18 Sept 2023
Probe widely welcomed by professional bodies, major care providers and campaigners, but VMG president Miles Russell said it can only be effective if practices and owners play a full part.
Allister Webb
Job Title
A new review can change the UK veterinary sector for the better, if professionals engage in the process, a senior industry official has claimed.
VMG president Miles Russell has urged practice administrators and managers, along with clinicians and clients, to have their say, following the launch of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) inquiry.
Although the move did prompt significant falls in the values of two leading care providers, the probe has been widely welcomed by professional bodies, major care providers and campaigners.
However, Mr Russell cautioned that the process can only be fully effective if practices and owners play a full part in shaping its outcome.
He said: “An informed, detailed and accurate CMA review is in the best interests of our industry, as well as the pet owners and pets we serve.”
The review, announced on 7 September, is seeking the experiences of both practitioners and clients in four main areas: service pricing and awareness, the arrangement and sale of prescriptions and medications, understanding of practice ownership and whether surgeries are part of larger groups, plus the provision of emergency and out-of-hours cover.
It also heralded the launch of three separate questionnaires, which will remain open for a maximum of six weeks from that date.
One is aimed at current veterinary professionals, as well as those who have worked in practice within the past three years.
The others are intended for pet owners and workers with charities that provide or buy veterinary services, pharmacists and other suppliers of services to practices, as well as retired veterinary professionals who left the sector more than three years ago.
The launch of the review comes two months after the Senedd petitions committee approved plans to hold its own inquiry into the impact of corporate influences on veterinary services in Wales.
Although a hearing is expected to take place this autumn, no firm date has yet been announced and it is understood the CMA has written to the committee to inform members of its plans.
Welfare campaigner Linda Joyce-Jones, whose online petition triggered the Senedd probe, said the CMA’s intervention was “quite significant” in a video posted on social media.
But, although it follows inquiries into recent acquisitions made by several leading veterinary corporates and the restatement of its own figures indicated the proportion of independently owned practices has roughly halved over the past decade, the authority has insisted the new inquiry will examine the sector as a whole.
A spokesperson added: “We’re at the very start of this work, so it’s too soon to say what the problems or possible solutions are, which is why we want to hear from veterinary professionals, as well as pet owners.
“As with all our reviews, we will work as quickly and efficiently as possible to reach the right outcomes.”
However, Mr Russell said the review was “hardly a surprise” because of significant recent changes within the sector and what he described as “the corporatisation of the household pet marketplace”.
He continued: “The recent spike in pet ownership and the current economic climate have combined to focus pet owners’ minds on how they access veterinary care, the clarity and transparency of the information provided about that care and who is providing it, and the cost of that care.
“There can be no doubt that just as pet owners are facing financial strain, so veterinary practices are facing alarming increases in operating costs, shortages of qualified staff, and ever-rising costs of medicines.”
The review has also provoked a significant reaction on the financial markets, with the share price of one large care provider, CVS Group, falling by more than one-quarter to its lowest level since early 2021, in the days after the announcement.
The company has pledged its support for the review, but said the authority had itself recognised the role of staff shortages and increased employment costs in shaping its pricing structures.
It added in a statement: “Our purpose is to give the best possible care to animals and we continually invest in our colleagues, practices and clinical equipment to enhance the care to our clients and their patients.
“The group has always sought to ensure its prices are appropriate and reflect fair value to our clients. Our pricing structures are set by clinicians to ensure these align with our purpose.”
Meanwhile, the Pets at Home group, which owns Vets for Pets, also recorded an initial fall of more than 12 per cent in the value of its shares following the announcement.
It declined to comment on the recent review along with several other large care providers, including Linnaeus, Medivet and VetPartners, while IVC Evidensia said it would “engage openly and constructively with the CMA”.
Meanwhile the BVNA has joined other leading professional bodies, including the BVA and RCVS, in supporting the inquiry.
Its president Charlotte Pace said: “We understand that – especially given the current financial climate – the cost of veterinary treatment can be a concern for owners.
“It is important that prices and information relating to the provision of veterinary services are transparent for everyone; for existing and potential clients.”
