RCVS to issue revised clinical and ethics guidance for vets

New clinical and ethical guidance on practice and research issues for vets is set to be published by the RCVS this week.

The update to its Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Surgeons will also include specific advice on clinical veterinary research (CVR), where procedures are performed both for the animal’s benefit and to generate new knowledge, for the first time.

The guidance, which is due to be published on Friday 1 July, covers issues relating to routine veterinary practice (RVP) – formerly known as recognised veterinary practice – as well as CVR.

‘Important development’

The RCVS said the new advice was approved by its standards committee. It is meant to help vets decide whether procedures or studies they are planning should be classed as RVP, CVR or experimental – and the types of consent and ethical reviews required for them.

Melissa Donald, incoming RCVS president and chairperson of its standards committee, said: “The revised guidance on RVP is an important development.

“The process for reviewing the guidance has been thorough, and involved input from academics and researchers throughout the veterinary industry.

“We hope that the guidance will inspire confidence in our veterinary colleagues at all levels to undertake treatment routes which develop veterinary knowledge as a whole, while still being for the benefit of the animal being treated.”

Ethics review

The new guidance also introduces a specific obligation for practitioners to obtain an ethics review for all studies where the consent of an owner or keeper would be expected before an animal is included in a study, or where consent is needed for the use of an animal’s data or previously collected sample.

That requirement will come into force from 1 September 2022.

The new guidance will be available on the RCVS website. Advice on whether a specific proposed procedure would be covered by the new guidance can be obtained by emailing [email protected]