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?”