21 Oct 2025
The Mind Matters Initiative says it has awarded more than £155,000 in funding to mental health research projects since 2019.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Heather Imrie (right), Gregory Steele (centre) and Lauren Cooke (left) Image: RCVS Flickr
RCVS Mind Matters Initiative funding will be awarded to research into veterinary workplace well-being and reasonable adjustments for SVNs.
A £15,000 Impact Grant has been awarded to the University of Manchester’s Elinor O’Connor and the University of London’s Kevin Teoh for their project researching organisational interventions to support workplace well-being.
Professor O’Connor said: “Our project will develop evidence-based, practical guidance for veterinary workplaces on identifying and implementing effective interventions to support staff well-being.
“In particular, the focus will be on interventions that address systemic sources of stress, such as workload, rather than interventions that rely largely – or solely – on individual coping skills.
“This shift in approach has the potential to foster healthier workplace cultures, reduce burnout and enhance staff engagement and retention in the veterinary sector.”
The initiative has also provided a £5,000 Discovery Grant to a project assessing the implementation of reasonable adjustments in addressing mental health and neurodivergence for student veterinary nurses during clinical placement.
The SVN project, run by vets Heather Imrie, Lauren Cooke and Gregory Steele and RVN Nicola-Jayne Johnson at Nottingham Trent University, will evaluate the implementation of RCVS’ new SVN reasonable adjustments guidance.
Dr Imrie said they were “delighted and grateful” to receive the grant, adding: “As a proactive educational institution, with many years’ experience of training student veterinary nurses, we at Nottingham Trent University plan to shine broader light on this under-represented but essential group within the veterinary community.”
RCVS’ director for the enhancement of the professions Angharad Belcher added: “Research has an essential role to play in creating evidence-based support, which can then go on to directly support veterinary professionals and the wider sector.
“Since 2019, through Mind Matters we’ve provided over £155,000 of funding to a wide range of veterinary mental health research projects focused on contemporary challenges and are proud to be supporting work which has tangible outcomes.”
Applications for the next round of MMI mental health research grants will open early next year; more information can be found at the RCVS Mind Matters website or by emailing [email protected]
