UK vets and veterinary nurses have one week left to share their experiences of the RCVS ‘under care’ guidance, as the College reviews how the prescribing changes are working in practice.
The survey closes at 5pm on Monday 26 October and is open to UK-practising veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses.
The review comes three years after the RCVS introduced new guidance around ‘under care’, prescribing prescription-only veterinary medicines, limited service providers and information-and-advice-only services. The survey is intended to look at how those changes are working day to day and whether they have affected prescribing behaviour.
Feedback from the profession will sit alongside a large VetCompass study commissioned by the RCVS to examine prescribing before and after the guidance was introduced.
The research covers clinical records relating to nearly eight million animals across two study periods. In the pre-guidance period alone, this included around 2.8 million dogs, 1.5 million cats and 75,000 horses.
Detailed results from the VetCompass work will be published as part of the RCVS Standards Committee’s final report on the review.
Although the guidance primarily affects veterinary surgeons, the RCVS is also asking RVNs to respond, saying nurses are well placed to comment on how the changes have affected everyday practice.
Veterinary organisations can also submit written evidence to the Standards Committee during the review period.
RCVS Standards Committee chair Dr Sam Bescoby said the review would help identify where the guidance is working well, where improvements may be needed and whether the profession needs further support in applying it.