners will put pressure on the ability of the united kingdom to provide adequate disease surveillance with a possible knock-on effect in food safety. veterinary surgeons do not dispense medicines when they are not needed. farm clients particularly pay great attention to the difference between the cost of a specific medicine and the benefits obtained by its use. it is essential for the future of farming that costs are kept to a minimum but there is a point where it may be cheaper to rely on antibiotic treatment for pneumonia, for example, than to provide better housing to prevent the problem happening in the future.misuse of medicines may increase if they are too freely available. there is anecdotal evidence that if a product classification is changed from pom to pml there is an automatic increase in sales. this may be due either to new cases being treated or, as is more likely, over-treatment.it is a known fact that a significant percentage of anthelmintics purchased from merchants are used wrongly or unnecessarily.areas of the world now have severe problems with anthelmintic resistance and it is becoming an increasing problem in the united kingdom. as long ago as 1992, g. c. coles and r. t. roush published an article in the veterinary record on the slowing of the spread of anthelmintic resistant nematodes of sheep and goats in the uk. one of the most important recommendations to come from this paper was the need to reduce the reliance on frequent anthelmintic treatments by using epidemiological principles of nematode control.for this the farmer requires advice from his veterinary surgeon, yet anthelmintics can be purchased by farm clients direct from merchants with no advice given on such important principles. there is concern that products sold under the pml category may not be used correctly. the responsible use of medicines in animals is best served by keeping them as prescription-only medicines giving veterinary control over their use.great care must be taken in changing classification of medicines enabling easier access to them, particularly those where resistance may become an increasing problem.veterinary practice takes its dispensing privilege very seriously. the british veterinary association has been running courses on correct pharmacy for 10 years and practices have a code of practice produced by the bva to ensure high standards of pharmacy. the normal scenario of veterinary treatment is an initial injection given to the patient, followed by a course of medication supplied at the time of the animal being seen by the veterinary surgeon. there is concern that, when giving a prescription for a continued course of antibiotics, the client may choose to save money if the initial treatment appears to be successful and decide not to take the prescription to the pharmacy if the veterinary surgeon has supplied the follow-on course there is more likelihood it will be used. non-completion of a course of antibiotics has serious implications as it is shown that this can contribute to antibiotic resistance. a failure to complete a course of treatment can also lead to infections continuing sub-clinically.it has been shown to be a problem in denmark where there has been an increase in cell count problems in milk due to sub-clinical mastitis following the change to pharmacy dispensing. many farms have reduced costs by cutting staff. if the veterinary surgeon was unable to supply the necessary medicines to treat an animal at the time of examination, it is unlikely that many farm clients would have the time to travel to a pharmacy to collect the medicines, particularly at busy times, e.g. lambing, harvest time.for some hill farmers this could mean a round trip of 40 miles or more, assuming that their nearest pharmacist chooses to stock the item required. this could lead to either delayed treatment of cases or non-completion of a course of antibiotics. under the current system of dispensing, veterinary surgeons are able to supply medicines 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. if practices lose the facility to dispense, the society of practising veterinary surgeons is concerned about the cover there would be for medicine availability.we questioned a veterinary surgeon in denmark as to his ability to obtain a supply of medicines required to treat an outbreak of pneumonia late on a saturday in a large batch of calves. his reply was that they would normally have to wait until monday. this does not seem acceptable considering the welfare implications and subsequent financial losses to the farmer. danish veterinary surgeons, under their current dispensing system, state that they only really have time for population medicine for farm stock and they do not get so involved with individual therapy. this too has welfare implications, as it has never been the case in cattle practice.early diagnosis of an individual problem can often act as an early warning system for further problems. it is also important for full disease surveillance. how much longer would it have taken to recognise the emergence of bse if the odd unusual case in an individual cow had not received veterinary investigation? comments have been made that the current system of dispensing gives the veterinary surgeon a monopoly over medicine supplies. this is not the case. the current guide to professional conduct from the royal college of veterinary surgeons states that veterinary surgeons cannot reasonably refuse to issue a prescription.many practitioners currently supply prescriptions on request and are happy to do so, enabling clients to source medicines elsewhere. similarly, if clients are unhappy with charges, they are free to move to an alternative practice with a different pricing structure. in mid cornwall, for instance, there are seven veterinary practices within a 20-mile radius of bodmin. this gives the client plenty of choice of veterinary practice.currently, therefore, a client in this area can ask for a prescription to source medicines from a pharmacy or change practices if they are unhappy with the charges. should veterinary surgeons lose the privilege to dispense, there may be only a very small number of pharmacists who choose to stock the whole range of veterinary medicines used by these seven veterinary practices, thus replacing a perceived monopoly by a very real one. pharmacists will need to stock the full range of veterinary medicines used by all the practices in their area. due to the cascade, veterinary surgeons are not allowed to dispense generic medicines, as they are not licensed for use in animal species. the use of the cascade restricts veterinary surgeons to using only products that are fully-licensed. veterinary practice is therefore unable to always source the cheapest alternative of a medicinal product.the use of a licensed product is especially important in food-producing animals where meat and milk withdrawal times must be adhered to in order to prevent residues in food. three practices in the area of one pharmacy may all choose different products and it may not be economical for the pharmacist to stock all products.this may lead to veterinary surgeons not being able to use their chosen medicines or for clients having to wait for delivery of an item until the next day. the pharmacist will need to be able to source medicines as cheaply as a practice that will historically know their expected requirements and thus be able to organise forward purchasing with manufacturers accordingly. if not, this could have a knock-on effect of increased cost to the client.as already stated, pharmacists will also need to set up batch traceability systems if they are to stock medicinal products for food-producing animals.the current market in the uk for veterinary medicines is 387 million, compared with the human medicine market of £6.3 billion. one human medicinal product, "losec", with sales of 241 million, compares with a total pom animal medicine market of £244 million. doctors are permitted to dispense to some patients living more than three miles from the surgery. if we lose the facility to dispense, would veterinary practice be allowed that right, as this would include most of our farms? it is common practice to discuss with a client the economics of treatment. companion animal clients may have to weigh up the full cost of treatment and balance this against the quality of life possible and the potential extension of that life. this would be very difficult to achieve if the medicines were being sourced from outside the practice. another area of concern is the certification of vaccination of horses, dogs and cats. at present, veterinary surgeons carry out a clinical examination to ensure the animal is healthy enough to respond to the vaccine. the vaccine, having been properly stored by the supply companies and veterinary practices, is then administered.with the possible change in dispensing, after the health check, a prescription would be issued for the owner to collect. alternatively, if vaccines change to a p or pml status, the owner would purchase and administer their vaccine without any veterinary checks or the necessary skill in administering an injection.if the owner required a veterinary certificate of vaccine administration (for kennelling, showing or competing), the owner would need to arrange for the veterinary surgeon to administer the vaccine for them. the veterinary surgeon would need to rely on the owner to keep these temperature-sensitive products in the correct conditions until they could be administered. it would not be possible to certify that this had been done correctly and that the vaccine had not been inactivated or destroyed in transit.if a dog arriving at crufts develops parvovirus because the owner had left the vaccine on the dashboard of their car, thus inactivating it, while travelling from the pharmacist to the veterinary surgeon, then who would be responsible? it could expose the other competitors to this highly-dangerous disease. could we continue to have faith in the certification process? many veterinary surgeons offer deferred payment to owners where money for treatment is a problem. many owners are allowed to let an account build up during treatment and then an insurance claim is lodged for direct payment to the practice once the treatment is completed. clients will have the added complication of keeping different invoices or consolidating an insurance claim. many charity practices supply medicines for a small fee that does not cover their cost and, in some cases, where the owner has no money, this fee may be waived completely. it would be necessary for the pharmacists to cope with these arrangements if veterinary surgeons are no longer permitted to dispense.the charity would need to either employ their own pharmacist or for an arrangement to be made for a local pharmacist to dispense and then to bill the charity. it is unlikely that the charity would be able to get their medicines at cost. at present veterinary surgeons are able to dispense enough product to treat individual animals. this often means re-dispensing products out of larger bottles or packs. individual veterinary surgeons have the advantage of drawing from these part-used packs on their daily rounds. the pharmacist would need to be prepared to do this and run the risk of not being able to use the rest of the product within the 30 days stipulated by the manufacturer once the vials are broached. if that were not acceptable, the only other option would be to over-prescribe. this would result in either extra cost to the client, as they would have to dispose of unused medication, or may leave the client with the temptation to try the left-over medicines on another case, possibly inappropriately. other articles in the january 2001 spvs bulletin include: summary of spvs council meeting topical areas of current concern include the medicines review, disease surveillance and the possibility of an assistants' charter. planning your retirement? in conjunction with spvs, anval is again holding this hugely successful weekend seminar. beer and brugge: spvs congress 2001, 17th-20th may harry steele-bodger memorial scholarship: applications sought. more first aid courses announced: dates and venues to be confirmed. spvs discussion list: what's going on? click here to join. the bulletin is published for the society of practising veterinary surgeons by veterinary business development ltd. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/jan02.htm|| january 2002 spvs bulletin january 2002 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with a list of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. improved card rates for spvs membersspvs have negotiated much-improved card processing terms with hsbc for all spvs members. the new rates are: 1.3% for all credit card transactions 17.5p for each debit card transaction terminal rental £15 + vat per terminal per month which includes all authorisation calls, polling and maintenance members do not need to bank with hsbc but, if they do, they are entitled to their first three months terminal rental free. there are no set up charges and floor limits are at the discretion of hsbc. existing members if you currently use hsbc for your card processing then you can take advantage of these new rates immediately. telephone hsbc on 08457 0233 44, state that you are a member of spvs, quote your membership number and request that you are given the new spvs rates. members who are hsbc banked, but who do not currently use hsbc for card processing, should contact their account holding branch, requesting the special terms available to spvs and quote their membership number. if you currently use a different card processor telephone hsbc on 08457 02 33 44 and you will be given detailed information. it is simple to transfer your card processing arrangements from another card processor and in the majority of cases the whole process can be completed by telephone and post. hsbc guarantees to have your terminal up and running within 15 days of receiving your signed agreement. the more spvs members take advantage of the hsbc offer means the better the offer can be. let's help ourselves to help each other! if you currently don't take cards think about the extra convenience cards offer to both you and your clients. no need to carry cash, funds are automatically credited to your designated bank account, no need to spend time visiting the bank to pay in and all authorisation calls above your floor limit are free. all that is required is a telephone line and a power point for the terminal. over the last 12 months spvs members using hsbc for their card processing have seen a 22% increase in the value of debit card transactions and a 14% increase in the value of credit card transactions. or put another way the average debit card transaction has increased to £38 and the average credit card transaction has increased to £55. this means the new terms can offer real savings to your business given more and more clients are requesting to pay by card nationally. hsbc's website is at www.hsbc.com other articles in the january 2002 spvs bulletin include: report of spvs council meeting december 2001. the assistant's existence: spvs is considering a 'guide to best practice' aimed at both employers and employees. ideas and opinions taken from the spvs online discussion list (click here to join). employing locums: how do we judge the standard of a locum, and what are good standards for a locum? skids for spvs: report of advanced driving and rally course. click here for pictures. employment bill: what will it deliver for business and the people who work in business? new consultant joins anval: anval is delighted to announce that it has secured the services of new consultant peter orpin. paws 4 rescue: a new monthly magazine giving rescue centres free coverage. spvs shorts: notes on the newly-formed pet allergy association and the animal sanctuaries bill. pet smile month 2002: now launched. to take place in march 2002. click here for the pet smile month web site. five new additions to the spvs publications portfolio: click here to view the whole list, all available free of charge to members. the seven p's of marketing: do you market your practice services as well as you could? back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/jan03.htm|| january 2003 spvs bulletin january 2003 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with a list of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. spvs and the constitution: still a private affair?since 1975, the constitution of the society of practicing veterinary surgeons has stated that: ‘the objects of the society shall be to protect and promote the status and privileges of veterinary surgeons in private practice’. following logically from this, the constitution states that: ‘membership of the society shall be open to members of the british veterinary association who are veterinary surgeons, or registered veterinary practitioners engaged in private practice.’ twenty-eight years down the line, and there are two spvs council members, one of whom is an officer of the society, who, under this definition, are not actually eligible for membership. without a doubt, there are members out there who also fail to meet the ‘privacy’ criteria, or who may not be members of bva. veterinary surgeons working in charity veterinary practice, of whom there are over 400, vet students, those working in the clinical departments of the veterinary schools, in research, in some laboratory medicine, or for the government would find themselves excluded. originally, spvs was established to protect and promote the interests of veterinary surgeons nor working for the ministry of agriculture, but the profession has moved on and things are no longer quite so black and white. at the recent council meeting, some felt strongly that keeping the word ‘private’, would ensure that the commerciality of veterinary practice remained a focus for the society. only vets who are paid for treating animals should be included. there were concerns that spvs would become indistinguishable from the bva in its objectives. opposing arguments focussed on the word ‘practising’. after all it is the society of practising veterinary surgeons, not of private practising veterinary surgeons. surely anyone who works on the so-called front line, dealing with clients and treating their animals to earn a living deserves to be included. a working party had been established to look at updating the constitution. they proposed that the society should: ‘protect and promote the status and interests of veterinary surgeons in veterinary practice.’ and that: ‘full membership of the society is open to individuals or practice members if they are engaged in veterinary practice in the uk, and are members of the british veterinary association.’ a vote was taken as to whether the proposed amendments to the constitution should go forward to a full vote at the agm in may. there was much debate, but the motion was passed by fourteen votes to seven. despite this majority in favour of change, there is a significant minority against. now is the time to have your say. join the email discussion list, or contact the editor (see back page). come along to congress and vote at the agm. it may be another thirty years before the constitution is bought out and dusted off. think carefully what you want your society to be, and whose interests you want it to ‘protect and promote’. as the bva and rcvs continue to be lambasted as unrepresentative and out of touch, it’s vital that spvs knows who it is and where it is going. other articles in the january 2003 spvs bulletin include: a reunion for recent graduates: communications workshops provided by spvs and the vds. buyer beware: what to consider when buying a practice. student debt: a new problem facing the profession. report of spvs council meeting december 2002. upgrading your premises: getting the ball rolling. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/jan04.htm|| january 2004 spvs bulletin january 2004 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with a list of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. introducing 70 years of spvs in 2004president-elect michael clarke looks at what the society stands for and why being a member can only be a good thing. s - supporting the veterinary practitioner p - providing high quality cpd v - voice of the practising veterinary surgeon s - social events the society of practising veterinary surgeons (spvs) is a large and important division of the british veterinary association (bva). it welcomes, represents and supports members from every part of the practising profession, new graduates, assistants and bosses, as well as veterinary students. the society exists for all practices, small and large whether they be companion, equine, farm, or exotic, charity or referral. spvs prides itself in being an active self-help group with the focus not so much on clinical issues as on the aspects of veterinary practice that have the greatest impact on veterinary surgeons' quality of life at home, work or play. it is an active and effective lobbying group for the practising veterinary surgeon into the bva, rcvs and other veterinary affiliated organisations. the officers and council members who run the society are practising veterinary surgeons, well in touch with practice life. thirty percent of spvs' members have been qualified for five years or less. membership of spvs is inexpensive and provides information about, and involvement with the profession to, its members, together with access to real benefits for practices, families and individuals. spvs membership gives you access to: fees and salaries surveys, free to members each year publications - free to members, including marketing, making a will, financial planning, women in the profession, goodwill, laboratory hazards, matching expectations (guidance for interviewees and interviewers) etc cpd from professionals both inside and outside the profession the bi-monthly spvs bulletin - up to date topics that affect you on line discussion groups - lively, instant advice and debate on any aspect of practice life mediation service - help settle matters of dispute within and between practices roadshows - topical cpd ideas taken around the country snowscene, sail training, watersports, skids for spvs - quality cpd linked to social events for you, your practice and your family spvs annual congress - cpd, sport, and social activities for all the family spvs annual review - including articles with an overview of current issues as well as a source of practical reference information (free to all practices) specially negotiated rates on e.g. credit card processing and elsevier books. lancaster weekend - guidance for final year students any other advice you may require, we will try to help - contact the secretariat recent graduate services provides: a dedicated team to meet the needs of newer graduates young spvs email discussion group - talk about issues that affect you young spvs in the snow - cpd and skiing (new project!) helpline - talk to one of the team on issues relevant to new graduates and have your input into the society cv reading service email leaflets - on such topics as looking for a job, how to talk to your boss, how to write a cv, stress etc. spvs also supports the veterinary helpline and the veterinary surgeon health support programme. spvs is run by its members for its members. we feel privileged to do the jobs we do in practice. the society has spent the past seventy years promoting, protecting and developing good veterinary practice and representing its members in the political forum. that work continues today and is the essence of the future of spvs. we wish all our members a healthy and prosperous new year. other articles in the january 2004 spvs bulletin include: skids '03: sam duff reports on some spvs cpd with a difference . working for our society in 2004; richard hillman outlines some proposed changes which are designed to improve the spvs services. thinking of incorporation? peter gripper continues his discussion of the merits and pitfalls of incorporation of a veterinary practice. update on veterinary nursing matters:jacqui molyneux reports on a meeting at the rcvs. the president ponders: mervyn harris gives his mid-term report. tails from the animal hospital: seasonal anecdotes from danielle greenberg. ems: what can we do to make it better? spvs christmas dinner: you really should have been there! vds communications seminars for recent graduates: emma leyland reports. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/jan05.htm|| january 2005 spvs bulletin january 2005 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with a list of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. profiting from consultationsthis business tip is focusing on small animal practices, looking at the impact of moving charges from drug to fee. this is clearly a continuing trend for a number of reasons, and one area that has, and continues to be affected significantly, is consultations. forward thinking practices have already addressed many of the issues ensuring that they are charging what they believe to be a sensible fee for their services, replacing the lost profit from the reduction in drug mark-ups. given the amount of time vets spend consulting, often in the region of 35%-40% of their time, it is important that this area of the practice is profitable. we have seen, from undertaking costing exercises, that often it is surprising how little profitability is generated from consultations. the average fee for a 10 minute consultation is currently approximately £16.50, which is an hourly rate of approximately £100. costs are in the region of £80 per hour. these costs will include staff, premises, equipment and other overheads. the latter is one area that is often overlooked as it is more difficult to quantify. however, the above scenario assumes that all consultations are charged at the first consult rate. many practices will have many different tariffs for giving first, second, third, fourth consultations. the impact can be illustrated using a simple example as follows. let us assume that the practice in question undertakes 12,000, 10 minute consultations in a year. this can be broken down as follows: first consults 6,000 @ £16.50 .. .. .. .. .. .. £ 99,000 second consults 3,000 @ £14.50   £ 43,500 third consult 2,000 @ £12.00   £ 24,000 fourth consult 1,000 @ £10.50   £ 10,500       total 12,000   £ 177,000 based on the above scenario the average consultation fee has now fallen to £14.75, and on an hourly rate this £88.50. when we compare this with the £80 hourly cost detailed earlier we can identify the impact i.e. rather than £20 per hour profit, it is now £8.50. clearly the above is an example based upon the experience we have had when undertaking costing exercises, however your costs and fee structure may well be very different. having identified that consultations may not be as profitable as perhaps one initially envisages, what can be done to address the position. there are a number of suggestions as follows: accurately calculate the cost of consultations so that the underlying profitability can be identified. this will help you to set an appropriate fee and probably feel more confident charging it as it is a more scientific approach to pricing. when comparing your consultation prices with competitors, ensure that you are looking at a like for like comparison. for instance you may offer 12 minute consultations, whereas your competitors may offer say 10 minute consultations. we are seeing many practices now having just two consultation fees in order to push up the average fee. whilst some practices may feel uncomfortable with this structure it is perhaps the maximum needed. if you decide to maintain more than two consult fees then we would suggest that you monitor the use of the third consult rate closely to make sure that it is not being "abused". free consultations are often given for post-op checks etc. it is important that if this is your strategy then the cost of delivering this check-up is built into the original cost of the operation. given the likelihood of low levels of profitability for consultations it is important that the sale of healthcare products is maximised, whether this is directly at the consultation, or by referring the client to a nurse clinic. it may well be that the nurses are more effective in generating sales in this way and that a referral strategy is therefore just as effective. many practices have small additional fees such as injection and dispensing fees, which can enhance the overall profitability of the client visit. he practice needs to consider whether it wishes to charge lower fees for rabbit consults and small furries. many practices are now charging a full consult fee for rabbits due to the advanced work which can now be carried out on these animals. small furries are perhaps more difficult to justify in some instances, however a minimum fee of perhaps £11 could be considered. after all, if the vet is using a ten minute consult to see a small furry at a fee of say £8 then this is generating only half the income of a cat or dog. it is clearly important the client feels comfortable with the level of fees which you are charging, but at the same time you need to generate sufficient profitability. however, given the situation in the veterinary market at the present time, it is important that you charge a fair and reasonable fee for the work which you are undertaking. mark beaney is a director at hazlewoods, specialist business advisors and accountants to the veterinary industry. he can be contacted at windsor house, bayshill road, cheltenham, glos gl50 3at, telephone 01242 237661, email: meb@hazlewoods.co.uk readers are strongly recommended to take professional advice before making decisions on matters discussed in this article. hazlewoods is regulated to conduct investment business by the financial services authority. other articles in the january 2005 spvs bulletin include: meet the members: profile of honorary secretary richard holborow. thinking of investing in your practice? three payment options explained. spvs conference takes the mystery out of practice management: report of it course. one ring to unite us, one ring to bind us: report of financial and business planning seminar. introducing spvs congress 2005: registration forms now available. the benefits of veterinary specific independent financial advice vds/spvs recent graduate reunions: report. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/jan99.htm|| jan99 spvs bulletin january 1999 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with the titles of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. the quo vadis reportmailed to members with this bulletin was a free copy of the quo vadis summary executive report. this ground-breaking survey of the veterinary profession is set to provide us with important information as we head into the new millennium. over the course of five days, a small but intrepid band of veterinary business development people drove over 1,000 miles through 25 counties to present the findings of the quo vadis study to almost 300 vets. there were meetings in glasgow, manchester, bristol and heathrow. so what's the big deal? the big deal is that the quo vadis survey of the veterinary profession - and of its clients - is a unique achievement. conceived on a bigger scale than any previous market research project of its type, it complemented the recent rcvs manpower survey. it was designed to enable us (and our clients!) to better understand how veterinary surgeons in the uk see themselves and their future, and to see how closely the perspectives of their companion animal and livestock-owning clients mirrored their own. to do this, quo vadis carried out 2,653 face-to-face interviews and 1,848 telephone interviews. during the process the answers to more than 150,000 questions had to be processed and collated into a meaningful and cohesive report. many ancient roman words and expressions live on today and seem to distil a great deal of meaning in a succinct phrase. quo vadis is a good example of this, and carries more implicit meaning than the literal translation of "where are we going?" the veterinary profession is familiar with the process of introspection. perhaps unique among the professions in the uk, it has always needed to walk the tightrope bridging the provision of hippocratic responsibilities with the need to charge fees in the process. a casual observer might conclude that while much discussion has been expended on the various concerns that confront the profession as a whole graduate numbers, an increasingly disproportionate gender ratio, a purportedly high degree of dissatisfaction among younger veterinary surgeons, and many more - veterinary practitioners continue to function in isolation, taking part in a loose grouping of some three thousand practices that operate independently, rather like "cottage industries". the immediacy of the working day means that environmental pressures related to the success of the farming industry or perhaps the willingness of small animal clients to recognise the value of prophylactic medicine, are of more immediate concern than the consideration of trends that affect the profession as a whole. this presupposes that all veterinary surgeons are involved in veterinary practice but this is clearly not the case. the recent rcvs manpower survey showed that more than 1,000 veterinary surgeons are employed in universities, research institutes and government departments. against this backdrop, and even recognising that a higher percentage of veterinary surgeons are working in private practice than ever before, it is clearly misleading to treat the profession as an homogenous group and it raises once again the question of how, and for what purpose, veterinary students might be recruited and trained. we all live and operate in a period of unprecedented change and many of these changes will have profound and far-reaching effects on the way the profession develops and on the ways in which we, as individuals, make our living. the rcvs manpower survey provided substantial insight into the shape of the veterinary profession, the dynamics of its membership and trends of employment within its various sectors but there remained a need to better understand how individuals, within this profession, saw themselves. how confident were veterinary surgeons about their future? how did they perceive their relationship with their clients; farmers, pet owners and others associated with animals and their welfare and, perhaps, most importantly, how did these clients perceive their veterinary surgeon? the quo vadis study was designed to provide this level of understanding and to set a benchmark against which progress within the profession could be measured over time. in addition, the study set out to better understand how individual veterinary surgeons felt about wider issues, ranging from the commitment to the concept of veterinary practice partnerships, to the type and level of service that clients, both large and small animal, expected from their veterinary surgeon. at the 1998 bva congress, alan leyland, president of spvs, described the quo vadis survey as "a gift to the profession". as such, it behoves every veterinary surgeon to consider the findings and to interpret them as a kind of road map with which to navigate an individual route to professional and personal fulfilment over the next few years. further copies of the quo vadis summary executive report may be purchased from the spvs secretariat, priced £35 each. other articles in the january 1999 spvs bulletin include: data protection: time for a spring clean: steven skiba, a solicitor at berryman & co, solicitors, spells out the implications of the new act successful management of a progressive veterinary practice: report of the anval/spvs/fort dodge seminar vaccination of companion animals. we have all been inundated with information about vaccination: here is another view collected from documents supplied by noah. the interview. a view of interview techniques collected from non veterinary sources. lancashire veterinary association/spvs joint meeting on thursday february 25th at old trafford cricket club, manchester. let us have your views, please... appeal for spvs members to write in with their opinions. working time directive. how is your practice planning to implement the changes which will need to be brought about by this legislation? the spvs forms manual: the 2nd edition of the spvs forms manual now available. spvs computer seminar, 23rd-24th february 1999 spvs annual congress and agm, mottram hall, prestbury, cheshire 27th-30th may. the bulletin is published for the society of practising veterinary surgeons by veterinary business development ltd. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/july00.htm|| july 2000 spvs bulletin july 2000 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with the titles of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. the new spvs president: andrew robinsonthe profession has had to face several problems this past year, mainly centring on the crisis in farming. due to varying factors, most of which we have very little control over, the result has been to hasten change within the farming community and hence large animal practice. although these effects have been thoroughly discussed within bva, including at seminar 2000, there appears to be one aspect which may affect some colleagues. this is the sudden unlooked for change in lifestyle away from farming. i know, having started off in mixed practice and enjoyed the farm work, that it took many years for me to abandon it altogether. in the current climate, many practitioners may well feel rejected and not wish to continue with practice despite perhaps having a viable small animal side. i hope that sufficient advice and support is available for those who seek it and that spvs may continue to play its supportive role. after many veterinary/animal television programmes, some of which have not always portrayed the profession in a good light, we are now under the public microscope, mainly over fees and medicines. i do not wish to sound downbeat as i am very optimistic that the profession can and will respond to change, but we should consider worst case scenarios. although this last year has been centred on large animal practice, if medicine categories were altered it could mean this loss of veterinary sales of flea products, specialised diets, wormers and even vaccines! whether government is prepared to open up the veterinary surgeons act or not, the role of paraprofessionals is well established - this has been addressed by the rcvs's schedule 3 working party, and this has included representation from spvs. the concept of trying to persuade freelance horse raspers, cattle foot trimmers and so-called fertility experts with scanners to reach a compromise with practice with the 'carrot and stick' principle may have various advocates and pessimists. the role of veterinary nurses, though, is well established currently within the realm of practice, but whether this will always be the case and their future role may be more debatable. in the face of all these and other changes, we have to ask what role spvs has to play - as we represent over 1,400 members working in practice, we would wish, as previously, to be consulted and participate actively in any decision making. although we do not spend a great deal of time navel-gazing, the officers and council members have always periodically considered the way forward and i would wish, because of these changeable times, to reconsider this next year in how we may wish to continue to help our members and the profession at large. as an example, i have recently, as chairman of national pet week, been involved in the development of a strategic document, which has clarified the role of this charity and its objectives over the next three years. i would like to think, with the help of the next presidents in line, that spvs could consider its longer-term strategic role. we may have to accept a certain amount of loss of earnings which in the past we have considered our own prerogative, and if this is not to undermine the financial viability of practice, then we have to develop new professional skills. this year we have a programme which i hope will endeavour to help members attending to develop new skills and bring into focus various changes which are affecting the profession. at plas menai in july the subject is rabbit medicine - a growing area of small animal medicine and surgery. in the autumn we are holding two meetings to discuss how corporate practice will affect the profession. these meetings will be designed to encompass all those who work in practice, not only the partners who may wish for change, but also the nurses, receptionists and cleaners who may find themselves working for a corporate entity. during the snowscene, which this year returns to chateau lake louise in canada, the emphasis will be on clinical acumen and how this may be progressed in practice. next may, i would like to invite you to attend the spvs congress in bruges. this particular venue has been chosen, not because there are not any nice hotels near nottingham! but because i felt that spvs should have, even if only for a weekend, a greater presence in europe. so much of the legislation that affects us is not whitehall-led but from brussels and the way in which other european veterinary surgeons conduct their business may well influence how we may have to operate in the future. our main speaker will be caroline jevring, who now lives in sweden, and she has been given the remit to lecture on sale of services and compare other european countries' veterinary services. i look forward with enthusiasm to working with jean, my fellow officers and council members and, of course, with you the members, in order to make this next spvs year both prosperous and profitable for all concerned. other articles in the july 2000 spvs bulletin include: losing our privilege to dispense - worst case scenario for a small animal practice? a collection of veterinary views. update on the new data protection act 1998, which came into force on 1st march 2000. health and safety in company cars. letter from russia: a russian veterinary student tells us what veterinary medicine is like in her country. other cpd gives you the answers, spvs congress gives you the questions! a review of spvs congress 2000. complaints: how should we respond? paul manning ma vetmb mrcvs talks us through the procedure. the uk's first mobile cat neutering unit, in preston, lancashire. we need your forms and partnership contracts! the spvs forms manual is being updated ready for the 3rd edition. it's all there! how did we survive, either at home, in the office, or in practice before computers? skids for spvs. an advanced driving course friday 6th and saturday 7th october 2000 in kinross, scotland new spvs online discussion list - why not join? advance notice! ski the rockies in 2001! book the date now: snowscene 2001 returns to the fabulous lake louise, reputedly the largest resort in canada, for what is sure to be a very special week: 17th to 24th february 2001. the bulletin is published for the society of practising veterinary surgeons by veterinary business development ltd. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/july01.htm|| july 2001 spvs bulletin july 2001 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with a list of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. the new spvs president, nicky paullas an archetypal english gentleman, the retiring president, andrew robinson, has steered this society through a bomb scare, fuel shortages, a medicines review, a total shut down of the railway system, poor canadian snow, a foot and mouth crisis and almost a general election. his steady hand on the spvs tiller has enabled this society not only to maintain its course but also to grow further in strength. i have tried to remember back when i first decided to become a veterinary surgeon. my first memory is of watching piles of animals burning on fires due to foot and mouth disease. this coincided with our local vet, mary branker, becoming the first woman president of bva. this decided me that my future was as a vet. the next 12 months will present many challenges to spvs and our practitioner members. following the current foot and mouth crisis the future of farming and farm practice hangs in the balance. as david catlow, chairman of vpg, said at bva council week, we have a short window of opportunity whilst people are listening to veterinary surgeons. spvs must support bva and the large animal divisions to develop a policy for the future of farm practice and disease surveillance and prevention. the right place for our farm practitioner members is out on the farm. married as i am to a dairy farmer i cannot begin to express the weight of fear experienced over the past few months. for farmers, for farm practice and for the animals we care for this must never be allowed to happen again. with the publishing of the independent review of medicines last week it would appear our privilege to dispense will remain. the recommendations of the review group however have put the spotlight on the whole dispensing policy of all practices. there is a challenge for spvs now to look proactively into the steps practices may yet need to take to adapt to the possible changes the review may bring. council has been made aware through comments on the spvs email discussion group, particularly from younger members of the profession, the extent of difficulties with employment issues in practice. this has led to a call for a look at best employment practice. running alongside this we are also looking to improve our services to our younger graduate members. we must prove we are not a society for partners but for all practitioners. other topics on this year's council agenda include improving insight into fee structure, improving uptake of the bva/spvs/anval survey, development of a post graduate qualification in general practice and promoting the use of part time veterinary surgeons in practice. but after the last twelve months, who can tell what other problems we may have to face. i am approaching this year with some trepidation but also with great pride that i have been asked to represent part of a profession in which i have worked with such enjoyment. i look forward to meeting you all again in cornwall next may in the shadow of the eden project for congress 2002 where we will be able to look back over the changes in the next twelve months. other articles in the july 2001 spvs bulletin include: the independent medicines review group - so what happens now? nicky paull, spvs president, gives her thoughts. on call and on full pay? last year a case in the european court changed the definition of 'working time' in the eyes of the working time directive. card processing offer from spvs and hsbc bank: new improved rates (click here). costing a fee: an overview spvs organises a p*** up in a brewery (and the cpd was excellent too!) building client loyalty: by sandra lawes mba mcim dipm mmrs the assistant's existence: as a recent graduate you may receive much financial advice and wonder what you should be doing with your money, kevin heady gives his views. the bulletin is published for the society of practising veterinary surgeons by veterinary business development ltd. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/july02.htm|| july 2002 spvs bulletin july 2002 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with a list of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. past, present and future of spvsby kenelm lewis, new spvs president. as president for 2002-2003, i have many ideas and plans for the society in the coming year. i am keenly aware however, that my personal goals must go hand in hand with the broader spvs business plan. there must be continuity and progression of concepts in addition to responding to any sudden crises within the veterinary world. in the last 12 months, we have had to tackle foot and mouth, the marsh report, and most recently, the competition commission. spvs in the forefront of veterinary politics thankfully fmd has been absent from the uk for 8 months now, but in its wake there are four separate enquiries into the outbreak, to which spvs as the practising arm of the profession will submit and help bva. the marsh report led the office of fair trade (oft) to instruct the competition commission (cc) to look into poms. this has involved much input from officers with nicky paull, nick blayney and christine shield representing spvs at the interim public enquiry. spvs have been invited back for a private audience to which the same team will attend. the text of spvs reply to the cc can be viewed on the website (www.spvs.org.uk) roadshow success set to continue the communications roadshows last year were a great success and spvs will be taking them to new destinations in 2001-2002. the cc has highlighted the need for the profession to justify its charges. spvs has been keen to promote the notion that income should be derived from professional fees and not reliant on selling pharmaceuticals. to this end the roadshow on january 29th 2003 will theme: "do you really know how much each procedure costs? you may get a shock when you do". with the concern about future of pet insurance, the afternoon session will include an open forum to continue petplan’s ‘2020 vision’. we will focus on a range of issues from both the vets’ and the industries’ perspective, under the broad umbrella: "veterinary fees and pet insurance: a partnership for the future". spvs committed to education certificate news: three years ago chris chesney, when spvs president, felt that the profession should have a post graduate qualification in veterinary general practice as our medical colleagues have. a group of motivated practitioners have entered a masters program at middlesex university to investigate the feasibility of such a qualification. hopefully some answers will be forthcoming by the end of the year, which should dovetail with the rcvs discussion document ‘2010 & beyond’. cpd: spvs has always been committed to promoting quality cpd with a difference. in these times of stress and concerns in practice, i believe that courses should be both enjoyable and educational. if you've not yet experienced one of our events, let me take this opportunity to invite you to join us this year. one highlight is always our skiing with cpd ‘snowscene’. this year in val d’isere where we are delighted that malcolm ness will be enlightening us on orthopaedics and arthrology. there will also be a pot pourri of practice and personnel issues. as ever, there will still be ample time to fully explore this wonderful resort and enjoy a well-earned rest! what better way to fulfil fifty percent of your annual cpd advised requirement? new practice membership spvs encompasses a wide spectrum of practitioners, but we are always looking to broaden our reach, particularly to the younger members of the profession. the new ‘practice membership’ category entitles all staff to attend spvs events at members’ rates, and will hopefully allow the bulletin to find its way to the far corners of the practice. by reaching a wider audience, we hope both to educate, amuse and represent as many of you as possible. the discussion list one of the problems that exist in society and within our own profession, is apathy. it would appear that only in a crisis do issues gain recognition, and spark debate. the spvs discussion line has opened up many issues and regularly prompts lively exchanges. it has given members a voice on topics of concern to them, not only alerting council but also providing a forum for discussion and answers. i would ask as many members to use it so we can appreciate the concerns of the membership and act upon them. this applies especially to younger graduates whose views we seek. recent graduates as a profession our younger graduates often find themselves isolated in practice after leaving university. the number of young vets leaving the profession or expressing dissatisfaction with their chosen career is alarming. various initiatives across the profession are underway and spvs has elected richard hillman as a recent graduate liaison officer (rglo). we hope his role will be to build on the success of the final year seminar and to be a point of contact as we strive to improve the service we provide to members at this stage in their professional lives. in conclusion, i am very much looking forward to my presidential term. i feel honoured and privileged to have been elected, and accept the mantle of office humbly. i know that spvs has much to offer, but what we need is to harness your thoughts, your hopes and your concerns. please get involved, come to our events, join our discussion list, use our services. we can only go forward if we do so together. other articles in the july 2002 spvs bulletin include: meet the officers 2002/03: pictures and cvs an assistant's existence: welcome to the workplace. practice membership: new subscription structure available shortly. what does the recent graduate liaison officer actually do? richard hillman reports. update on the competition commission enquiry financial advisers: do we really need them? tails from the animal hospital: new series cornwall 2002: report of the highly successful spvs congress. click here for pictures. fifty years ago: what were the veterinary journals reporting? back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/july03.htm|| july 2003 spvs bulletin july 2003 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with a list of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. portrait of a presidentthe start of another spvs year brings new people into new roles. we might contemplate malvolio's rather pompous musings but conclude that taking up any office, at whatever level, happens to be just an event in one's life. the opportunity arises, the request comes and the rest soon becomes history. being president of the spvs was not an expectation in my life while i was mucking out the shippen ("cowshed", for those unversed in devonian vernacular!) on my father's farm in winkleigh when i was a lad. but becoming a vet did feature and so, after a village school/grammar school education, i attended bristol university and graduated in 1966. i spent 6 years in 2 mixed practices and then started my own practice in bradford on avon, wiltshire, which is now a 6 person 95% small animal practice. elizabeth and i have been blessed with three wonderful sons, the youngest of whom graduates from university this year. apart from family life and involvement in various aspects of local community life, relaxations for me include singing, skiing, gardening and rugby. i am not a 'veterinary politician', but i believe that if we are in the business of trying to make the possible happen, then, like it or not, we are all in the business of politics. who wouldn't wish to change things for the better for our patients, our clients and our profession? if this is so, then we all have to share in the business of trying to turn the political wheel. though this may not always produce change, i believe it is the only way that it might produce change. i believe that the future is not just them, the future is us. spvs i am a huge fan of the work that the spvs does for our profession. when pondering what to write for this bulletin article, i took the society's initials and wondered what alternative words the letters s.p.v.s. might stand for that encapsulates the substance of our society's business. services, planning, vision and support seemed particularly appropriate and i would like to make these four elements the cornerstone of our society's work during my year as president. services the spvs will widen and enhance its membership services, with a particular emphasis on it and publications. the spvs email discussion list offers wide, high quality, educating and entertaining debate. if you haven't done so already, sign up now! a young spvs email discussion list provides an additional forum for newer graduates to air their views and i would like this to grow. the list of spvs publications is constantly being reviewed, expanded and updated. this bulletin provides a regular and vital means for distributing information to members. its content will reflect the demographic, gender and lifestyle changes in the spvs membership. changes to all our publications will be inevitable. involvement in mainstream spvs events will continue this year, e.g. students lancaster weekend, sailing training week, computer seminar, pharmacy courses, skids for spvs, retirement seminars, roadshows, snowscene and our annual congress in may 2004 in exeter. planning a core essence of any service organisation is proper planning. after a distinguished period looking after the spvs secretariat, jean retires this august. the society is now seeking a new secretary and will also move to a new, more central office in the midlands. planning for this is well under way and we hope to achieve it with minimal disruption and to the long term benefit of the society. we express our sincerest thanks to jean and wish her a very happy retirement. maintaining the society's membership database and providing efficient, effective accounting and book-keeping procedures is vital. new refinements to these are being planned and developed, to the intended benefit of our organisation in the future. vision i see the future of the profession as being more and more consumer orientated. this will have an impact on the way we all manage and work in our practices. clients will expect wider choice, better service, lower charges, contract bargaining, etc. the practising arm of the profession has to be alert and responsive to meet whatever challenges the government or the free market has to throw at us. our individual roles will inevitably change and the role of our society is to be there to help members face these changes. a possible new veterinary surgeons act, implementation of the competition commission report, the rcvs review of practice standards and other important documents will need to be seen in the light of their impact on the future of our profession. support legislation changes, employment law, health and safety, financial problems, personal problems, health issues, retirement planning - the list of major issues that our members face seems endless. support in these matters from the spvs will continue. i also see the importance of giving support to the bva during its period of reorganisation in the coming months. this is a critical time for our parent body and the society has a proud tradition of involvement with the bva during its past history. i would like that to continue. the spvs has a talented and committed team of officers and council members in place. i welcome them on board for the coming year and have every confidence that they will serve the society and its members to the best of their abilities. i view my coming year in office with excitement and the inevitable twinge of trepidation. whilst there are many challenges ahead, i have been fortunate to take up the reins with a well-trained and able team. i expect to leave the society fit, able and flourishing in a year's time. finally, i welcome contact from any member with concerns, queries, or feedback on any issue that affects the spvs and pledge to do my best to respond to them in the best way i can. mervyn harris tel: 01225-862656 or email president@spvs.org.uk. other articles in the july 2003 spvs bulletin include: first job, first day, first week in practice: richard hillman takes a look at those first few days for both the new employee and their new employer. spvs congress in stratford: reports. see also here for pictures. investor in people in veterinary practice: paperwork or performance? is your vn listed and legal? jacqui molyneux updates spvs on nursing issues. competition commission fallout: what now? back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/july04.htm|| july 2004 spvs bulletin july 2004 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with a list of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. introducing the 2004-2005 spvs presidentmichael clarke introduces himself and his plans for the next twelve months: another year has begun for the society of practising veterinary surgeons and this one is unique for me as i will travel through it as president. i have only been in the post for a few weeks as i write this, and, despite having previously been an officer, i am still amazed at how much work is put into the running of this society by the secretariat and officers. achievement i have been asked what i would like to have achieved when i look back on this year. it was a difficult question when it was posed, and even now when i have had time to reflect on it, it still is hard to answer. obviously i want to have led the society to the best of my ability and dealt with any challenges as they arise. being more specific than that is, however difficult, as we never know what the future will hold for us. things such as the competition commission (cc) may, or may not, rear their head in the coming year. other ongoing projects we will probably have to address include vn training, lvi’s, meat and milk imports and residues issues, the future of cpd and practice standards. it is important as a society, and as a profession, that we are as well prepared as possible for the challenges ahead. a lot of this preparation is already underway. our many surveys are one example of existing information that can be invaluable as a reference source. the cc enquiry has acted as a catalyst for this profession, hopefully we have learnt from it and will be better prepared, both as divisions and as a unit to deal with the future. bva there are some projects which we know we will have to work on over the coming year. our relationship with bva is one of these. bva is in a situation where it has to generate more initiatives to raise its profile and increase membership. we need a strong bva,but they have to be doing the things that we, the vets they represent, want. they are very much in ‘listening mode’ at the moment, and members and non members alike must tell them what it is that we want. spvs has already been very active in this respect. as one of the bva divisions, we, along with all the other divisions, have to play our part and assist the process as much as we can. we have already submitted two documents to bva outlining possible mutually beneficial paths, but we must remember that the spvs must keep its identity. as a society we are uniquely positioned to represent the practising veterinary surgeon, and we have built our expanding membership up over many years of providing relevant services. these must continue to be developed as spvs initiatives, we have proved we can come up with the ideas and develop them successfully. plans snowscene will be at lech in austria with lectures on ent surgery and wound management from john williams, and work life balance by sue shuttleworth. we have the spvs/vds communication roadshows as in previous years. there will also be roadshows based around the practical use of clinical audit. remember, clinical audit will be part of the new rcvs practice standards to be introduced later this year. we also have our feline medicine and watersports week in turkey, our young graduates cpd in the snow trip and finally, next years congress and agm will be in the lake district, more details will follow on all these events. the next 12 months will be exciting for me personally and, i hope, they will be productive for our profession and see this society continue to move forwards. i can always be contacted on president@spvs.org.uk or through the secretariat. other articles in the july 2004 spvs bulletin include: "shame" or "what a shame": richard hillman responds to last issue's article by a new graduate struggling to secure a first job in practice. what really bugs you? spvs and vpma discussion groups reveal the major management and business issues which concern their members. exeter spvs congress 2004: iain richards reports on a most inspiring lecture series. considerations when recruiting and interviewing student veterinary nurses: sally bowden shares her experiences. hazlewoods business tip: marking up versus gross profit. open systems: why they are a step forwards. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/july98.htm||bulletin july 1998 spvs bulletin july 1998 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with the titles of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. the year aheadnew spvs president alan leyland maps out his thoughts for the next 12 months. my first task as incoming president is to thank the outgoing president! members may not fully appreciate that those taking office must make their living from their endeavours in practice and that one way or another the practice must continue. christine shield has worked unbelievably hard for spvs for several years and particularly during her presidential year. she has overcome difficulties at the practice when sometimes she was operating as vet, nurse and receptionist. i am pleased to know that she will be around for a while to keep me on the straight and narrow. where is spvs going in the next 12 months? i would like to pick out several areas worthy of comment. dealing with the media, for example, over veterinary charges, seems to be a recurring theme. the media have given the profession tremendous coverage over the last few years, which on balance has been to our benefit. i think it is unfortunate, however, that the programmes on tv tend to concentrate on the fluffy, cuddly image. there is an imbalance with this view and that of a progressive, scientific profession caring for farm animals, equine patients, being involved with animal welfare and food hygiene as well as small animal work. where possible, we should work to present a more balanced view. it is my personal belief that most if not all of our political endeavours should be channelled through our parent body or the royal college. i really do believe that in such a minute profession we must speak with one voice and all pull in the same direction. the past year has seen improved relationships with bva and i am delighted that the current bva president or his deputy will attend spvs council whilst we consider bva papers and related issues. i would like to commend the excellent relationship we have had with the royal college of veterinary surgeons over the development of the demographic survey and the quo vadis project. i look forward to seeing the results and deductions of both these allied projects as my presidential year progresses. des thompson must be mentioned and thanked for his work on behalf of spvs and the college in devising the manpower questionnaire. some would argue that the vpma could have been established within spvs as they share many common aims regarding the advancement of practice management. it is my intention to invite their current president, john bower, to talks to map out how we may co-operate in the future. spvs no longer has a free field to put on management seminars. competition compels us to be innovative and to push forward the boundaries or paradigms when we design our programme of events. however, what is wrong with enjoying cpd? no excuses are necessary for seminars linked to sailing, skiing or other activities. learning is easier if you are enjoying what andrew robinson has termed "environmental cpd". it is demonstrably a good way to attract new members of all ages. the year will end with the agm and conference at mottram hall, prestbury, cheshire. the intention is to repeat the format of this year's conference, devised by christine shield, which has taken us to a new level of conference course content. in conclusion, i would like to say that over my years with spvs i have been fortunate to work with several people for whom i have the highest regard, and i must mention john tindall who gave me vast encouragement to develop some of the ideas which i have been proud to see spvs adopt (for example the mediation service and the manpower and demographic surveys). his encouragement is undoubtedly the reason that i find myself honoured to be your president. other articles in the july 1998 spvs bulletin include: profession to assess ems, in the context of a government quality review of higher education. summary of officers' reports to the spvs agm in may. spvs officers and council for 1998/99 pet insurance: finding the right policy for your client. planning your retirement. anval and spvs present a new weekend seminar at the swallow hotel, northampton. cpd in general veterinary practice: a programme of learning real practical skills. spvs seminars 1998 - time to change. overwhelming recommendation for spvs computer seminar. the bulletin is published for the society of practising veterinary surgeons by veterinary business development ltd. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/july99.htm|| bulletin: july 1999 spvs bulletin july 1999 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with the titles of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. the new spvs president: chris chesneyi come to the presidency of this society with some trepidation, not least because i follow a series of presidents who have all been live wires, initiating this, introducing that. my own approach to life is a rather more bookish one, occasionally dreamy to the point of inattention (but usually because i'm thinking of something else that seems important!) following such active folk worried me for a while, but i now realise that it is really one of the strengths of this splendid profession that diversity is not only allowed, but encouraged. where else could one so easily move from being an enthusiastic soft tissue surgeon, to dabbling in dentistry, then behaviour, eventually finding oneself a referral dermatologist? this fact, this opportunity for relatively simple transition between modes and disciplines, should not be lost. we should keep this in mind as we plan the future education of our younger colleagues, be that as undergraduates or post-graduate, be that as we supervise their "extra mural study", or guide their early years as assistants. this is the thinking which informs my interest in the idea of a certificate in general practice, for general practice will always be the chief occupation of most veterinarians (i know that's an americanism, but some of us are no longer "surgeons"). the front line clinician is the one about whom the rest of the profession will revolve. these thoughts lay behind the development of the programme for this coming presidential year. in the roadshow/workshops, i hope not only that the lecturers at the front will teach, but that some of the individual learned skills of those in the audience will be drawn out, to the benefit of all. during snowscene, too, i have asked a swedish veterinary colleague and friend, dr ewa sevelius, to lead the group in exploring ideas of how this body of knowledge, developed within the profession, can be codified. perhaps it may be possible even to publish guidelines for the "best" method of handling difficult but frequently-met problems, such as diabetes or heart disease. the detailed plans for next year's congress are still at the incubation stage, but there will be lectures and debates, masterclasses and some partying, all in the softness of devon's seaside air in may. but of course, this is by no means the whole of the spvs year. those busy colleagues of mine continue to run their projects. there is the water sports weekend (andrew robinson), and the seasick school of sailing week (alan leyland). christine shield is working on the driving skills course. our friends from anval, the indefatigable dixon and valerie gunn, are running not only their "successful management of practice" weekend, but have introduced a retirement planning seminar, which projects they run in conjunction with the society. after a year of being president elect, i am also very conscious of the part played by others of the team. jean thompson is a great help, for she serves longer than any president, and has knowledge not only of what must be done, but pushes folk on to do it. nicky paull, philip goddard, michael clarke, kenelm lewis, and other council members, all work steadily away at their allotted tasks. alan leyland has paid tribute to the outgoing senior vice-president, christine. i add my thanks for her service. there is always a note of sadness as the svp slides out of the officer team, but christine has been among those who have accomplished most for this society. but, enough of the back-slapping, what is spvs actually for? like all presidents this thought has occupied me greatly in the last year. a chief role, of course, relates to the point i made earlier, that we are a profession chiefly of people in practice. the intent of those who set up the society of practising veterinary surgeons was to introduce the ideas of management into practice. this must remain at the heart of what we do. in this role i see the society as a lens, as a means of focusing attention and ideas. this can be two-way. it can focus the attention of our members on issues of management, be it financial or that newer interesting borderland where "management" meets clinical practice. conversely, the society, through the debates at its council, can focus the concerns of members upon sources which may resolve those concerns. in the wider world, and as a constituent division of the bva, we already have the ability to debate, to focus ideas from spvs to bva and bva policies back again to members. this is an aspect which, it is my hope, can be developed in relation to the royal college. spvs council recently decided that one member who also serves on rcvs council should monitor the activities of the college and to report back on items of mutual interest or concern. i personally have always found officers of the college have an open ear to a spvs viewpoint (well, nearly always) and, if we have something important to say, i fully believe that the present-day college will listen. so, that's the plan. we are members of a rather small society in a rather small profession. however, i had my first experience of being in charge of meetings as chairman of the exeter labour party constituency party in the noisy political arena of the early 1970s. and so, in the ringing tones of those constituency days, i say to you "go back to your practices, and prepare to focus!" other articles in the july 1999 spvs bulletin include: strategies to prevent burnout. burnout is one of the potential hazards of a medical career and chris johnstone, who is now enjoying part-time work in psychiatry and runs courses at bristol university on preventing burnout, looks at what we can do to reduce the risk. christine shield, spvs past president, voices a gripe about clinical histories as supplied by practices. corporate vets: a glimpse of the future. duncan james from berrymans solicitors, writes. discipline procedures. every practice should have a disciplinary procedure to ensure that the practice standards are maintained and that any alleged failure to observe the practice rules is fairly dealt with. facts and figures about the european animal health industry, taken from the fedesa animal health dossier. part-timers. with the large increase in veterinary surgeons and support staff wishing to take up part-time hours in practice, the spvs part time report is a very interesting read. industrial and financial news update: covers the national minimum wage, law on unfair dismissal, and methods of payment. the spvs has negotiated a reduced rate for card transactions with midland bank. full details are given, or click here. vpma management day at the bva congress, 23rd september 1999. the bulletin is published for the society of practising veterinary surgeons by veterinary business development ltd. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/march00.htm|| march 2000 spvs bulletin march 2000 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with the titles of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. the crisis in the farming community and large animal veterinary practicehealth plans, protocols and farm assurance, by richard sibley finding a constructive way out of the current mire of agricultural depression is not easy, and the turmoil of the dairy sector in particular is indicative of the desperation of the food producing industry. what is evolving in farming is a realisation that the food supply chain is really a food demand chain. like every other market-sensitive commodity, food production has to be led by demand. adam smith, the original economist, pronounced that economic activity is driven by consumption, not production. deliver what the consumers want, not what you think they want. the major retailers tell us that consumers wish for safe food produced from animals that are healthy and well cared for. many will reply that we produce at that level already, in the vast majority of cases. farm assurance has given us the opportunity to demonstrate production standards. it also gives us the incentive to tidy up some loose ends in animal production systems; medicine controls and health and welfare monitoring have become major issues in farm assurance and quality standards. the veterinary profession working in farm animal practice is redefining its role in the production of quality produce from healthy and well-cared-for animals. we are part of the food demand chain and part of the livestock industry. our fortune depends on the fortune of our producer clients. health, welfare and productivity are inexorably linked. so why is it that in many cases, health is left to chance? many farms have no healthcare strategy or plan. they have no performance or production monitoring, and no idea of the health status of their animals. they have no protocols of disease prevention and care. we are all proud of our top herds: the elite that we delight in visiting, befriending the owners and praising their workforce. but what about the rest? they probably contribute to the 50% incidence of cow lameness, the 25% incidence of clinical mastitis in dairy cows, and the fact that the average dairy cow only manages four lactations, with 20% of heifers never reaching their second. these statistics do not present a great record of healthcare and welfare. the economic pressures of dairy farming, and the requirements of a sensitive marketplace, are now focusing minds on animal productivity, health and welfare. despite the paucity of money and the fragility of farm animal practice, there is no better time for the profession to become actively involved in planning health and welfare on farms, and guiding producers through the minefield of farm assurance. most assurance schemes have recognised the importance of health planning, and require some form of written health plan. the form of the health plan is rarely defined, but the specialist divisions of bva have been actively involved in producing guidance and models for various schemes. we have tried to persuade the rulemakers that the assurance of health and welfare requires the measurement of health and welfare, which surely is a veterinary task. similarly, expert stockmanship needs to be recognised and rewarded. the cracks of poor resources can be papered over by expert stockmanship. planning for health on a farm need not involve massive capital expenditure. health monitoring, clear written protocols, and raising the proficiency of stockmen to recognise and attend to health and welfare concerns, are all part of the health plan. a good health plan is a dynamic document. it needs maintenance and review. review dates must be specified, and the problems that the monitoring systems reveal must be addressed and corrected. health plans work. the message is getting through. farmers are seeing the benefit. an hour pondering over a health plan can be an illuminating experience for both farmer and veterinary surgeon. treatment protocols and vaccine regimes have often evolved through tradition and history rather than science and application. review is often embarrassingly overdue. the requirement for a health plan can be the trigger that is needed to take a fresh look. the economics of health planning are good. the profession has never been forceful at selling cost benefits, and some sectors of livestock farming have been resistant to persuasion. however, there is a growing recognition that a healthy herd is a productive herd. definitive figures and cost benefit analyses would help, and a campaign to demonstrate the benefits of good comprehensive veterinary services on livestock farms is long overdue. the veterinary surgeon must be seen as a positive benefit to the farm team, and a robust health plan can be the start of a more symbiotic relationship. farm animal healthcare requires a commitment from both the farmer and the veterinary surgeon. a level of expertise is required, and the profession has to deliver a high standard of service. as part of the food demand chain, our services and standards will inevitably become part of the assurance of quality food production, but perhaps this is something we should embrace rather than fear. other articles in the march 2000 spvs bulletin include: possible consequences of advisory fee scales, by julian kupfer. accountancy update: the information on this page is supplied by dodd & co. accountants. the veterinary benevolent fund millennium member appeal. was it a 'happy new millennium' for your computer system? come along to the spvs computer seminar in peterborough on october 26th and 27th. crisis, what crisis? comments on the large animal crisis from spvs council members and others. unfair dismissal and redundancy law: what you need to know. rating revaluation to come into effect in april. spvs members standing for rcvs council elections this year. taxation of company cars: there are 1.7 million company cars in the uk and there are major changes in the pipeline on the way that they will be taxed. notes from the last spvs council meeting. bullying at work: what employers should do. pet travel scheme: insurance issues and imported diseases. notice of the annual general meeting, sunday 21st may 2000 at the palace hotel, torquay. new! one day "basic first aid" course, fulfil your obligations as an employer under the health and safety at work act . the bulletin is published for the society of practising veterinary surgeons by veterinary business development ltd. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/march01.htm|| march 2001 spvs bulletin march 2001 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with a list of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. professional expenses insurance (locum insurance) when a partner in a veterinary practice is unable to work through illness or accident, it can have a significant impact on the practice from the point of view of veterinary expertise and management expertise, but more importantly there can be significant financial implications. not only could the practice suffer a loss in income but it is likely that the partner will wish to continue to take his or her monthly income from the practice. historically, the solution to these problems has been to hire a locum assistant until such time as the partner is fit to return to work. with locums costing anything from £120 to £180 per day, the cost of employing a locum whilst the practice still pays the partner can be prohibitively expensive, particularly if it is anticipated that the partner will be off for quite some time. however, the traditional solution to mitigating the additional expense is for the partner to draw on his or her income protection policy and therefore reduce the monthly drawings from the practice. with income protection policies, the deferred period (the period the policyholder needs to be off before the policy starts paying) is normally three to six months and the benefit payable is to a maximum of 65% of the previous 12 months' net pre-tax profit. in most cases this will result in a significant drop in income for the partner and therefore the partner may wish to continue drawing an income from the practice, albeit at a reduced rate. the answer to the above problem is for the partners within the veterinary practice to take out individual professional expenses insurance (more commonly referred to as "locum insurance"). this type of policy is a form of permanent health insurance but with some important differences. in terms of the benefit payable, unlike phi, the maximum benefit level is not determined by the partners' income. subject to certain criteria being met, most insurers offering this type of policy will provide cover up to £4,500 per month. this ensures that the fixed cost of a replacement professional is covered up to a year after the onset of incapacity. this provides enough time to make long-term plans if necessary. one of the determining factors as to the cost of providing this cover is the deferred period. generally speaking, the shorter the deferred period the more expensive the premium. with locum insurance, however, because the policy will only pay for a maximum of 12 months, the premiums are surprisingly inexpensive in comparison with phi premiums. also, tax relief will be allowed on the premiums because these are currently treated as a business expense. benefits will be seen as a trading receipt but these can be offset against the actual expenses incurred. this obviously has the effect of reducing further the net cost of the premiums. as a stepping stone to returning to work, a reduced "rehabilitation" payment is available on some policies which allows them a gradual return to work with continued part-time locum cover in force. cover is provided until your plan ends, no matter how many claims you make. you choose for how long you wish your cover to last when you first set up the policy ­ until your 50th, 55th, 60th or 65th birthday. this is usually your anticipated retirement age, although the lower the age you choose, the cheaper the premium will be. linking of claims is available on some policies which ensures that a setback in the recovery process does not inhibit the affordability of the locum. for example, benefits can be reinstated if a claim is made within 13 weeks of returning to work. most policies will automatically have built-in inflation protection. this is where the benefits and premiums are designed to increase each year at the same rate matching the retail price index. your right to these increases is guaranteed and no further medical evidence will be requested. at the start of your policy you can choose to pay either "guaranteed" or "reviewable" premiums. guaranteed premiums cost more but are guaranteed not to change "except for increases in line with the retail price index". alternatively, you can save money by choosing reviewable premiums: this means that the premiums would be reviewed every five years. if the company's expectation of future claims experience has deteriorated, it is likely it would increase the premiums accordingly. once the policy is taken up, as a further saving any existing phi policy may be changed to a deferred period of 52 weeks. this may significantly reduce the phi premiums payable by the partner. as with most types of insurance, locum assurance is, of course, not compulsory. however, in these days of rising costs and tightening margins, i would suggest that you ask yourself the question, "could the practice afford an additional expenditure of £3,000 to £4,000 per month and if so for how long?" if the answer is "not at all", or "not for very long", then locum insurance may be the answer. kevin heady, mlia(dip), has over 12 years' experience dealing with the veterinary profession; he is a senior financial practitioner with inter-alliance plc, the largest ifa in the uk with over 70 offices nation-wide. for more information, or to find your nearest office, call kevin heady on 0117 905 5016, or e-mail kevin.heady@inter-alliance.com. other articles in the march 2001 spvs bulletin include: have you considered lpg? the environmentally-friendly fuel made as a by-product of the petroleum industry. introducing the vpac: the veterinary practice administration certificate. tax relief on generosity! polish student seeks work experience this summer: here she writes about life as a polish veterinary undergraduate. veterinary practice in columbia: supervisor sought for research thesis. book review: clients, pets and vets: communication and management. carl gorman. protecting yourself against the three-headed monster! a summary of peter eville's presentation to spvs roadshows 2000. the bulletin is published for the society of practising veterinary surgeons by veterinary business development ltd. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/march02.htm||march 2002 spvs bulletin march 2002 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with a list of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. funding for veterinary nurse trainingby john corsan of vetlink contrary to popular belief there are not great sums of government money available to support level 2 and 3 nvq in veterinary nursing, that are paid direct to the employer. funding for work based vocational training is funded through the learning and skills council (lsc) which was established in april last year to replace the county based training and enterprise councils (tecs). currently all work-based learning (wbl) funding is controlled by the lsc who support the occupationally competent training providers. the lsc in each region apportion the money that is provided by government into the areas that they perceive it is needed, i.e. modern apprenticeships schemes covering engineering and manufacturing. funding is also age related, as the 16-18 year old learner will attract higher funding than the 19 - 24 year old. at present veterinary nurse training is well down the list and is categorised in health care and public service provision. there are, however, changes afoot. in the next 18 months or so the nvq level 2 will be moved into the modern apprenticeships (ma) framework, and level 3 veterinary nursing will become an advanced modern apprenticeship (ama). the net result of this move will be that funding for apprenticeships is almost double that for standard nvqs; however the course may be longer, 30 months instead of the current 24. again ma & ama will be channelled through training providers registered and audited by the local lsc they hold a contract with. it is the government's intention that 1 in 4 learners between 16 and 18 will be in a modern apprenticeship scheme by the year 2004. a second source of funding is your local business link. they do have funding for various staff training initiatives, not only student nurses but also lay staff can benefit from these initiatives and your chances of getting help from them is possibly better than the lsc. first try your local lsc, speak to the work based learning contracts manager, who should be in a position to tell you if there is a local provider who can help you. you should bear in mind that the money may only pay for the learner's college fees, provided they are not in receipt of fefc funding through the college they attend. providers will also, as part of their lsc contract, support the employer through regular visits to ensure that the student nurse is getting the necessary support from the assessors in the practice. it is worth bearing in mind that other industries and professions re-invest on average 1% of their turnover in training and developing their staff! good luck in your search for funding! other articles in the march 2002 spvs bulletin include: the assistant's existence: what do you know about statutory sick pay? tax self-assessment: what records do i have to keep? book review: handbook of veterinary nursing. some thoughts on drug dispensing in large animal practice. questions the tax man could ask: do you know the answers? spvs members standing for rcvs elections: use your vote. we need help! the fourth edition of the highly successful forms manual out soon, all input and suggestions gratefully received. some (interesting) cat facts: supplied by cats protection. company car taxation: cash or car? notice of agm. spvs shorts: brief notes on gender differences in the income of australian veterinary surgeons, good pharmacy practice and the competition commission investigation into dispensing of veterinary poms. have you upset anyone lately? in many tax investigations the revenue has no other informant 'like a lover scorned' ! back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/march03.htm|| march 2003 spvs bulletin march 2003 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with a list of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. inspirational leadershipat spvs congress – may 15-18th 2003. spvs officers and council warmly invite you to attend our annual congress, held this year in stratford upon avon. the theme is inspirational leadership and is geared to appeal to all members of the practice team. whether partner or nurse trainee, to motivate, educate and steer a course through the tough times are skills which can benefit all. on friday, there will be a series of lectures and workshops on topics such as: how to unite a disparate group around a shared vision. how to inspire a team to win against the odds. how to re-motivate the de-motivated troops. how to lead in a crisis. if you feel that the annual staff meeting is pointless, that the nurses meetings create more tensions than they ease, if lines of communication are indistinct or non existent, if there are just too many chiefs and not enough indians. a couple of days in stratford may be just what’s needed! on saturday, the main topic is the future of the profession. spvs is proud to see itself as the active political voice of the practicing arm of the veterinary profession. the spvs email discussion list is testament to the fact that our members have strong opinions about the issues facing our profession, past, present and future. since fmd, there has been some backlash about vets not speaking out, so here’s your chance to speak directly to those who can make a difference. firstly, professor neil gorman will take the chair for a talk and informed discussion on the rcvs education proposals for 2010 and beyond. what direction will the certificates and diplomas take? what will the proposed ptp mean to our practice? will it become mandatory to maintain ones license to practice? secondly, there will be an opportunity to discuss the veterinary surgeons act. once again, as an active political organisation seeking to promote and protect the interests of practicing veterinary surgeons, this is your chance to take a direct role in shaping the legislation that will effect every one of us in the near future. on sunday, if you’re not all talked out, there is the ever-popular question time. the panel will include presidents of rcvs, bva, bsava and spvs. this will be unlike any other divisional congress, because it will be what you bring to it and what you, our members make it. the future of our profession is in our hands. we, the council and officers, very much look forward to hearing what you have to say, enjoying your company, and helping you to work more inspirationally! other articles in the march 2003 spvs bulletin include: veterinary nurse training: results of a survey conducted on the spvs discussion list. (click here for more information about the discussion list.) matching expectations: planning to create the right working relationship. a new document available from the spvs and vpma. click here for full publications list and order form. new information for graduates: a series of fact sheets have been produced by the recent graduate liaison officer richard hillman (no, not that one!) answering commonly-asked questions. email richard on rglo@spvs.org.uk for more information. masters in general veterinary practice: update. direct claims from pet insurance companies: new documents available. writing a curriculum vitae for a job in veterinary practice. update on nurse training: jacqui molyneux updates spvs members on the latest developments. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/march04.htm|| march 2004 spvs bulletin march 2004 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with a list of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. bva and the divisions: what does the future hold?nick blayney, spvs honorary secretary, discusses his take on recent developments within the profession. bva watchers will be aware of the immense changes being wrought within the bva, of which the spvs is a division. not only has there been a complete restructuring but also a great deal of soul-searching, in order to define exactly what the bva is for and what its relationship with its major divisions should be. times change and organisations need to change with them. if we compare the veterinary profession with, say, the medics, then we see a different structure of representation. they have the bma, which deals very much as a trade union as well as professional organisation. as far as representation is concerned, it deals by and large with one major employer, albeit a fairly robust one. we, on the other hand, are a much smaller profession, with a wide variety of diverse professional pursuits and no clear ability to represent our members in any kind of pay or conditions bargaining. we have several large, specialist divisions that have evolved by and large to satisfy the appetite for cpd in different disciplines. whilst they can all deliver extremely well-tailored cpd very efficiently, what none of them can do is to speak as the voice of the profession. the equine vet in newmarket probably has a very take on things to the small animal vet in liverpool or the farm vet in cornwall. government, however, does not recognise such differences. historically, the bva has been the political voice of the profession. it is financed by its income from publications, chiefly the veterinary record, and also by the subscription of its members. negotiations with government have been principally involved with food producing issues. companion animal vets, now the majority of the profession, have had the luxury (and delusion) that they were not that much affected by political winds of change. but those winds are now blowing around all areas of the profession, and they are indeed chilly. we have had the competition commission report, the planned changes to university funding and the prospect of a new veterinary surgeons' act. who is going to represent our combined interests in these matters of great import? not the royal college whose role is to regulate the vets, not to represent them. political lobbying is the order of the day. government is looking for advice and information upon which to take decisions, often pragmatic decisions, and not necessarily in our interests. if we do not present clear cohesive and well-researched arguments then we can be sure that there will be other single-interest groups who will provide some sort of answer. a couple of years ago the yorkshire veterinary society had the temerity to invite elliot morley, agriculture minister, to a meeting. and he came! in discussion afterwards, at which spvs made a point of also being present, he made it clear that he would be persuaded by strong argument but that we needed to remember that he was also receiving conflicting 'advice' from many other quarters and that if we did not make our case (about the competition commission) then we had nobody to blame but ourselves. which is where the bva comes in. the credibility of a lobbying organisation is based on the quality of its message and also its moral right to speak on behalf of the group it purports to represent. government does not want four messages from the profession, it wants one. so the need for a central, politically savvy, organisation is clearly demonstrated, one that is able to demonstrate that it represents a significant majority of the profession. anybody who does not accept that is deluding themselves. so who pays for it? well, sadly, it has to be the profession itself. and that is where the relationship between the specialist divisions and the bva at their centre needs to be determined. recent political events have seen bva working with its specialist divisions to positive effect. the huge response from the profession (bva working in conjunction with its specialist divisions) to the competition commission enquiry informed and influenced the dti's thinking and hopefully its final response. if the specialist divisions are to be seen as divisions of the bva, then is it not the case that their members must also be members of bva, and as such prepared to shoulder the financial responsibility associated with that membership? as it is, veterinary surgeons who have chosen not to belong to the bva are living on the back of the subscriptions of their colleagues. the specialist divisions certainly have their own individual roles to play in supporting the diverse interests of their members. services such as the bva bupa health scheme and the initiatives that the spvs has been developing to support recent graduates are vital, but they need careful monitoring to avoid duplication of effort. the relationship of bva with its divisions is a major issue facing the profession today. a solution is not readily apparent but there has got to be a fundamental restructuring and realignment within the divisions first if this profession is going to be in a position to look after itself in the twenty-first century. for one thing is sure. nobody else will look after us. other articles in the march 2004 spvs bulletin include: spvs masters graduate in style: the eight successful candidates are awarded their msc in general veterinary practice. spvs council member wins award: ewan mcneill wins the veterinary literary award. go sailing with spvs: hon sec nick blayney gives an overview of what to expect and hopes to win over some budding sailors for the 2004 expedition. working time directives: hilary manning gives an overview. mervyn harris ponders on some current issues. the future of the veterinary profession is pink: glynne davies reports on gender issues. rcvs elections: it's your choice new: recent graduates snowscene. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/march05.htm|| march 2005 spvs bulletin march 2005 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with a list of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. pr and the professionhow should the profession respond to complaints? by iain richards, spvs public relations officer (pro). as pro i get sent a variety of clippings from magazines, newspapers and journals, usually on the high prices for fees but sometimes relating to the overall business that is veterinary practice. similar scenarios apply to the occasional radio phone-in one is asked to take part in. the marsh and cc enquiries brought a wave of these articles in publications as diverse as dairy farming, and dog’s world. a recent issue of the former chose to rage in vehement fashion against vets in general and the rcvs in particular following a recent rcvs judgement that it disagreed with. what all of these articles have in common is a considerable lack of understanding of how a veterinary practice functions, how it is funded and, relatively speaking, how poorly profitable they are. the headline, “vets offer incredible value for money,” does not grab the attention of a features editor like, “vets rip off oap with killer jabs,” the general public is woefully ignorant about the true costs of medical services – a view that has not been helped by the vet programmes which seldom deal in the costs of treatments. however i think the problem is deeper than this. part of the problem lies in our natural reticence, our innate (or enforced) sense that to say how good we really are is somehow wrong. we are encouraged by the rcvs not to advertise, especially where it might be construed that our practice and its services are somehow better than the practice down the road, even if they are patently better. is the reason for this that to imply that some vets are better than others is to denigrate the profession as a whole? for years there has been the mantra that all vets are equal. i wonder if this attitude, which has served the profession well for many years, is now holding us back in our dealings with the media. perhaps we should now add, “but some vets are more equal than others.” a third problem is the disparate nature of our profession. particularly in rural areas, vets are spread over a wide area often with a loyal or geographically restricted clientele. we are all private businesses working on a variety of animals and in competition with each other, unlike our medical colleagues. it is a lot easier for the medics to influence the media. “bma condemns government stance on waiting lists,” will hit the papers with greater ease than, “bva condemns defra approach on tb.” another aspect to this problem is the reluctance of the profession to respond to some of the more inflammatory articles on the grounds that they are not worth responding to. i have certainly abandoned a response to articles half way through, when my annoyance at the bilge that is printed wanes when trying to put together a well-constructed reply. it is difficult to take a reasoned stance without the self-interest tag being raised. yet perhaps our self- interest should be promoted more. the general public still, i would suggest, feels we are the most informed people on matters relating to animal disease and welfare. politicians and lobby groups follow the newspapers and while they hopefully have a healthy scepticism for much they read, i cannot help feel that the traffic is all one way. i have rarely seen any articles that promote our profession, or defend it against the outspoken comments of a single person (such as a recent telegraph article on sheep welfare). the bva press office do a good job to try and raise the profile of the profession but with little apparent success. perhaps one way to do this would be to respond to all these little snipes at our profession, especially if it gets our arguments heard or published. no newspaper article is ever peer reviewed. think how much fun we could get out of pointing out all their inaccuracies. i believe that the profession should start to respond to all these scare stories, particularly when it comes to costs and we have excellent ammunition like the anval report to use as solid fact. this effort will have to start from the practice and its local papers or low volume trade magazines. if you don’t personally want to respond, then perhaps feed the article back to the spvs council or the bva press office. responding to these, often erroneous, articles in a reasoned way will take a considerable effort, but this is an effort we need to make. we are losing the pr game mainly, i believe, because we have not yet made any moves of our own. other articles in the march 2005 spvs bulletin include: want to learn about client care and practice profitability? an article gives more detail about the forthcoming spvs congress and agm 2005. new and expectant mothers in veterinary surgeries: an article written jointly by a consultant in health and safety and a consultant in employment law. young spvs skiing and cpd: report of the first event. professional development phase: through the eyes of a pdp mentor and a new graduate. spvs clinical audit roadshows 2005: find out more. an invitation to join spvs council: enthusiastic "new blood" wanted. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/march99.htm|| march 1999 spvs bulletin march 1999 the spvs bulletin is an eight page magazine mailed bi-monthly to all members of the society. the lead article is reproduced here together with the titles of the other articles. if you want to know more, join the society! views expressed in the spvs bulletin are those of the authors of individual pieces. spvs can accept no responsibility for advice or comments made in this journal. click here to email the editor. the vshspno! it's not a new and emerging disease syndrome for busy practitioners to try and cope with! this is the veterinary surgeons' health support programme that was launched on 1st march. the programme is to help those vets with addiction problems to drink and/or drugs. yes! drink and drugs: this does happen to vets as well as the general population. addiction is a disease of obsession. vshsp is aimed to provide help and support for vets suffering from addictive problems due to drugs or alcohol that are affecting their well-being and their ability to practice. such a problem will also compromise the reputation of the profession in the eyes of the public. approximately 10% of the calls to vet helpline, some 30-plus calls per annum, have drugs and/or alcohol as their major presenting sign. we only need to consider that our profession has the highest suicide rate of all the professions. there are programmes in place for medics, lawyers, dentists and pharmacists; our system will be run on similar lines to these programmes. it is thought that approximately 10% of professional people have such problems. the medics rate the success of treatment for addictive disease on a vshsp-type of programme is about 90%! it is only with this type of early intervention that we can successfully treat a condition that is inevitably progressive and fatal. how many medical conditions are so serious and yet have such a good cure rate? the programme has many aims: after identifying affected vets and referring them for appropriate support, it will also try to assist with practical problems - both in the practice and at home. it will also help with any problems that the family or dependants of the affected vet may have. the programme will be professionally run by an experienced national co-ordinator and a network of regional carers throughout the whole of the uk. there is also a board of trustees of the vshsp to oversee the running, funding and promotion of the programme. the programme is being financed jointly by the rcvs, bva, vds, bsava, bvha and, of course, spvs. the whole profession is also invited to assist with the funding. it is hoped that this programme will provide an important step in helping any vets with addictive disease at the earliest opportunity; hopefully before their addiction causes severe problems to the health and well-being of the vet and his or her family, together with the reputation of the vet, the profession and the animals under the care of an affected vet. other articles in the march 1999 spvs bulletin include: university entrance: practitioner input. john head has been involved in a new slant on candidate selection. pet insurance: this ever topical subject is discussed by an insurance company and a vet in practice. spvs mediation service. the spvs mediation service was established in 1997 with the aim of providing an inexpensive, confidential and efficient service to resolve any matters of conflict or dispute in veterinary practice. a recent graduate's thoughts: first few months in practice. report of the december 1998 spvs council meeting. report of the 1998 seminar for final-year students held at lancaster university: feedback from the students. 24 hour cover. all vets should by now have seen the rcvs draft position statement on 24-hour cover. reported here are a few comments received by spvs, and passed on to the rcvs about the proposed document. tell us what you think... members' views are sought on any topical or contentious issue. notice of agm: sunday 30th may 1999 at mottram hall prestbury, cheshire. list of spvs members standing in the rcvs council elections. cardiology and watersports weekend: a repeat of last year's successful event. the repair of leased premises: a solicitor examines the issues. the bulletin is published for the society of practising veterinary surgeons by veterinary business development ltd. back to list of bulletins. . . . . . . . spvs home page docs/bulletin/may00.htm|| may 2000 spvs bulletin may 2000 the spvs bulletin is an eight pa