19 Jan 2024
The BVU has urged employers to talk to their staff about security measures after a man who attacked a vet in his own practice was sent to prison.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Union officials have warned greater protection is needed for veterinary staff after a man was jailed for attacking a clinician in his own practice.
The British Veterinary Union (BVU) has urged employers to have open dialogue with their teams on the issue, as well as sending a clear message to the public about the consequences of poor behaviour.
The issue has been highlighted following the case of vet Tim Stead, who was assaulted last year following the death of an XL bully dog at his York practice and whose attacker is now serving a seven-month prison term.
Speaking after the conclusion of the court proceedings, Mr Stead, who has been in practice for more than 40 years, said client aggression was an increasingly common problem.
He revealed there had been other recent threats made to the practice, adding: “We’re getting it all the time now.”
But, despite that, Mr Stead stressed his mind was focused on the animals who need his care now and said the case might not have gone to court at all had the offender acknowledged his actions at the time.
He said: “If he’d come back and apologised, I think it could all have been avoided. He needs to understand that you can’t do that kind of thing.”
Although the attack on Mr Stead pre-dates the imposition of the current ban on XL bully dogs in England and Wales, both the BVA and RCVS have voiced concerns about the threats faced by practice teams in connection with the legislation.
But the BVU said it was “disappointed with such a short sentence”, adding: “This case highlights the very real dangers that come with working at the frontline of veterinary care in the UK, and we hope that it will lead to veterinary employers across the country pausing to consider what more can be done to protect staff in their workplaces.
“The best way to address this is to have open communication with staff about what they want to feel safer at work, as well as clear communication and action from management that members of the public who verbally or physically intimidate staff will be removed as clients of the business.”
Mr Stead has also expressed doubts about the ban’s likely effectiveness, warning: “They’ll just find another breed to invest money in.”
And, while he acknowledged that some XL bullies that had been trained to act as guard dogs were “basically uncontrollable”, he stressed that did not apply to the bitch in his case which he described as “a lovely natured dog, not aggressive at all”.
