VetTeamAMR
VetTeamAMR is an initiative that champions the responsible use of antimicrobials within companion animal, farm animal, and equine veterinary teams.
This major collaborative project, kindly sponsored by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, brings together a cross-industry consortium to use and create the evidence-base to support continuous improvements at the point of care.
Key areas of focus will include:
- Audit and benchmarking tools to measure and track change
- A unified point for the profession, created in collaboration with the major veterinary organisations, to access free online education
- A means for veterinary teams to network and share lessons on a national scale
How can you get involved?
Currently, farm animal practitioners can access the free learning modules, and organisations can sign up to express their support on our dedicated Farm Vet Champions page.
“We very much welcome the VetTeamAMR initiative. We believe that this initiative will be invaluable in helping vet practices to better understand how antibiotics are currently being used and what measures should be put in place to improve prescribing, as well as monitor the effect of any changes.” - Fraser Broadfoot, Head of Antibiotic Use and Stewardship Team at the Veterinary Medicines Directorate
Clinical leads and case studies
Farm Vet Champions
Clinical lead - Fiona Lovatt
Fiona Lovatt is RCVS Knowledge’s Clinical lead for Farm Vet Champions. Fiona runs the sheep veterinary consultancy business, Flock Health Ltd, which works with vets, sheep farmers, processors, retailers and pharmaceutical companies in UK and abroad.
Case study - Harriett Chapman
Harriett Chapman is a farm vet based in Cornwall and is completing the Farm Vet Champions training. Harriett said, “I think Farm Vet Champions is brilliant because it combines everything I think is important – having great livestock, good communication with clients, farmer led positive change and reducing antimicrobial use on farm without a negative impact on welfare.”
Companion Animal Vet Champions
Clinical leads - Angela Rayner and David Singleton
Angela is a Quality Improvement Advisor for RCVS Knowledge, Director of Quality Improvement for CVS, and is an RCVS Knowledge Champion for her role in improving CVS’ systems for controlled drugs auditing. In 2021, Angela completed a MSc in Patient Safety and Clinical Human Factors at the University of Edinburgh. The programme supports healthcare professionals in using evidence-based tools and techniques to improve the reliability and safety of healthcare systems.
David qualified from the University of Liverpool in 2015, having discovered an interest in epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) during his training. This led to a PhD exploring antimicrobial use and resistance surveillance in companion animals, which was awarded in 2019, again at the University of Liverpool. Most recently, his interest has expanded to developing and assessing behavioural and vaccine interventions to hopefully slow the rate of AMR development and dissemination in the medical and veterinary sectors, using both 'big data' clinical
record-based and in-field approaches in the UK and Malawi.
Case study - Megan Conroy
Megan Conroy RVN, received a Knowledge Award in 2020 for her audit on ear cytology. Megan’s audit looked at how often registered veterinary surgeons were obtaining in-house aural swabs to perform microscopy before deciding if antibiotics were indicated. Megan said, “I found this audit pertinent due to antibiotic resistance becoming common in both human and veterinary medicine. Knowing that RCVS Knowledge are working with the professions to support our antimicrobial use and provide resources to help us improve is very exciting."
Equine Vet Champions
Clinical lead - Tim Mair
Tim in an RCVS Knowledge Trustee and a founding Diplomate of the European College of Equine Internal Medicine and an Associate of the European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging. He has been editor of Equine Veterinary Education since 1996. He is an Honorary Professor of the Royal Veterinary College and is a past President of the British Equine Veterinary Association. He currently works as Equine Veterinary Director of CVS Ltd, whilst still working as a clinician at Bell Equine Veterinary Clinic. His current research focuses on antibiotic and anthelmintic use in equine practice.
Case study - David Rendle
David Rendle, BEVA President Elect said: "I am very excited about the new antimicrobial stewardship project that we are working on with RCVS Knowledge. We know that the majority of equine practices have implemented antimicrobial use guidelines, and we hope that through working with RCVS Knowledge, we can further increase the use of guidelines such as 'PROTECT ME' and build upon them to further reduce and refine antimicrobial use in the equine sector. It is fantastic to see such great collaboration on this issue across the profession."