‘Don’t lose sight of what you can do’, IVC boss urges sector

A former BVA president has urged veterinary professionals to focus on the positive impact of their work, despite a business regulator’s continuing examination of the sector.

Gudrun Ravetz also insisted she believes the professions maintain public trust, even though tens of thousands of people contributed testimonies from which the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) process has continued.

The CMA confirmed last month that it would mount a full market investigation of companion animal services, despite opposition from several of the sector’s biggest care providers.

‘Bumpy’

But, while she acknowledged the investigation period could be “bumpy”, Mrs Ravetz, who is now the chief medical officer of IVC Evidensia, maintained the sector will come through it.

She said: “I think we, as a profession, are privileged to be able to have that positive impact on health and welfare. We mustn’t lose sight of that.

“And I do believe we’re trusted. People do trust us but we also have to recognise it’s tough out there for everybody.

“I think it’s going to be bumpy for the profession. But I think the profession is strong. We’re small, we know each other. We’re really, frankly, phenomenally positive. So I think we’ll be fine.”

Abuse spike

Confirmation of the probe was met with concerns from sector groups, including the BVA and others, about a fresh spike in abuse of practice staff similar to those reported at earlier stages of the CMA process.

Several large care providers, including IVC, also opposed the investigation proposal, while the company’s response to the CMA announcement on 23 May warned of the danger that the process could further undermine public confidence

Mrs Ravetz, who led the BVA in 2015-16 and has been in her current post for three months, defended the company’s stance, arguing that the company was not expressing the views of senior bosses, but seeking to “amplify” a wider clinical voice within the organisation.

Proactive

But she also conceded that, while front-line clinicians would continue their work, the sector collectively needed to be more proactive in explaining the reasons for what its workers do.

Although she was cautious about the renewed focus on contextualised care, arguing the profession had always been engaged in it, she acknowledged: “We’ve just perhaps not shouted about that we’ve done that.

“What we’re phenomenally good at is the science of veterinary. We need to shout more about the art of it.

“So it is more about saying why we do things, how we do things, which is actually really key to our job because as we look to the future, we will become much more co-collaborators with pet owners. They will have much more control of their medical records.”

Optimistic

Mrs Ravetz also sounded an optimistic tone around the hoped-for reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act, amid both the CMA highlighting the issue among its concerns and calls for political commitments to the issue ahead of next month’s General Election.

She said: “It’s always good to come under scrutiny. That’s not a bad thing. One really good thing that can come out of this is new legislation and I think that will happen.”

But she also cautioned that any new act should be fit for the future, as well as the present, adding: “We’ve got stuff coming down the line and if we don’t make sure it’s fit for the future we’ll be back in this place in 10 years.”