20 Sept 2021
Mechanism for decision-making during ever-changing pandemic had been in place since March 2020.
Paul Imrie
Job TitleThe RCVS is to wind down its COVID-19 task force.
Put in place to make quick decisions at the start of COVID-19 in March 2020, the task force was part of the college’s response to the pandemic, and featured a group of council members and officers working together on quick decision-making.
Members of RCVS council decided the time was right to stand down the body as the UK continues to progress to a post-pandemic world.
Among its decisions, it allowed remote prescribing without physical examination under certain circumstances, moved Practice Standards Scheme assessments online and reviewed students’ EMS requirements throughout the pandemic.
It also allowed some disciplinary hearings to take place online, allowed various fees to be paid in instalments and reduced CPD requirements for veterinary professionals in 2020.
The full council considered a review report about the college’s overall handling of matters during the pandemic, which included feedback from stakeholder groups. Chief executive Lizzie Lockett said responses had largely been positive, with some constructive criticism also raised.
Speaking during the meeting, UK CVO Christine Middlemiss said: “I wanted to record officially my, as CVO, and Defra’s huge thanks and gratitude for the work of the royal college, and indeed the BVA, during the pandemic and the guidance they put out to the profession.
“I fully recognise that Government guidance often came out at very short notice and it wasn’t specific enough necessarily for the veterinary profession often, and certainly didn’t account for the huge variety of roles and services and interactions that the profession has with the public.”
The task force itself recommended in July that it be wound up, and council backed this at its September full meeting – a hybrid featuring members at Belgravia House for the first time as well as online at home.
