Recommendations regarding 24-hour emergency cover
"Animal welfare is best served by the current requirement that veterinary surgeons in practice take steps to provide 24-hour emergency first-aid and pain relief."
- We do not propose any substantive change to our current guidance on 24-hour emergency first aid and pain relief, except for the proposed guidance for limited service providers (LSPs) set out below. We believe that, in the absence of an animal equivalent to a local accident and emergency department, animal welfare is best served by the current requirement that veterinary surgeons in practice take steps to provide 24-hour emergency first-aid and pain relief.
- Our current supporting guidance only recognises two kinds of LSP, namely, vaccination clinics and neutering clinics. Veterinary surgeons who work in vaccinations clinics are required to make provision for 24-hour emergency cover for the period in which adverse reactions may arise. Those working in neutering clinics must make provision for the entire post-operative period during which complications arising from the surgery may develop.
- We recognise that there are many other types of LSP not currently provided for, and that fairness requires that providers should be treated the same unless there is good reason not to. We therefore propose that the current guidance on LSPs (see paragraphs 3.49-3.41 of Chapter 3: 24-hour emergency first aid and pain relief) be removed and replaced with that set out below, which provides a broader definition of the type of practice that can be considered an LSP and imposes a general obligation to provide out-of-hours emergency care that is proportionate to the service offered.
We believe that the proposed guidance will protect animal health and welfare whilst providing clarity and ensuring fairness.
Limited service providers
1. A limited service provider is a practice that offers no more than one service to its clients and includes, but is not limited to, vaccination clinics, equine reproductive clinics and neutering clinics. For these purposes, a ‘practice’ is a Registered Veterinary Practice Premises (RVPP) as entered into the register held by the RCVS.
2. Limited service providers should provide 24-hour emergency cover that is proportionate to the service they offer. This means that veterinary surgeons working for limited service providers should ensure that the 24-hour emergency cover provision covers any adverse reaction or complication that could be related to procedures or examinations carried out, or medicines prescribed or used.