Week 12 and counting….

I had a late night on Sunday trying to submit my application to the RCVS for Advanced Practitioner Status, http://www.rcvs.org.uk/education/advanced-practitioner-status/, before the closing date of, err…Sunday night.  Nothing like a deadline to focus the mind – bit like exams really!  I struggled with the technology but just dipped in under the bar.  I believe I wasn’t the only one with the middle name, “Justin”: in the final week leading up to the deadline the number of applicants rose from about 250 to 700, (approximately 40% of which were equine) - good to hear I was in good company.

The rest of the week until Wednesday night was in the practice culminating in our annual dinner for our referring vets at The Corse Lawn Hotel http://corselawn.com/.  The evening ended sampling malt whisky at 2am with our houseguest, Henry Tremaine.  This was followed by a 7am departure to catch a flight to the 60^th AAEP Convention in Salt Lake City http://www.aaep.org/info/annual-convention-318.”I was buckin’ and squealin’” as Liam Kearns, one of my partners would say.  We dropped Henry back at the hotel to collect his car and wended our way to Heathrow, finding an “early starter” en route.

On our way to Salt Lake City we stopped off at Toronto to spend a couple of nights with Luise’s uncle, University Professor-Emeritus Geoffrey Sumner-Smith DVSc (Liv), MSc, BVSc FRCVS – that number of letters after a name was never going to be from my side of the family!  Geoff qualified from Liverpool in 1951 and after spending a few years in large animal practice in Malpas, Cheshire, followed by some Small Animal practice in Bristol, moved to Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) at the University of Guelph in 1967 for a 2 year post – and in his words, “…I’ve been here ever since”.  Geoff was one of the pioneers of internal fixation (AOVET) in small animals and has published widely on the subject of small animal orthopaedics.  Obviously we had to visit the OVC, where Luise also spent 12 months as an intern from 1987 to 1988.

Another early start on Saturday, which didn’t matter, jetlag had already kicked in, for our flight to Salt Lake City via Chicago.  I’m an early riser most days but 3am is even a shock to my system!

So, to the US to experience The Great American Dream….

Week 11 and counting…..

It’s probably been the quietest week so far from a travelling perspective, although that doesn’t stop the emails coming in thick and fast – (approximately 50 – 60 per day).  Only one trip to the “big-smoke” on Thursday afternoon for a meeting, the Equine Insurance Forum (EIF), with representatives from the insurance industry, including KBIS, NFU, SEIB, E&L etc..  The meeting was held on the 15^th floor at Catlin Insurance, situated in the heart of The City – what a vista - and the insurers are crying poverty: I wonder how many responses that comment will get?

The “insurers” had already had a meeting in the morning, which included one of their veterinary advisors, who was also present at our meeting, Paul Farrington MRCVS, who I haven’t seen for some time.  The seating arrangements did confer a feeling of us (David M, Huw Griffiths and me) at one end and them (including Paul F) at the other – whose side is Paul on I ask?

There were many issues raised, including the discussion points raised on EVG earlier in the year, which at the time came across as quite a “full-on” insurance bashing session.

Owners tend to compare horse insurance with their car insurance, which as the facts below indicate, is comparing apples with oranges.

Equine Insurance Key Facts:

-                          approximately 1 in 4/5 Vet Fee policy holders makes a claim per annum, which is far higher than any other policy type, e.g. car insurance is approximately 1 in 100….I bet I’m higher than that.

-                          The average claim is approximately £1750

-                          85 – 90% of Vet Fees is on diagnostics

-                          Car insurance doesn’t cover for mechanical repairs, which would I suppose is equivalent to a fracture repair or colic surgery.

With these facts in mind I think that Equine Insurance is good value for money and that we should promote it to owners as such. 

One of the valid discussion points raised on the forum was that the cost of insurance becomes prohibitively expensive once horse numbers exceed 2 or 3.  Inevitably in that situation, it is always the uninsured individual, which gallops through the fence or gets colic!  A possible solution to that scenario is for the owner to be strict about putting the insurance premium into a savings account for that rainy day and they can spend it on the, likely only one horse, which does have a problem.  After all, insurance policies are just another savings plan for that rainy day.  Good idea in theory but the reality is the Harrison’s (Luise) would just spend it!

Other issues included the reason why insurers don’t pay vets directly as BUPA or other insurers pay our medical fees directly to the provider.  It is related to the fact that the with vet’s fees the insurers indemnify the policyholder’s loss, i.e. costs for treatment, whereas with, for example BUPA, the insurer provides the “medical service”.  This automatically lead into the subject of the insurers expressing their desire to explore the option of using preferred providers, which would result in practices automatically being paid directly.  This is a subject which is very topical for TCEH at the moment; a client has very recently been paid by the insurance co. (over £2K for a nearly £3K bill) and the money, “has been swallowed up by my bank account”!.... I love my job.

The insurers did also ask us to remind our members that the £5000 vet fee cover on most policies is a limit not a target.

Week 10 and counting…..

It’s been a far quieter from a BEVA perspective this week - thank goodness!  I did make a “cameo” appearance at TCEH – I thought I’d say it before my colleagues did.

However, it has given me time to catch up and also time to reflect on last week’s activities.  There were so many issues raised during the FEEVA PPE meeting, which I mentioned last week.  There are so many similarities and yet so many differences between the whole process of PPE across Europe.  For example, the majority of European countries do not see the horse ridden during the examination.  The period of strenuous exercise is performed on the lunge or loose schooled.  In many European countries, it is the buyer who engages the vet to perform the PPE, which inevitably results in the seller paying for the examination.  On that note, in Denmark, if the horse “passes” the buyer pays and if the horse “fails” the seller pays.  Which brings into question the issue of “conflict of interests” in such circumstances.

On Wednesday night I gave a joint presentation with Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS) entitled “Large Animal Rescue” for the Wyvern Veterinary Society, probably one of only a handful of the BVA Divisions, which is still active.  The evening was divided into a formal lecture, outlining the vet’s role at rescues followed by a practical demonstration by HWFRS under the floodlights on the 1^st team pitch at Bromyard RFC.

Lamenting the Demise of (some of) the BVA Divisions - when I first started in practice my local division was the Lancashire (and Cheshire) Veterinary Society, which at the time was the epitome of a Divisional Veterinary Society.  Sadly it is now in the process of being disbanded.  It was the perfect opportunity for a new graduate to the area to meet and socialise with local colleagues and encourage good inter-practice relationships – working with J B Johnson, the consummate politician, I was never going to be destined to a life of all work and no play.  Not to mention the CPD element of the meetings.  Following that I joined the Cotswold Veterinary Society (CVS) and acted as Treasurer from 1996 till it’s disbanding in the mid 2000’s.  At CVS we discontinued the programme as attendance waned to embarrassingly low numbers, where on occasion there were more organisers, speakers and sponsors than there were delegates.  With far more CPD available, including Webinars, which can be viewed in the comfort of your own home.  However, I think it’s missing out on interactions with colleagues in other disciplines and fragmentation of the profession.  Which leads onto the bigger picture and something closely related, which was a question raised, by the BVA as part of their Strategic Plan & Governance Review, at last week’s VPG meeting (see Blog 9), which was, “What should the BVA do?”  After all they are the over-arching, non-species specific body representing the whole profession.  Ask yourself, “What do they do for you?” and “What should they do for you?”  Have your say and feedback to the BVA directly or via the BEVA office.

I attended the BVA Gala Dinner at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel on Thursday night, which was the most stunning location.  Fiona in the BEVA office had organised very reasonable accommodation for me in the shadow of Stanford Bridge.  I haven’t broken the news yet to my brother-in-law, a die-hard Chelsea fan.

I attended the London Vet Show (LVS) at Olympia on Friday where I met up with a couple of classmates from uni, Johnny Carr and Miles Williams, who I’ve barely seen since graduation.  Another classmate, in fact housemate, John Cook, who I’ve seen only once since graduation, delivered a lecture at LVS on the Thursday.  Meeting up with these former colleagues coupled with the sheer size of the commercial exhibition made me realise that as a horse-vet I’m only a small part of a far bigger industry – which is a good thing and long may we remain united.

Finally, it has been brought to my attention this week that the British Horseracing Authority’s (BHA’s) detection time for omeprazole of 72 hours is based upon the drug being used at the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance dose of 1mg/kg (¼ of a syringe) for 28 days.  However, in reality many trainers use a maintenance dose of 2mg/kg (½ syringe) once daily.  When used at this dose rate it is very likely that a positive test will ensue.  Please advise your trainers accordingly and recommend that they allow a greater drug withdrawal time, when using omeprazole at this rate.  Unfortunately there are no data available, which can offer a reliable detection time when the drug is used at a dose rate of 2mg/kg SID.

Better late than never…..

Week 9 and counting….

Probably one of my busiest but most diverse weeks so far, which followed on from a weekend on 1^st call.

The first meeting of the week was on Tuesday and was the BVA Veterinary Policy Group (VPG) held at their headquarters in Mansfield Street, London.  The VPG “advises BVA Council on animal health and welfare and public health issues” – current issues, which are discussed, may be species specific such as bovine TB or in the case of equine, the recent injuries survey that BEVA commissioned.  In addition, there are the wider issues raised, which affect all disciplines such as medicines legislation or disease surveillance.  A vital piece of information, which was highlighted related to the provision of OV (Official Veterinarian) services, such as the export of horses.  A new qualification, known as an Official Controls Qualification (Veterinarian) – or OCQ (V) is replacing the old OV qualification.  Improve International has been selected as the qualification provider.  Grandfather rights allowing transfer of existing OV panels to the equivalent OCQ (V) have been granted until 31^st March 2015.  Failure to make the deadline will mean you have to go back to “GO”!   The other deadline worth noting is 9^th January 2015, which will attract a discount on registration with Improve International, which unsurprisingly is required to acquire this new status!  Visit:  www.improve-ov.com to register before the deadline and take advantage of the grand father rights.

Time keeping has never been my forte and Wednesday was no exception.  I left home in what I thought was plenty of time at 0645hrs for a 0855hrs flight from Birmingham, normally less than an hour away.  However, the combination of heavy rain and rush-hour traffic resulted in me arriving at the airport at 0825hrs.  I still caught the plane – none of the other passengers realised that Airport Security was a contact sport.

I met up with Keith (Chandler) to attend a meeting at The Institute of Health & Well-Being with Tim Parkin, Professor Ewan MacDonald and Judith Brown.  We discussed the results of the Injuries Survey (http://www.beva.org.uk/news-and-events/news/view/641) and formulated a plan of how to use the survey outcomes most effectively and discuss further surveys going forward to determine if any changes that we implement will have a positive effect.  I then caught a flight that afternoon to London City Airport for a joint officers meeting with the BSAVA. 

After an overnight stay just off Hyde Park, I attended the World Horse Welfare annual conference held at the Royal Geographical Society on Thursday, where the theme was “What is The Value of Horses”.  http://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/conference - I urge you try and find time to view it but particularly to view Lance Corporal Jason Hare RM who is on from about 2hrs 20min to 2hrs 40min and see if you’re not moved to at least a lump in your throat or a tear in your eye.  Then back home to be on 1st call for Thursday night.

On Friday I returned to Glasgow, again via Birmingham.  On this occasion I left in plenty of time and arrived at the airport before check-in had even opened – which I must confess has to be a first for me.  The trip was to attend the FEEVA (Federation of European Equine Veterinary Associations) PPE symposium, a 2-day meeting, which had been organised by Malcolm Morley and Ben Mayes.  In attendance were representatives from the UK & Ireland, Germany, Austria, Latvia, Finland, Spain, Italy, Holland and Sweden.  Malcolm has chaired a working group to review the PPE procedure and certificate in the UK and Ireland over the last 2 -3 years.  The purpose of this meeting was to determine the differences in the procedure in each member state, to articulate these differences to our members and just as importantly to our clients who may on occasion avail themselves of the services of a veterinary surgeon in one of these member states.

 

The venue for the meeting, of approximately 20 delegates, was at the main headquarters of BCF Technologies (http://www.uk-ireland.bcftechnology.com/) at Bellshill, just outside of Glasgow, which the company re-located to approximately 12 months ago.  Gavin Mitchell, one of the co-owner’s gave us a guided tour around the premises on Saturday morning - we were like “Kids in a Candy Store”.

BCF also very kindly paid for dinner in a Central Glasgow restaurant on Friday night – their generosity for this meeting was overwhelming and I would like to publicly express my heartfelt gratitude.

A return flight to Birmingham late Saturday afternoon and on the way home I collected Tom, my son from school after he’d competed at Henley Sculls.  I was gutted that I hadn’t been there to holler from the riverbank – he wasn’t!

Week 8 and counting….

I’m running a bit late this week after a hectic time with…. well everything I suppose.

For the next few weeks I will be writing my Blog on Monday morning’s -  undisturbed.  As a beekeeper I have in recent years become more sensitive to bee stings, which are an inevitable consequence of the hobby.  In an attempt to avoid a full blown anaphylactic reaction I am receiving a course of desensitising injections on a weekly basis.  Occasionally beekeepers will be found dead next to their hives, which is not to be recommended.  After the injection I have to remain in the hospital for an hour in case of an adverse reaction – only 52 minutes to go.  I suppose I could give up beekeeping but that would be too easy! 

On Tuesday I was invited to attend the British Veterinary Association (BVA) Parliamentary Tea Party (PTP) in the House of Commons (HoC), which didn’t, to my disappointment, include cucumber sandwiches with the crusts removed.  Unusually for me I arrived early, which gave me the opportunity to visit the public gallery to witness part of a debate on Slavery before the PTP started – interestingly there was no mention of Three Counties Equine Hospital.! 

The gathering, an annual event funded by the BVA, was held in one of the HoC common rooms located off a corridor on the ground- floor, which accommodated approximately 20 of us.  I really was in the “corridors of power”!  There was a welcoming address delivered by Angela Smith MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge who was until recently the Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons and is currently the Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.  John Blackwell, President of the BVA, responded and introduced some current veterinary issues, namely Bovine TB, Welfare at Slaughter (an issue dear to my heart), Antibiotic Resistance (a problem for all of us to address), Pet Travel and Dog Welfare.  The meeting was an opportunity to lobby parliamentarians, which is an important way of raising awareness to effect change.  Amongst the parliamentarians in attendance were Professor Lord Sandy Trees a real ambassador and figurehead for the profession.  Also in attendance was the Rt. Hon. Lord Higgins KBE DL, the father of Maddy Campbell, a past president of BEVA.  He informed me that he had recently celebrated 50 years as a familiar face in the Houses of Parliament, firstly in the House of Commons as MP for Worthing 1964 – 1997 and was then given a life peerage in the House of Lords. 

After the PTP I shared a quick pint and some “chewing of the fat” with the BVA team in the pub opposite the HoC and then flew from London City Airport to Edinburgh to assist with another TVEC with Lesley, Karin & John on Wednesday – see Blog 3 - http://bevapresident14-15.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/week-3-and-counting.html.  It was a whistle-stop tour to Edinburgh, which was disappointing as the weather was fabulous (not a cloud in the sky), with a return flight to London City that afternoon to attend the President’s reception at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS).  It was only my second visit to the 5^th floor of the RCVS, where disciplinary hearings are held, neither of which has been in anger…. long may it continue.

By Thursday, my practice diary was filling up so it was “foot to the boards” from the outset.  This wasn’t ideal preparation for the practice Client Evening held a Worcester Rowing Club, with a start time of 7.30 for 8.00pm.  Yours truly, who was the compere and first speaker arrived at 7.50pm with all the audio-visual equipment – no pressure Harrison.  The theme was “Keeping your Horse Healthy” in collaboration with the MSD Keeping Britain’s Horses Healthy (KBHH) campaign - http://www.healthyhorses.co.uk/.  The key message was encouraging disease prevention through management, biosecurity and vaccination.  I think an outbreak of a disease like Hendra, which they have to contend with in Australia, would sharpen everybody’s focus on disease prevention through movement restrictions, biosecurity and vaccinations - http://www.ava.com.au/hendra-virus.   Not to mention the zoonotic aspect of the disease…whatever the vets out there are getting paid to treat those horses, it’s not enough!

Friday was back to the day-job again and included a surgical colic in the lead up to a weekend on first call – an epiploic foramen entrapment with 47’ of strangulated small intestine; I don’t think I’ve seen as much black SI as that before in a live horse; albeit very sick horse.

Then the w/e on call…. I’ve had busier weekends on call but I’ve also had quieter.

Now I suppose I should enjoy not being disturbed at Worcester Royal Infirmary…. only 4 minutes to go.

7 weeks and counting….

The BBC interview for Farming Today mentioned in last week’s Blog was broadcast on Friday morning at 0547hrs – thank goodness for BBC iPlayer!  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04mhd54

BEVA activity has been fairly hectic this week.  I attended a meeting of the Stewards of the Joint Measurement Board at Stoneleigh on Monday afternoon. One of the recommendations discussed was to ask measurers to try and achieve an accurate measurement at a fully relaxed height and don’t just discontinue the process when the desired height that the presenter wants has been reached. 

On Tuesday I attended back-to-back Board of Management (BOM) and Policy Committee meetings, which were held at BVA HQ in London (Mansfield Street).  This was another opportunity for me to utilise a Boris Bike – what a great idea they really are; £2 / 24 hours if your journeys are < 30 minutes long.  

BOM is responsible for the day to day running of the Association, from HR issues in the BEVA office to budgeting for Congress.  Did you know that the cost on Congress 2013 was over £500,000? Whereas, Policy Committee looks at and updates the activities of each of the Committees utilising SMART analysis for each one.

On Tuesday evening I treated Vicki Nicholls and Jon Pycock to dinner at an Indian Restaurant as recommended by the hotel, named Gaylord Restaurant….how appropriate for JP!

Then on Wednesday morning we had the Paraprofessional Committee meeting chaired by Vicki  and comprising me, Renate Weller, Hannah Yates of BCF Technology (a new face), Jonathon Pycock (another new face for the second time around!), David Mountford and Neil Townsend who has been co-opted for his expertise in dentistry, flaunting his new status as one of the first Diplomates of the European College of Veterinary Dentistry; “Dipl.EVDC(Equine)”.  Congratulations Neil.   It’s really exciting to welcome these new members to Council and to breath new life into the Association. 

Paraprof. Comm covers, amongst other things, EDT’s with whom we all work most days.  The recent survey, which we ran about the Category’s for Dental Procedures, yielded some very surprising results and indicated a distinct lack of knowledge amongst our members about the different Categories.  If you’re unclear, please follow the link below to ensure that you are not inadvertently complicit with an illegal procedure:  http://www.beva.org.uk/_uploads/documents/current-regulations-on-equine-dental-procedures.pdf

Over the 2 days in London, it came to light that it had been mentioned by different sources to a member of BEVA Council, that Council was full of old, male, tweedy farts; male – yes; old – not in my eyes; tweedy – definitely not; farts – I don’t think so!!.... Or maybe I’m just kidding myself.  The gender demography of Council probably doesn’t represent that of the profession as a whole and with that in mind we positively encourage involvement of all members to join and become part of the voice of the profession.

I had to leave Paraprofessional Committee meeting early to be on duty for the last race meeting of the season at Worcester.  This was followed by a night on 1^st call, which resulted in all night surgical colic until 5.30am in the lead up to a day’s holiday on Thursday.  Although it did make a refreshing change from the dozen Atypical Myopathy cases, which were admitted to the hospital over the last week or so.  On Thursday morning, I was greeted at 8am by Lucy, my daughter, asking if we could go for a hack before her cross-country schooling session.  When I explained that I’d only been in bed for a couple of hours, she responded with, “Oh dear…Shall I go and get him tacked up then?”

Week 6 and counting….

Last weekend I attended the BCVA Annual Congress at Hinckley, Leicestershire, including the Annual Dinner where the outgoing President, Declan O’Rourke, handed the reins over to Gareth Hateley.  As a former “cowboy”, I was excited at the prospect of catching up with former colleagues and attending some of the scientific content to see how things have moved on.  However, I was out of my depth after only the first few slides!  How things have changed; what ever happened to a calving at midnight, followed by a caesarian at 2.30am, then a “calf bed out” at 5am and a milk fever at 6am then a routine fertility visit on your way home for breakfast…it’s all about herd health now over breakfast on the farm, so none of the above should ever happen!

In the middle of the week we held a BEVA CPD Course (http://www.beva.org.uk/news-and-events/beva-courses) at Three Counties Equine Hospital, organised by my wife, Luise, entitled “Out of Hours Equine Emergencies for Mixed Practitioners – NO MORE WILL YOU DREAD THE 3 AM CALL….”.  The speakers were Luise, David Sinclair from Bell Equine Clinic, Neil Frame from Frame, Swift and Partners in Penrith and myself.  I’ve known Neil for several years having been co-examiners for CertEP and I think that he is the ultimate omni-competent vet that would be able to do bitch caesarian, a cow caesarian and anaesthetise a surgical colic all on the same night on-call – how many of the rest of us could claim that ability…with competence.  Preparation for and participation in the course was a lot of hard work but was also immensely rewarding and educational.  I think it’s really interesting and enlightening to hear how others deal with the different scenarios, which we’re all used to and how to cater and even improvise when faced with different client budgets and expectations.  I actually think that it would be a good course for Equine Only vets to attend.  I haven’t dared broach the subject with the organiser of running the course again next year; she’s still recovering from this year’s.

During the morning lectures I was able to squeeze in a radio interview with Lucy Bickerton from Farming Today (it’s the only time she could do!) to discuss one of the other issues, which I raised at the BBC RAC meeting described in last week’s blog, notably the ongoing problem of Anthelmintic Resistance.  I brought it up to raise horse-owner and the general public awareness of the issue and encourage more responsible use of anthelmintics, including, amongst other things, worm-egg counts, cross species grazing and muck-picking.  I think it’s due to be broadcast mid-week - http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/farming.   

Week 5 and counting….

I attended the British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA) Congress, at Telford over the w/e, at which there was an Equine Specific stream on Sunday.  What a fantastic venue and programme with 5 separate streams and a workshop running concurrently; in total there were approximately 1200 delegates over the 3 days and a commercial exhibition similar in size to our own.  The Congress Dinner on Saturday night was fancy dress (Heroes & Heroines), where I was The Lone Ranger…please God, don’t let there be any photos!

The ball finished at 1am and I was in the saddle doing a 100km Cyclo-sportive (The Tour of Worcester) with my son, Tom at eight the following morning – as you can imagine it was a long day…but it could always have been worse.  I could never give up alcohol; waking up every morning, thinking that’s the best I’m going to feel all day!

I attended a meeting at BBC Broadcasting House in Bristol on Tuesday as a member of the Rural Affairs Committee (RAC). The Committee is a group of approximately 20 people with very diverse roles and involvement in the rural community & economy including a Dairy Farmer, a Sheep Farmer, an Organic Farmer, CEO of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, a Doctor of Bioscience Research, a Public Health Nutritionist, a Habitat Conservationist, a Rural Priest etc..  The Committee Chair is Christine Tacon CBE, the Groceries Code Adjudicator, http://www.christinetacon.com/.  (I wonder if I’ll ever be important enough to have my own website? - I bet Ben & Keith do.) 

Also present in the room for these meetings are up to 20 programme researchers, producers and editors of well-known BBC programmes such as Countryfile, The Food Programme, Farming Today and On Your Farm.  Occasionally some of the programme presenters also attend such as Tom Heap (http://www.tomheap.com/) from Countryfile who joined us earlier this year.  Each Committee member is allowed 5 – 8 minutes to give an overview of a handful of important topical issues, relevant to one’s sphere, which the individual considers to be newsworthy or may appear on the BBC’s radar over the next few weeks and months.  I introduced the issue of Non-Stun Slaughter at my first BBC RAC meeting 12 months ago and have lobbied about it at every meeting subsequently.  The extent of the practice of Non-Stun Slaughter first came to my attention about 3 years ago, at my first BVA Council meeting.  Although not relevant to horses, I feel passionately against what I consider to be an inhumane practice and as veterinary surgeons, I see our role is as guardians of the welfare of all animals.  As you will have noted the lobby against Non-Stun Slaughter has gathered considerable momentum over the last few months and the British Veterinary Association (BVA) have an e-petition, which has already achieved approximately 75,000 signatories calling for a ban.  If we can achieve 100,000 signatures it will automatically trigger a House of Commons debate on the issue.  So if you haven’t signed up and would like to, please can you do so via the link below – www.bit.ly/stunB4slaughter.

On Wednesday I drove up to South Milford, east of Leeds for the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) Animal Rescue Forum meeting, hosted by the West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (FRS).  This is one of the 3 gatherings a year that the group holds to discuss new procedures, equipment and techniques.  

One point on the agenda is always, “BEVA Items”, where, amongst other things, I gave a resume of the recent BEVA Injury Survey - http://www.beva.org.uk/news-and-events/news/view/641. 

Inevitably, the high incidence of injury amongst horse-vets caused much discussion amongst the group, who as members of a large corporate (& spend a lot of time sitting on their corporate…) are astounded about the risks, which we expose ourselves to on a daily basis.  Furthermore, there was also criticism of some vets who attend animal rescues without appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and who are reluctant to don the hard-hats, which the FRS provide on scene.  Furthermore, the question was asked, why we don’t use more PPE on a daily basis.  Would the use of hard hats and steel toe-caps reduce the number of injuries to horse vets; food for thought… 

This is one of the many questions that BEVA Policy Committee is due to discuss at our next meeting in a couple of weeks.

Week 4 and counting….

It’s exactly one month to the day that hms beva set-sail from Birmingham with me at the helm and much to David Mountford’s surprise we’re still on the same course.  However, we’ve already had to contend with a few squally showers and a brief force 8 storm in the shape of the Daily Mirror front-page as mentioned in my Blog a couple of weeks ago - http://politicshome.com/uk/article/104970/daily_mirror_saturday_20th_september_2014.html.

At the end of last week we had confirmation from the BHA Executive that after consideration of the minutes of the extraordinary meeting of the BHA Veterinary Committee, which I mentioned in my blog 3 weeks ago, and the preceding letter from the BHA Veterinary Committee, on which BEVA was a signatory, “…BHA’s Executive decided that the policy, as released on 26 June 2014, should proceed and that the effective date of implementation will remain unchanged.” http://www.britishhorseracing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Anabolic-Steroids-Policy-June-2014.pdf

Two visits to HQ this week; Monday and Friday – and no I wasn’t being called up in front of the head for bad behaviour.  Monday was with Monty (David Mountford), Dave Rendle (Congress Chair) and Anne Catchpole for our first face-to-face meeting about next year’s Congress in Liverpool http://www.beva.org.uk/congress.   Which seems a long way in advance but it was back in July that I invited Dave Rendle to be Congress Chair and Lesley Young to be his deputy.  Furthermore, some of the guardians have already been invited.  One of the many things I’m really excited about this Congress is the debates, Moral Maze style, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moral_Maze) and true to form, there’s no lack of controversy with our chosen topics.

On Wednesday I posted an article on the BEVA Soapbox on our BlogSpot about Musculoskeletal Paraprofessionals http://britishequinevet.blogspot.co.uk/2014_10_01_archive.html.  Soapbox, which you may not know about, was launched in April with Mark Bowen’s first posting.  We introduced it to give members the opportunity to express their own views in the public domain; you could say to allow them to pontificate.  If you would like to post something please contact Lara Pocock in the office and she will assist you.  We'll draw the line at offensive or libellous pontifications but otherwise it's your soapbox and you can sound off as loudly and controversially as you wish!    

What a humbling day on Friday…I attended the EVJ Executive Board meeting at BEVA HQ in Fordham – I love that journey!  In attendance were Celia (Marr), Alistair Barr and James Wood and also present by phone link were Tim Mair and Debbie Archer – at least I was in good company with Monty!!  Not that the others are bad company of course but I was somewhat overawed by the amount of intellect in the room.  EVJ is the most highly ranked single species journal globally and is in the top 10 of all veterinary journals; the number of scientific papers submitted highlights this highly prestigious status.  60% of submitted papers are rejected but, whilst I thought that this sort of rate might be a deterrent to authors, it appears to reflect the desire of researchers to be published in our journal.  Obviously all submitted papers are very carefully scrutinised and therefore the editors' and peer reviewers' workloads are nearly twice what they might seem to be at first sight.  EVJ is clearly a a victim of its own success.

Till next week, steady as she goes… 

Week 3 and counting….

During my weekly Monday catch up with David Mountford, our CEO, I proclaimed that this was a quiet week from a BEVA perspective.  “Good,” he said, “enjoy it whilst it lasts…”.  And how right he was, since Monday my diary for the remainder of the year has up filled up exponentially.

Having said that it was a quiet week for BEVA, I was due to go to Cullompton on Wednesday to speak at the South West regional meeting.  Regrettably we had to cancel at the end of last week due to a lack of interest.  We did delay the decision for as long as possible but with only 3 working days to go there were only 6 delegates enrolled.  Although we accept that the regional meetings invariably run at a loss, it’s a little embarrassing when the number of speakers, organisers and sponsors present at the meeting exceeds the number of delegates.  In recent years the delegate numbers at most regional meetings has gradually been declining (the nurse regional meetings and the meetings in certain specific locations remain popular).  We’ve discussed this numerous times at Council meetings and keep changing the formula slightly to encourage enrolment.  We obviously still haven’t quite got it right and would love feedback as to how best to continue to run them, which we’re keen to do.  But it can only happen with your support!  If you have any ideas or suggestions, please contact the office (anne.catchpole@beva.org.uk).

However, the cancellation was a blessing in disguise for me otherwise on Wednesday I’d have had to get from Three Counties Equine Hospital to the Royal Dick in Edinburgh down to Cullompton and back home again.  The trip to Edinburgh was work related and was to partake in a Tranvenous Electrical Cardioversion (TVEC) of a horse with AF with John Keen, Karen Blissitt, Lesley Young and Gunther van Loon…I was only there to carry their bags!  As a group, we did our first one at Three Counties Equine Hospital back in June, which is still in NSR and we are hoping to offer this as a service nationwide from a number of locations.  Gunther, who uses ultrasound guidance for the electrode placement and has performed more TVECs than anyone else Europe-wide, was there to hold our hands.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2MR-I_hhWI  We’re hoping to be flying solo with our next one…maybe then I’ll be promoted from bag carrier!

The remainder of my BEVA week has been lots of telephone calls and email traffic.  The rest of the time I’ve been back at the coalface, which has been really refreshing.  Although I have managed to upset only one vendor by identifying a lameness at a PPE – plus ca change.  And this weekend really is back to the coalface with a weekend on 1^st call and Luise, my wife, on 2^nd!  At least the weather forecast is bad; there’s nothing more galling than a weekend on 1^st call when it’s “wall to wall” sunshine.  It’s early pm Saturday and we’ve already had routine calls, 4 emergencies and a surgical colic requiring 16’ of jejunum to be resected….bring it on.

Week 2 and counting….

What a start to last weekend with the splash on the front of the Mirror… “Shot in the head….” - http://politicshome.com/uk/article/104970/daily_mirror_saturday_20th_september_2014.html.

That certainly caused a stir and resulted in a lot of email traffic between BEVA, the Association of Racecourse Veterinary Surgeons (ARVS) and the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) throughout Saturday, culminating with me being interviewed by The Racing Post that afternoon.  The outcry from the racing fraternity and the majority of the general public against this crass sensationalism by The Mirror was over-whelming as well as re-assuring.

However, the situation was further complicated later in the week by a documentary on Racing UK on Thursday evening where the subject of the Use of Firearms on the Racecourse was discussed – http://www.racinguk.com/news/article/30480/racecourse-vet-calls-for-an-end-to-gun-euthanasia

On Tuesday I had a Veterinary Insurance Liaison Group meeting in The City at the Lloyds Marketing Association building, which involved another stint on a Boris bike!  This Group is involved predominantly with high value Bloodstock Insurance.  The meeting was very productive and highlighted the need for frequent dialogue with the insurance industry.  One of the outcomes is that we have been tasked with reviewing the ARM Guidelines (http://www.beva.org.uk/_uploads/documents/1ARMGuidelinesproof6May08.pdf) to make them more current and with particular reference to the Wobbler clause in that document, which is not consistent with the clause in the Lloyds documentation.

We also had a Joint Officers meeting with the BVNA scheduled for later that evening.  In the interim, I went to do some work in the Members Room at BVA HQ on Mansfield Street, to which as members, we all have access.  My visit coincided with Robin Hargreaves’ last afternoon and there was a small gathering to wish him well, which I obviously availed myself of – it would have been churlish not to!

The BVNA JO meeting was enlightening.  Their Association are particularly pleased with the new RCVS Charter, in which they have been instrumental, which recognises Registered Veterinary Nurses.  An aside to this, the issue of the title of “nurse” being used for unqualified practice nurses, which occurs frequently was raised.  Surely, it would be like calling vet students - “vets” - food for thought.

On Thursday I attended the BVA Members day in Manchester, which included an abbreviated Council meeting and the AGM.  I used this as an opportunity to feedback on their position document on the proliferation of vet schools and vet students, which will be available later this year.  The AGM marked the end of Robin Hargreaves’ tenure and the swearing in of his replacement John Blackwell.  I’m really sorry to see the back of Robin, although he will still be very involved as Senior Vice President.  He’s worked unbelievably hard for the BVA during his 12 months at the top and amongst many other things I think he’s done a huge amount to improve the BVA’s relationship with the species divisions.  John’s got a hard act to follow….

Week 1 and counting…

What a great Congress in Birmingham and a huge thank you to the organising committee, the student stewards and most importantly the BEVA office for their tireless work.

This week included a meeting at the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) headquarters in London.  A train to Euston followed by my first short ride on a “Boris Bike” into and out of central London - which may lose its appeal in driving rain as the year progresses!  This was an “extraordinary” meeting of the BHA Veterinary Committee (VC) to discuss their recently announced Policy on Anabolic Steroids, which is due to come into force on the 1^st January 2015 (http://www.britishhorseracing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Anabolic-Steroids-Policy-June-2014.pdf).  All stakeholders were given the opportunity to have a “full & frank” discussion and air their concerns.

Then the following day, a meeting in Bristol with a group of veterinary physiotherapists to discuss educational standards.  This is part of BEVA’s long-term goal to establish a recognised group of Musculoskeletal Paraprofessionals (MP) who you can recommend to your clients with complete confidence in their professional standards of practice – but don’t hold your breath!  The intention is to include all interested disciplines of MP’s, which meet the yet to be determined appropriate professional standards.  This is work in progress, which will extend well beyond my tenure.

The week also included 3 nights on call and a partners meeting into the wee small hours.

“A week is a long time in politics”, or at least my first proper one has been; but probably not as long as Alex Salmond’s!  On that note, the result of the referendum means that we won’t have to consider re-naming BEVA & Keith C won’t need to launch SEVA.