10 Apr 2026
RCVS’ new PSS requirements that vet practices have suicide prevention plans in place came into effect on 1 April.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
An organisation providing mental health and wellness information and resources for the veterinary community has released suicide prevention guidelines for vet practices.
Vets in Mind has produced the guidelines to support new RCVS Practice Standards Scheme (PSS) requirements, which came into effect on 1 April.
The college now requires individual vet practices to have their own specific suicide prevention plans in place.
To support practices in meeting the requirement, Vets in Mind has developed a set of guidelines that can be downloaded, personalised and tailored.
The guidelines contain crisis and support resources and guidance on recognising warning signs in yourself and others, how to help colleagues, practice responsibilities, and supporting teams through grief.
Practices can add their logos, employee assistance programme details and details for their local GPs.
Vets in Mind founder Mark Johnston said: “Having lost my father and many colleagues and friends to suicide, I founded Vets in Mind to help all the veterinary community understand where we are on our mental health journey.
“We totally support the RCVS’ activities to do all we can to reduce the risk of anyone considering taking their life by suicide.
“The Vets in Mind board wanted to support practices by providing a template set of guidelines to help us recognise the warning signs, help a colleague that we might be worried about, as well as how to help during and after a crisis, and provide additional resources which could be adapted for their own circumstances, rather than having to work out how to develop their own.”
The guidelines, along with triage tools on suicidal thoughts as well as anxiety, depression, compassion stress, burnout, and a personal budgeting model are available to download at www.vets-in-mind.org/triage-tools/