10 Feb 2025
SPVS officials also admit being surprised by falls in the price of some procedures, as indicated by the findings of its latest fee survey.
Allister Webb
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Image: © patpitchaya / Adobe Stock
Veterinary professionals have been urged to act now to begin the process of restoring public trust as a regulatory review of the sector continues.
The plea came as SPVS officials admitted being surprised by falls in the price of some procedures, as indicated by the findings of its latest fee survey.
Members attending the group’s annual congress in Birmingham were also assured the organisation would “fight your corner very hard” as the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) investigation progresses.
However, during a discussion on pricing, SPVS board member Kate Higgins said practice leaders can begin to address what she called the “erosion” of trust before the authority delivers its verdict later this year.
She spoke of a psychological contract between vets and pet owners that was undermined by unexpected bills, and warned the issue was also a major factor in the sector’s “attrition” and mental health concerns.
She said: “The CMA may enforce things, but we can get ahead of the curve.”
A similar tone was struck in a later session by the BSAVA president, Julian Hoad, who said: “We’ve lost a lot of goodwill, and the biggest challenge we have is to rebuild that trust.”
SPVS board chairperson Peter Orpin added: “There’s a lot to be gained from tackling this issue now.”
Meanwhile, Federation of Independent Veterinary Practices business development manager Rita Dingwall urged practice leaders both to review all points of interaction between themselves and their clients, as well as enforcing a zero-tolerance stance against the abuse of staff by clients.
She added: “Protect your teams. They will respect you for it.”
More than 130 practices responded to the annual SPVS fee survey, the findings of which were outlined ahead of the congress.
The findings indicated a typical rise of around 4% in prescription charges, as well as similar levels of increase in both consult and preventive care fees and salaries for vets and nurses. But the group added: “Surprisingly, there are many reductions in fees across small animal and equine.”
It indicated falls of between 5% and 25% for equine procedures, including endoscopy, ultrasound, blood sampling, and sedation for clipping or dental work, plus a 10% reduction in rates for small animal surgical time, fees and diagnostics.
The society said it would be “interested to see” if that trend, together with continuing cost of living pressures and forthcoming increases to businesses’ national insurance (NI) contributions, would have an impact on pay levels when it runs its annual salary survey in the spring.
Simon Biles, director of the chartered accountancy firm Moore Scarrott Veterinary, told the 30 January session the NI rise, which is due to come into force in April, could be worth the equivalent of between 1% and 2% of practice turnover.
But he said practices still needed to make “commercial decisions” while the CMA process, which is expected to deliver its final recommendations this autumn, continues.
Mr Orpin added that SPVS had cautioned the CMA of the danger that future competition within the sector could be damaged by the outcome of the present investigation.
But RCVS president Linda Belton said she did not foresee a major impact from the recent replacement of the CMA’s chairperson by former Amazon.com executive Doug Gurr.
Responding to a question from the floor, she acknowledged the potential for remedies around medicines and prices, but argued the implementation of price capping measures was unlikely.
