All change at RCVS Day

RCVS Day - the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' AGM and Awards Day - saw the investiture of the new President, Professor Sandy Trees, on 3 July 2009, at One Great George Street, London.

Sandy Trees is an Edinburgh graduate, qualifying from the Dick Vet in 1969. After graduation, he undertook a mixture of research posts at home and overseas, plus a spell in general practice, before completing his PhD in 1976, also at Edinburgh.

He then spent some time in the animal health industry before moving into academia in the early 1980s, starting as a lecturer in veterinary parasitology in Liverpool University's Faculty of Veterinary Science, based in the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

He was awarded a personal chair in veterinary parasitology and became Head of the Parasite and Vector Biology Division in 1994. Sandy held the post of Dean of Faculty from 2001 until 2008, and still teaches BVSc, MSc and PhD students.

Sandy's broad veterinary political experience includes spells on the BVA's Veterinary Policy Group and Education Group, President of the Association of Veterinary Teachers and Research Workers, Vice-President of the European College of Veterinary Parasitology and Chairman of the Heads of Veterinary Schools.

Serving on RCVS Council since 2000 as one of the Liverpool veterinary faculty's appointed members, Sandy has been a member of the Education Policy and Specialisation, Planning and Resources, and Preliminary Investigation Committees.

New Officers and Council Members

RCVS Day also brought other changes to the RCVS Officer team: Jill Nute, outgoing President, became Senior Vice-President, Peter Jinman took up the role of Junior Vice-President, and Dr Jerry Davies was confirmed as Treasurer for another year.

Dr Bob Moore stood down as Senior Vice-President, with Jill Nute commenting that: "Bob has been an extremely valued member of the Officer Team and I would like to express my grateful thanks for the unstinting support he has given me during my term as President."

Retiring Council members included David Harding, Nigel Swayne and Brian Jennings, a Privy Council appointee.

As part of the AGM, newly-elected Council members Chris Tufnell and Chris Gray were welcomed.

It was also announced that Professor Stephen May had been appointed for a further year by the Royal Veterinary College, Professor Stuart Reid had been appointed for a further four-year term by the University of Glasgow, and likewise Caroline Freedman by the University of Edinburgh.

Dr Frank Taylor, whose role as Head of Bristol Veterinary School is due to conclude at the end of the month, will stay on Council until a successor is appointed.

Andrea Jeffery, retiring Chairman of the Veterinary Nurses Council, was re-elected to the Veterinary Nurses Council for a further four years, and Louise Glysen was elected for the first time.

Paying tribute to Andrea, Jill Nute said: "I would like to congratulate Andrea on her excellent chairmanship of VN Council over the last four years, during which time we have seen much positive change for the profession, including the introduction of the Register for Veterinary Nurses."

Liz Branscombe became the new Chairman of VN Council, supported by Vice-Chairmen Dot Creighton and Jacqui Molyneux, a veterinary nurse and vet respectively. Sophie Pullen retired from Council; lay member the Reverend Anthony Birbeck, and veterinary surgeon Richard Hooker, were appointed for further terms; and Stuart Craig, Lantra representative, was replaced by Chris House.

Honours and awards

President Jill Nute conferred a range of awards, including an Honorary Associateship upon Veterinary Record editor Martin Alder, whom she described as having "an acute understanding of the veterinary world that encompasses clinical practice, education, commercial interests, basic and applied science, public health and politics.

"His opinions, as expressed in editorials and elsewhere, carry real weight within and beyond our profession."

Honorary Associateship was also awarded to Carole Martin, a high-achieving and dedicated veterinary nurse whom Jill Nute believes "epitomises what a veterinary nurse should be," and is "a well-respected ambassador for both veterinary nursing and the veterinary profession as a whole."

Honorary Fellowships were awarded to Dr Colin Burrows, whose pioneering work in the field of small animal gastroenterology, combined with a long and distinguished academic career, make him "a true leader in Continuing Professional Development and veterinary education", and Christine Magrath, the Veterinary Defence Society's Communications Training Director, thanks to whose energy, enthusiasm and drive "thousands of veterinary surgeons and undergraduates have an improved understanding of communications requirements."

Veterinary and veterinary nursing diplomas were also awarded on a range of subjects.

Presidential address

The President then made her outgoing address, in which she described how she had been keen during her presidential year to ensure that the College is "open, approachable, accountable and transparent," citing the work of the Corporate Governance Group as a good example of activities to this end:

"Under the guidance of Sir Anthony Holland, Chairman of the Group, we have robust procedures in place for managing conflicts of interest and have put in place arrangements to keep corporate governance under regular review," she said.

Discussing the activities of the College during the year, she made mention of work with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate to produce the Register of Veterinary Practice Premises and with the Office of Fair Trading regarding monitoring the reintroduction of prescription charges.

She also touched on the review of the Practice Standards Scheme and the work of the 24/7 Working Party. She conceded that the College faced a challenge with regards to out-of-hours cover, which the majority of vets questioned in a recent survey would like to maintain:

"The question is, how can this be achieved within the law [Working Time Regulations] and without a hike in charges that might, perversely, have a negative effect on animal welfare by reducing take-up of veterinary services?" she asked.

Finally, Jill paid tribute to the hard work of College and Trust staff, Council members and her fellow Officers: "One thing you learn as President is that you are just part of the bigger picture and things can only be achieved with the support and collaboration of those across the profession."

Incoming President Sandy Trees described Jill Nute as having "presided over the College with utter fairness and even-handedness, working incredibly hard for the interests of the College and its members, certainly delivering on your aim for openness and accessibility". He looked forward to his own presidency with "honour, excitement and trepidation".

Guest speaker - Vic Simpson

Guest speaker at the event was Honorary Fellow and wildlife veterinary surgeon Vic Simpson, who gave a talk entitled: "Wildlife, my life and lessons from life."

In a very diverse and entertaining speech, Vic covered his early career in Africa and his return to the UK to focus on wildlife, covering issues such as lead pollution and its effect on swans, and the decline and rise of UK otter populations, which he again linked to pollution.

Finally, turning to funding for wildlife research, he posed a conundrum: "There is massive public interest in wildlife and minimal political interest in the well-being of wildlife. What kind of legacy are we leaving to the next generation?"