9 Jun 2026
Group’s clinical improvement team achieved 35,000 fewer prescriptions of highest priority antibiotics than its benchmark in 2025.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
A veterinary group made significant strides in reducing its antibiotic usage last year, a new report has shown.
CVS published its 2025 Quality Improvement (QI) and Research Report, showcasing the group’s efforts on antimicrobial and parasiticide stewardship, patient safety and environmental impact.
Although supply chain issues meant some first line antibiotics were temporarily out of stock, CVS clinical improvement team’s stewardship efforts still achieved 35,000 fewer prescriptions of highest priority critically important antibiotics (HPCIAs) compared to the group’s benchmark.
CVS reduced its internal benchmark of 2.3% of consultations resulting in an antibiotic prescription to 2%; the group ended 2025 with 1.5% of its consults in companion animal practice resulting in HPCIA prescriptions.
The group selected three specific conditions – otitis externa, cat bite abscesses and acute diarrhoea – as areas of particular focus where improvement could be made.
Total antibiotic use in cat bite abscess cases was reduced from 75% in 2024 to 38%, while for otitis externa it decreased from 70% to 52% and in diarrhoea cases from 18% to around 10%.
CVS has also developed new antimicrobial prescribing guidelines for its equine practices and implemented stewardship programmes in its farm practices.
It said it has increased diagnostic testing for bovine respiratory disease by 97% in 2025, while its investment in Mastatest technology has yielded a 15% increase in testing for bovine mastitis, with farmers encouraged to administer NSAIDs while awaiting results.
CVS QI director Angela Rayner said: “The report reflects meaningful progress in reducing unnecessary antibiotic use and in the support our teams receive to reflect on their data, learn together and keep improving.”
She added: “By setting a 2% prescribing benchmark, we are strengthening our commitment to responsible antibiotic use and supporting our teams to continue delivering safe, effective, evidence‑based care. This ambition reflects the dedication of our colleagues and the progress we have achieved together.”
The group’s stewardship efforts around parasiticide use prompted the development of the Lifestyle Risk Assessment tool for its companion animal practices and the What’s Your Worm Risk calculator for its equine counterparts.
Meanwhile, CVS Farm reported a three-fold increase in its testing in 2025, conducting 2,913 sheep worm egg counts and 371 fluke egg counts alongside 651 cases of cattle gut worm and 237 bovine fluke investigations.
As well as its ongoing research into the environmental impact of parasiticides, CVS has also taken steps to reduce its usage of anaesthetic gas, with a clinical audit of five equine hospitals showing a reduction in isoflurane and oxygen by 9.6% and 17.9% respectively, resulting in greenhouse gas emissions dropping from 14.6 to 13.2 tonnes of CO2e.
CVS said reports to its VetSafe platform – which allows clinicians to report errors so they can be learned from in future – had tripled from 761 to 2,275, “indicating not more mistakes but more trust”.