November Council meeting – key decisions

RCVS Council met on 3 November, under the chairmanship of President Dr Jerry Davies (pictured right): it was his first meeting in the chair. The minutes of the meeting will be available in due course, but in the meantime, read on for a brief summary of some of the key decisions made during the public session.

Download the agenda and papers for the meeting.

This report does not give detail on discussion which took place during the meeting. Further detail on some of the decisions made, and their impact, will be found in the November issue of RCVS News.

Budget approval

The budget for 2012 was approved, which confirmed the decision made in June that there should be no increase in annual retention fees for veterinary surgeons or veterinary nurses in 2012.

Governance Review Group

The report of the Governance Review Group was noted by Council. It included recommendations that consideration be given to how breaches of the Code of Conduct for Council members might be managed. It was reported that the Officer team was due to draw up recommendations for sanctions to be considered by the Planning and Resources Committee in February.

The report also recommended that thought be given to limiting Council members to two terms of Office. It was reported to Council that this suggestion had been discussed by the Planning and Resources Committee and rejected.

Social Responsibility

At the March 2011 Council meeting, it had been proposed that a social responsibility working group be set up to consider the likely impact of the new tuition fee regime for England on veterinary students, and the future diversity of the profession. Of particular concern was the likelihood that increased fees would reduce the number of veterinary students intercalating primary science degrees within the veterinary degree. 

Council had invited the Officers to consider the terms of reference for such a group, and the Officers felt that initially the issue might be better addressed by the Education Policy and Specialisation Committee (EPSC), with a review of the existing evidence base. 

A useful paper (see 6d in the PDF bundle) was reviewed by Council, which requested that it be made more freely available and its key message promoted to the press. Council also agreed that EPSC would keep a watching brief on the issues and report back annually.

Complaints Resolution Working Party

The Chairman of the Complaints Resolution Working Party, Jill Nute, made recommendations for establishing a scheme for resolving consumer complaints about veterinary services – especially relating to complaints that have been closed by the College but about which the complainant remains unhappy. Council agreed to this ongoing development work, which may include consultation with the public and a pilot project.  

The Chairman also recommended support for continued and limited conciliation of complaints by the Professional Conduct Department of the RCVS, when dealing with complaints against veterinary surgeons. This includes, for example, visits to complainants who remain unhappy, as part of any review of a closed complaint, if this is appropriate. Council agreed this work should continue. 

Council also agreed that the Practice Standards Scheme and the new Code of Professional Conduct should be used to develop guidance for the profession to enable more complaints to be avoided, and those that do arise to be handled better, from the perspective of all parties.

Awarding Body to close

RCVS Council agreed to a recommendation made by the Veterinary Nurses Council at its meeting in October that the College should relinquish its role as awarding body. The VN Council decision was based on the perceived risk of conflict between the College’s role as a regulator and as an awarding body. The press release about the decision can be read online.

Veterinary Nursing Bye-laws

In line with the Awarding Body role being relinquished, changes needed to be made to the Veterinary Nursing Byelaws. The objective was to strengthen the College’s role as regulator of veterinary nurse education in order to ensure that those qualifying are fit to receive the College’s Veterinary Nursing Certificate – effectively a ‘licence to practise’– under the Royal Charter. The proposed changes were approved by Council. 

New Chairman for Disciplinary Committee

Following the resignation of Caroline Freedman as Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee, for personal reasons, Council was asked to approve the appointment of Professor Peter Lees to the role (to sit from January 2012, following training), and also the appointment of Professor Noreen Burrows to the Committee. Both appointments were approved. The recent successful training days for Disciplinary Committee members were also mentioned.

Advisory Committee report

A report was submitted by Advisory Committee Chairman, Clare Tapsfield-Wright. It included legal opinion on jurisdictional matters which underpins the development of the new Code of Professional Conduct and the Performance Protocol. By agreeing to the report, Council also agreed to the draft Performance Protocol being put out to a period of consultation. The Protocol aims to address issues of performance which may be so severe, or sustained, to be a risk to animal health and welfare, but to do so in appropriate cases without referral of the complaint to the Disciplinary Committee. The consultation document will be available shortly.

The draft Code of Professional Conduct, amended following the consultation period over the summer, was also included in the report. Mrs Tapsfield-Wright said that the consultation period had been rewarding, with lots of ideas and input from many people who had put a great deal of work into their responses, for which she was grateful. Council members have until the end of the year to make detailed comments on the draft, with a view to it being signed off at the March 2012 meeting and put in place in April 2012. If anybody else wishes to make further comment, the Code as amended is available as part of the Advisory Committee report to Council (see Annex C to paper 7a), and comments will be welcomed by Chris Murdoch on [email protected].

Veterinary Nurses Council report

The Chairman of the Veterinary Nurses Council, Liz Branscombe, gave a report from its October meeting. She also updated Council on the successful reception that had taken place at the House of Commons on 11 October, the objectives of which had been to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the veterinary nursing profession and to push for statutory regulation for veterinary nurses. On the day of the reception, she reported, an Early Day Motion had been tabled by Andrew Rosindell MP to support the need for statutory regulation. MPs were being urged to sign it.

She also reported that the new badge for registered veterinary nurses had been well received when it was launched at the British Veterinary Nursing Association Congress in October.

Education Policy and Specialisation Committee report

The Chairman of the Education Policy and Specialisation Committee, Professor Stuart Reid, reported on the Committee’s meeting in October. He flagged up that it had been agreed to retain the policy that all candidates for the statutory membership exam should be required to pass the English Language competency test (IELTS) at level 7.

Planning and Resources Committee report

Treasurer Dr Bradley Viner, who chairs the Planning and Resources Committee, gave a report of the Committee’s last meeting. The Committee recommended that the hard copy Register no longer be produced, with changes to the online Find a Vet system being made to ensure that a veterinary surgeon could be linked to their place of work. 

Preliminary Investigation Committee report

PIC Chairman Jill Nute gave a report on recent activities, including a desire that the profession note two complaints that had been received in the last two months regarding the use of Baytril in cats, and their subsequent blindness.

RVN Preliminary Investigation Committee report

RVN PIC Chairman Lynne Hill reported that her Committee had considered two new complaints against RVNs.

Disciplinary Committee report

The Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee, Professor Peter Lees, updated Council on recent cases heard by the Committee. Information relating to Disciplinary Committee cases can be read online.