RCVS Council approves new guidance

The following advice was approved by RCVS Council at its meeting yesterday [2 June 2005], for inclusion in the next edition of the Guide to Professional Conduct in January 2006. The additions will be incorporated into the online version of the Guide in due course.

Owner Access to Clinical Records

At the request of a client, veterinary surgeons must provide copies of relevant clinical records, including any clinical records for the animal that have been acquired from another practice. Where any significant expense or difficulty is involved in providing such copies, as there might be, for example, with the provision of radiographs, it was agreed that a charge could be made. Expense should not be a reason for declining to provide copies.

Continuity of Care in Veterinary Practice

Once an animal has been accepted as an in-patient for treatment by a veterinary surgeon or practice, responsibility for the animal remains with the veterinary surgeon or practice until another veterinary surgeon or practice accepts the responsibility.

Primary practices and out-of-hours emergency service providers must continue to provide for the treatment of an in-patient, if it is considered that the in-patient is not fit to be moved.

Where an animal needs continuous in-patient care, a veterinary surgeon should not leave the animal until appropriate care is provided by a colleague.

It is recognised that critically ill animals will sometimes need to be moved in order to receive appropriate treatment and primary practices should have appropriate transport and transfer arrangements in place.

When considering the transfer of critically ill animals, veterinary surgeons should consider the long-term care that may be required and avoid, so far as possible, the need for such animals to travel more than necessary.

Where it is necessary and appropriate to transfer an animal between the primary practice and an out-of-hours emergency service provider, the responsibility is that of the primary practice, not the client.

Immobilon in Deer

The existing advice on "Medicinal compounds for use in dart guns" should remain, with additional guidance to ensure food safety concerns are addressed.

Surgical Artificial Insemination in Dogs

The Advisory Committee's previous advice was confirmed: that generally surgical Artificial Insemination does not benefit dogs and is not in the best interests of dogs, but this is to be subject to rare circumstances when Transcervical Insemination (TCI) is not a realistic option.