The British Cattle Veterinary Association is disappointed with the changes being made by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons’ (RCVS) to the ‘under care’ guidance. The confirmed changes to remote prescribing have the potential to impact the vital primary farm vet-client relationship, presenting a challenge to the sustainability of farm practice, with implications for animal welfare.
BCVA President, Colin Mason, said, “An established vet- farmer relationship, along with their vet-led team, involves detailed on-farm knowledge – this is crucial for the effective provision of services and the appropriate prescribing of veterinary medicines. Remote prescribing outside of that primary relationship will be seen by most farm vets to present a risk, particularly with food producing animals.
“Colleagues across our profession are concerned about this approach, which is contrary to BCVA’s input into the ‘under care’ consultation and all subsequent discussions with the Royal College. We recently met with RCVS at a joint officers meeting to illustrate some of the challenges private farm vets are facing, yet it seems this decision went ahead without considering the presented evidence, or without the support of those in our profession who will have to operate within its framework.”
RCVS council has announced that the new guidance will be implemented between 1 June and 31 December 2023. The date will be decided in March. The details about how this will affect farm animal practice need to be worked through and BCVA will urge RCVS to review the decision. We will continue to represent the views of our profession and as further details emerge we’ll share that information and work hard to support our members.
