10 May 2022
The Veterinary Poisons Information Service – a membership-only service for vet practices – has seen the number of calls it receives double in five years.
Vet Times
Job Title
Image © Wirestock Creators / Adobe Stock
The Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS) celebrated its 30th birthday in April.
Originally part of Guy’s Poisons Unit, the VPIS became a separate entity in 1992 and is a membership-only service for veterinary practices.
The role of the VPIS, as the UK’s only animal poison centre, is to ensure all animals receive the most appropriate treatment in cases of suspected or confirmed poisoning.
An experienced team of vets, vet nurses, toxicologists and scientists regularly review case data, and conduct research to ensure any advice they give is accurate and up to date. More than 300,000 cases are now on the VPIS database.
The VPIS service has expanded since its formation and now includes Animal PoisonLine (APL), a 24-hour triage line for owners, which was launched in 2017.
This has resulted in an increase in call volume during the past five years, from 11,500 cases to more than 21,000 cases in 2021.
Nicola Robinson, VPIS head of service, said: “The increase in calls to the VPIS and APL ultimately means that more owners and vets are receiving poisoning advice and, therefore, more animals are benefiting from our information.
“Our top priority is animal welfare and safety, and we hope that as VPIS and APL grow year on year, we will continue to reach more pets and reduce the incidence of severe poisoning cases.”
Other services which VPIS offers are fungal identification via an external mycologist and plant identification via a qualified botanist.
VPIS also offers CPD day courses to vets and nurses around the UK, regularly contributes to academic journals, lectures at veterinary conferences and writes monthly e-newsletters for its members.
