Impressive support for RCVS Day 2005

This year's RCVS Day, held on Friday 8 July 2005, started with a call from RCVS President John Parker for a minute's silence to remember the victims of the previous day's terrorist attacks in central London.

He went on to thank the awardees and their guests - some sixty in all - who had made the difficult journey to Church House in Westminster that morning, following the College's decision on Thursday afternoon to go ahead with its annual general meeting and awards ceremony.

Presentation of awards

Inevitably, a large proportion of the 67 awardees who were due to attend on the day, were unable to do so. However, the presentation ceremony went ahead for the 12 awardees and their guests who were present, some of whom had flown in from overseas.

Receiving their Honorary Associateships of the RCVS were The Rt Hon the Lord Ballyedmond and Professor David Mellor, whilst Honorary Fellowships by Election were presented to Brigadier Geoffrey Durrant and Emeritus Professor Ramsay Hovell.

The winner of the RCVS Trust's new Dame Olga Uvarov Award was Dr Simon Bailey and RCVS Fellowships by Thesis were presented to Professor Twink Allen, Mr Gian D'Alterio and Professor Tim Skerry.

There were to have been 30 presentations of RCVS diplomas across nine different subjects, however none of the diplomates was able to attend. Consequently, another awards ceremony will be held later in the year.

For the first time, recently qualified veterinary nurses had been invited to RCVS Day to receive their Certificates in Veterinary Nursing and VN badges, however, Claire Hardy was the only one out of 12 who was able to attend.

Veterinary nurses Leigh Paris, Susan Robinson and Catherine Stephenson were also present to receive their Diplomas in Advanced Veterinary Nursing (Surgical).

Presenting these awards, Mr Parker remarked: "The veterinary nursing profession now has recognised status throughout the world and the VN qualification is much sought after wherever veterinary medicine is practised.  Nearly 800 nurses qualified this year, which is an impressive increase over previous years."

From the floor

After an invitation for questions from the floor, Mr Chris Laurence, on behalf of the British Veterinary Hospitals Association, asked the College to seriously consider making clear differentiation between different levels of practices accredited under the new RCVS Practice Standards Scheme.

Junior Vice-President Lynne Hill assured him that the RCVS Working Party was very aware of the matters raised by the BVHA, had taken on board that there must be a clear message to the public and were in the process of looking at how best this should be done.

"At this present time we have over 800 practices on the scheme and I'm delighted to say that that covers approx 1,400 premises throughout the whole of the UK," she said.

The only other RCVS member to speak was Northern Irish practitioner and former RCVS President Des Thompson, who, whilst expressing sincere sympathy to the bereaved who had lost loved ones in Thursday's terrorist attacks, thanked the College and all involved for making the effort to attend and not allowing terrorism to stop normal life.

President's address

In his outgoing speech as RCVS President, John Parker took the opportunity to report on the principal activities of the College over the last 12 months and remarked that, although still in a time of change, it had made definite progress.

He reiterated the role of the RCVS, a message he had been keen to promote throughout the last year, and stressed the importance of maintaining high standards for the benefit of both the public and the profession.

"We have been given the privilege of regulating our own profession - if we don't do it properly, it could be taken away from us. [The profession] must be seen to do this, and I believe it is doing so," he said.

For such progress to continue, Mr Parker stressed that it was important to work together with the BVA and other veterinary organisations.

"We may approach common issues differently, but we must provide a united front and stand together," he said, adding: "Cooperation better is better than confrontation."

He went on to describe a number of areas of progress on policy issues involving Government, and some that remained of concern, such as the increase in bovine TB and the illegal importation of foodstuffs.

Looking to the future, the President praised the new RCVS Practice Standards Scheme, which is to be promoted to the public later this year; urged members to submit their views on the College's review of the Veterinary Surgeons Act and, in relation to the new Animal Welfare Bill, questioned how far the RCVS should get involved in animal welfare issues.

"We can certainly say that the welfare of animals that are not getting the treatment they should in this day and age is of great importance to us," he said.

Guest Speaker

Following the announcements of the new members of RCVS Council and RCVS Veterinary Nurses Council, and the investiture of Lynne Hill as the next RCVS President, Professor Twink Allen concluded the proceedings with his lecture entitled "Magic Moments in Mammalian Pregnancy" - a review of the diversity of mechanisms associated with early pregnancy in horses, sheep, pigs, camels, humans and elephants.

President's Address

For some years now we have been hearing from many sources - not the least the regular terminal address of the retiring President - that the College is going through a time of change. The Registrar in her review this year correctly states that change is the recurring theme of our Annual Reports. I would not disagree with that whatsoever, but would equally suggest that the College is now making definite progress. Progress is a process of advancement towards a better state - it doesn't always have to be rapid, startling or of enormous proportions - better sometimes that it is slow but sure. It can be just the consolidation of an unsettled situation, the halt of a decline, one of a series of small steps in the right direction - and of course the occasional flash of blinding light with resultant huge advancement. However tempting the latter as a goal, major achievements are rarely anything but the result of hard and painstaking groundwork towards what at times appears to be a far away objective - the often quoted process of two steps forwards and one backwards.

This year we have been steadfast on, and consolidated, many of our objectives, achieving progress that will spill over in time to affect other ongoing initiatives. Before discussing that aspect I should talk for a short while about the role and remit of the College. When I first appeared on Council eight years ago those two aspects were very clear to me. I couldn't understand why we should employ our time and resources on matters which I did not think were our concern. I now know differently, and see why there are as many staff as there are and why they are all so busy. To briefly reiterate the old message, the College's duty is as a regulator, and it exists primarily to implement the veterinary Surgeons Act. Its job is to uphold the statute, to serve both its members and the public equally in maintaining the high standards that give us security in our various forms of work. We have been given the privilege of regulating our own profession - if we don't do it properly, it could be taken away from us. It must be seen to do this, and I believe it is doing so. This is all very well documented in the Annual Report, which was sent to every member a month ago and they will have undoubtedly fully read and appreciated it all. It includes the College's further activities under the Charter, the new initiatives of the Practice Standards Scheme and the Professional Development Phase. The Practice Standards Scheme, which went "live" on 1^st January, of which the Working Party has been chaired by the Junior Vice-President, cannot be judged as anything but great progress and a success. So far over 800 practices have joined the scheme, with 1,480 premises involved. It will be launched to the public later this year. So there is no need to talk further of those many duties - they are hugely important in the College's day-to-day work and can be seen in the Annual Report.  

However, one further item must be mentioned that has featured in the RCVS News and has been the subject of many questions at AGMs in the past. Council agreed this year that non-practising members over 70 years old could have their retention fees reduced to zero. We have yet to have this ratified by DEFRA, but expect that to be forthcoming soon.

So where have we maybe not made so much progress? Where have we tried, but could do more? And what of the future? There are two areas where, perhaps, we have not made great progress. One is in our Council system. One of the points made by the Shipman reports was that an appointment system is better than an electoral one, because of the perception that elected members serve a constituency and governors of a public body should not be representative or accountable to any particular constituency in this way. It is also said that on any committee structure there are a proportion of participants who are too busy to do very much, a proportion who maybe don't readily perceive what is to be done, and the remainder who do the majority of the work. The activities of our Council must be a high priority for all of its members. Once on Council, the notion of single issues and representation of constituencies should take a firm backseat when compared to the work of the corporate body. It is the integrity and advancement of the expressed aims of the whole that take precedence over anything else. It is particularly pleasing in the context of public accountability that there are now increasing numbers of lay members on Council - out of the 16 appointed members, six are now non-veterinarians.

The other area that needs ongoing work is our relationship with the BVA. For several years now this has been good and growing stronger. We have separate responsibilities to the profession. - Ours is regulatory, whereas theirs is representative. We may approach common issues differently, but between us we provide a united front and, as their President has said on numerous occasions, we must stand together. I have had regular meetings with him, sometimes on a one-to-one basis, and we have an excellent relationship. Any suggestion that the two organisations should be engaged in battle leaves me bewildered. Cooperation is better than confrontation. Good relations are like sound buildings - they are slow and painstaking to construct properly - yet determined or careless action can destroy them all too quickly.  

Moving on to other areas and activities, we have made progress in quite a few areas that concern DEFRA and other Government departments. Again, I have had many meetings with the CVO, in particular as a triumvirate with the BVA. President. These have been excellent and productive. It may appear, and I fear that some of the DEFRA representatives feel, that I am a sharp and painfully persistent thorn. Between RCVS. Officers we have, separately and collectively, made positive representations on various recent ongoing meetings and consultations. For instance we stand against free prescriptions and lay tuberculin testing. The College deplores the Government's lack of control over the huge increase in Bovine TB. It cannot understand why a proven and potent source of infection is not being eliminated. That is good science apart from anything else. Our stance over the advertising and posting of drugs appears to have been influential. This has all resulted in a reasonably symbiotic relationship, with progress being made and goodwill on both sides. At a recent meeting with the CVO, it was good to be able to compliment her on the forward-thinking sentinel system, and the suggestion of progress on increased TB testing as a means of prevention of spread of the disease.  

However, there are still many areas for concern. For example, I recently attended a Parliamentary discussion forum on the illegal importation of foodstuffs, and although I commend the steps being taken, for example, the increased training of customs personnel and the increase sniffer dog teams to ten, I do not feel these provisions are anything like adequate when viewed in the light of the procedures for entry into, for example, New Zealand and the USA. On questioning this, I was informed that agriculture was not as important to the economy in our country as in those. We have been meeting DEFRA regularly on the subject of surveillance - and it may be that progress is being made through the Sentinel system. Nevertheless it is deplorable to see that so little regard is paid to agriculture and its future in this country. We used to be the source of quality livestock for the world - it now looks as if farmers for the most part will be wardens of theme parks where everyone can wander dropping litter and foxes and badgers run riot. The future of the large animal part of our profession is, as we all know, very concerning.

My inaugural few words last year stated that my aims were to get the profession to regard the College more highly and to dispel the myth that it does nothing for the profession. I feel that we have tried and maybe not done too badly in that - perhaps illustrated by the increase in numbers of members voting in the Council elections this year. I really hope we can maintain this impetus. The Senior Vice-President and Treasurer have worked hard on the schemes for membership and support for new graduates. The Officers are now taking part in a rota involving visiting all the Schools to contribute to the Veterinary Defence Society's new graduate days. In addition, we are now meeting all the final year students to give them an idea of what they can expect from the College in the way of its role, duties and the support it can give.

Our recent regional meetings in the Midlands, Northeast and Scotland were enjoyable and constructive affairs with none of the hostility that occasionally creeps in - the spirit of "we are all members of the College together" seems to be gathering momentum. Adding to this we have had four 'Meet the RCVS' days this year, where members both invited and at their own request, have come into the College. So far 41 members have visited and I would like to take this opportunity to invite any member of the profession, here today or otherwise, to come to a future session and find out what really goes on behind the scenes. They are very different from a question and answer session in that we are show what the College actually does in its day-to-day activities. We have been very surprised at the appreciation shown by those who have attended - and have had a large number of complimentary letters following these days. That is a great pleasure - and a surprise too - compliments and letters from the profession are as rare as the proverbial "Rocking horse droppings".  

So perhaps I have described a little bit of what we have done over and above our required duties, but what of the future? I see much of it as bound up by two short phrases. The Veterinary Surgeons Act and The Welfare of Animals.

Taking the first, many of our roads and initiatives lead into it. A lot of painstaking work has gone into the Working Party's activities which have been published along the way. Its Chairman has worked tirelessly and for a long time and is to be highly commended. There was an extra Council meeting again this year to discuss further progress. There is still a lot to do in putting the flesh on the bones - and there are more important considerations still to be integrated - such as licences to practise and a workable revalidation scheme.

A second consultation papers has just been sent to members - outlining ways in which members of complementary professions might be regulated alongside veterinary surgeons. I would urge you to read it and let us have your views.

The timing of the arrival of new legislation is more or less out of our hands. We are preparing for it because we do not want it imposed on us unilaterally - but we cannot bring it about ourselves - we need positive support from DEFRA and Parliamentary time granted. This does not yet seem to be forthcoming and without it the Act will not even be drafted. So we must keep working towards a new Act, but there is no mention of it for this Parliamentary session. Our regular meetings with Lords and MPs, which many members may not be aware of, continue and should be a great help in maintaining momentum. Welfare is a concern to the College - of course it is because our declaration includes a commitment to the welfare of animals under our care. I have attended meetings to discuss "mutilations", Select Committee hearings and several animal welfare meetings, amongst other activities, to help understand where our involvement starts and stops. That is the difficulty. Can or ought the College be concerned with all aspects of welfare? We cannot be concerned with the broader aspects - much of these are encompassed by the appropriate national and species-specific animal charities. It has been said that the College could set its boundaries on the evidence from peer-reviewed science on the welfare issues - but that is probably too restrictive. Should we limit the College's interest to the welfare of animals 'under our care', as opposed to the welfare of all animals, wild and otherwise? An instance of a welfare interest is in agriculture and farm practice. We cannot, as it is the concern of BVA and not ours, be seen to promote the business interests of large animal practitioners by trying to make farm work more available. But we can certainly say that the welfare of the animals that are not getting the treatment that they should in this day and age is of great importance to us. So it is not possible to say where and how far exactly we are involved with welfare - but it is safe to say that it will probably involve more and more of our time in the future. The veterinary surgeon has to be one of - if not the -gatekeeper, guardian or champion - to look after the animals' interests.

Lastly a personal note. Thank you for having me as your President; it has been a great honour. I have been asked if I enjoyed it. It has been very satisfying, and there have been no severe banana skins - but 'enjoy' at present is a strange concept that doesn't really fit - I am sure in six months' time I will say 'yes' it was enjoyable, but more than that, it has been immensely satisfying, and I will miss the commitment greatly.

You will notice I have mentioned no names - that is on purpose as to mention some and not others would be wrong. I cannot possibly thank everyone who has taken part in a great team effort this year. The staff are wonderful. They and Council have worked tirelessly and with great loyalty. The sheer amount of work performed is not apparent to most members and I commend all of the staff to you, with my grateful thanks. Although no names, I would include my wife in the staff. She does all my e-mails and typing at home in, I've worked out, about 1/6th of the time I take to do it - I pay her a small amount each month depending on performance! Evidence of the time saved is my calculation that, nuisance though it may be, it is probably quicker for me to walk round the College with bits of paper in my hand, than for me to sit and e-mail everyone.

Thank you for the privilege of being your President.