RCVS to implement new ‘under care’ guidance from 1 September after council vote

Revised “under care” guidance is set to be implemented from the beginning of September after a timetable and further amendments were approved by RCVS council today (16 March).

A review of the measures will also consider their impact 12 months after implementation – earlier than college officials had initially suggested.

Revisions to the wording of the guidance, such as stating vets must be able to provide physical examination or premises visits, were overwhelmingly approved during the virtual session.

Timings

Much of the debate instead focused on the timing of implementation, following the launch of a consultation on changes to the Veterinary Medicines Regulations last month.

The results of that process are due to be published around the end of June, a few weeks after the start of the implementation window approved by the council in January.

Although some councillors advocated a later date, arguing that would enable data collection processes to be put in place, a proposal for implementation from 1 September was approved by 13 votes to 3.

Further work

Standards committee chair Linda Belton said she was confident that timetable would enable further work to develop detailed example scenarios for how the guidance would apply and the changes communicated to the profession to take place.

Ahead of the meeting, officials had advised the council that a review of the guidance’s impact should take place “at least two years” after implementation, to enable sufficient data to be collected.

However, a proposal that the review should take place after 12 months was unanimously passed, amid fears that the college must be able to act more swiftly if major changes to the profession quickly become apparent.