Between Monday 20th and Friday 24th October, the hearing for Miss Rebecca Davies RVN was held online. The Committee heard four charges against her, namely that she acted without and against veterinary surgeon direction during multiple surgical procedures over a period of eight months. One charge (that she failed to follow the instructions of the veterinary surgeon to increase anaesthesia) was not proven. The rest were proven, and the Committee found that they amounted to serious professional misconduct.
Miss Davies did not attend the hearing, nor did she send representation. The Committee was therefore unable to assess the risk of similar behaviour in the future and - despite mitigating factors such as an impeccable record and positive statements from colleagues working with her at the time - she was removed from the Register of Veterinary Nurses.
Colin Childs, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: “Since the Committee could not assess Miss Davies’ future risk or her insight in her absence, it therefore decided that removal was the only proportionate sanction because any other sanction would not protect animals or the public in the future without those matters having been adequately assessed. Such a sanction also met the wider public interest."
Miss Davies has 28 days to appeal the decision.
More information can be found on the disciplinary hearings webpage.
