28 Dec 2023
UK CVO Christine Middlemiss praises colleagues’ “professionalism and resilience” in 2023 and says she is “very keen that we manage to progress a new Vet Surgeons Act”.
James Westgate
Job Title
UK CVO Christine Middlemiss.
The UK’s chief vet believes a new Veterinary Surgeons Act could help fix some of the biggest problems facing the sector.
Following a year that saw major disease outbreaks, the launch of a Competition and Markets Authority review and an ongoing shortage of vets, the profession has had to deal with many challenges during the past 12 months.
But UK CVO Christine Middlemiss praised her veterinary colleagues for their “professionalism and resilience” in dealing with those challenges, adding that new legislation could help ease some of the pressure.
She said: “There is a lot of pressure on the sector, and I know the shortage of vets, including those with very specific experience, is an ongoing and what feels like inescapable challenge, regardless of what area of the profession you are in.
“There is no quick fix to this, but I am very keen that we manage to progress a new Vet Surgeons Act.
“The veterinary profession has risen to these challenges remarkably, especially given the ongoing pressures over recent years from COVID, pandemic puppies, highly pathogenic avian influenza and Brexit. All of these are in addition to the usual already busy ‘day job’. We, and our clients, must accept that we need to adapt and work in different ways to preserve ourselves and the beneficiaries of our services.
“Being able to demonstrate the care, professionalism and resilience while facing many demands is not an easy job, and I wish to thank the veterinary professional organisations who have worked with Government to develop policy, as well as frontline veterinary colleagues for their continued collaboration, professional advice to animal owners and hard work.”
The past 12 months have seen a wide range of disease threats, with the UK facing its worst ever outbreak of avian flu, as well as a new bluetongue (BTV3) outbreak in the south-east of England.
An increase in the number of reported cases of Brucella canis has caused widespread concern while existing disease challenges, such as bTB, have also kept the nation’s vets hard-pressed.
Dr Middlemiss added: “This year has seen us face continued disease challenges from avian influenza, BTV3, bovine TB and Brucella canis, and I understand and appreciate the devastating impact that animal diseases can have on all those involved.
“Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 is now a global threat, with unprecedented outbreaks across the UK and Europe, while bovine TB is one of the most difficult and intractable animal health challenges the livestock sector in England faces today.
“I had hoped we might miss BTV3 this year, but the weather in early autumn was such that infected midges were blown over to the south-east of England from the continent and our annual risk-based surveillance picked up infected animals.
“While we hope to stop circulating the virus in the UK for this winter, it is likely we will face significant challenge next summer from the high level of disease on the continent.”
Dr Middlemiss added that she was confident the veterinary profession would rise to the challenges of 2024, challenges that look likely to include dealing with the fallout from the Government’s controversial XL bully ban.
She said: “The Government has taken quick and decisive action in the face of the continued rise of XL bully attacks, a number of which have been fatal. The measures put in place will provide crucial public safety controls on the existing population of XL bullies. Any dog attack is one too many.
“I completely support we need to ensure that the full range of existing powers to tackle dog control issues are effectively applied across all breeds of dog. This includes considering the role of education and training to reduce the risk of dog attacks, responsible breeding, as well as how we can improve data collection and enforcement practices.”
