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2I. Complaints and Disciplinary Matters
1. The RCVS is required by statute to investigate any complaint against a member which may give rise to an allegation of professional misconduct. The RCVS receives complaints on a wide variety of issues all of which have to be investigated initially in order to establish whether or not they contain issues within its jurisdiction, and also in order to fulfil the public's legitimate expectations of a regulatory body.
2. RCVS disciplinary powers are exercised through the Preliminary Investigation and Disciplinary Committees, established in accordance with Schedule 2 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966.
The Preliminary Investigation Committee
Distinction between Unethical Conduct and Conduct Disgraceful in a Professional Respect
Distinction between Professional Negligence and Conduct Disgraceful in a Professional Respect
The Preliminary Investigation Committee
3. The Preliminary Investigation Committee consists of the President and Vice Presidents of the RCVS and three elected members of Council. In the interests of transparency two lay observers sit with the committee.
4. Its duty is to investigate complaints against veterinary surgeons which contain allegations of disgraceful professional conduct (i.e. those which may be capable of leading to the removal of the veterinarian's name from the Register or their registration being suspended), fraudulent registration or conviction of an offence rendering him or her unfit to practise veterinary surgery. The Preliminary Investigation Committee must decide whether a case should be referred to the RCVS's solicitors for investigation, and if appropriate for charges to be drafted for consideration by the Disciplinary Committee.
The Disciplinary Committee
5. The Disciplinary Committee consists of a Chairman elected by Council and eleven other members of Council, similarly elected, at least one of whom must be a Privy Council appointee. No member of the Preliminary Investigation Committee may serve on the Disciplinary Committee, nor may they do so subsequently in respect of any case considered during their membership of the P I Committee.
6. The Disciplinary Committee is a properly constituted judicial tribunal and must comply with the Veterinary Surgeons and Veterinary Practitioners (Disciplinary Committee) (Procedure and Evidence) Rules 2004 which provides that 'any charge which may result in a direction by the Committee that a respondent be removed from the register, shall be proved so that the Committee is satisfied to the highest civil standard of proof, so that it is sure,' which is tantamount to the criminal standard of proof.
7. If the Disciplinary Committee finds the charges against the Respondent proven it may order the Respondent's name to be removed from the Register of Veterinary Surgeons or his/her registration to be suspended for a specified period.
8. Alternatively judgement may be postponed for a period of up to two years or the Committee may make no order but warn the Respondent as to future conduct. Sometimes judgement may be postponed subject to specified undertakings given by the veterinary surgeon to the Committee.
9. Any Respondent against whom an order has been made has a right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The appeal must be lodged within 28 days after receiving notification of the Committee's order. The order itself will not take effect until after the 28-day period or until any appeal has been heard and determined.
10. When a veterinary surgeon's name is removed from the Register (striking off) they may not be involved in any form of veterinary practice. They may apply to have their name restored to the Register after 10 months have elapsed and will be required to reappear before the Committee to satisfy it that they are fit to return to practice.
11. In the case of a suspension the veterinary surgeon is similarly debarred from any direct form of veterinary activity until the period of suspension has expired, at which time their name will be automatically restored and they may resume practice.
Jurisdiction of the RCVS
12. Under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 the RCVS has authority to deal with three types of case:
a. fraudulent registration
b. criminal convictions
c. allegations of disgraceful professional conduct
Fraudulent Registration
13. This would arise if someone were to gain admission to membership of the RCVS by falsely claiming to have the appropriate qualifications or by assuming a false identity.
Criminal Convictions
14. The RCVS is required to consider any conviction against a veterinary surgeon in the criminal courts in the United Kingdom or elsewhere which may 'render him unfit to practise veterinary surgery'. It looks only at the fact and the nature of the conviction. Any defence put forward at the trial can only be introduced in mitigation before the Disciplinary Committee.
15. Not every criminal offence will necessarily be notified to the RCVS or referred to the Disciplinary Committee, but rather only those which are likely to affect the veterinary surgeon's ability or fitness to practise, call their honesty into question or endanger the public.
Distinction between Unethical Conduct and Conduct Disgraceful in a Professional Respect
16. On admission to membership of the RCVS every veterinary surgeon makes a declaration of loyalty to the College, amounting in essence to entering into an agreement under which they promise to follow the College's ethical guidance in its entirety. (Such a contract is an essential feature of any self regulating profession.)
17. It is important to distinguish between unethical behaviour and disgraceful professional conduct.
18. Unethical behaviour is essentially a departure from that standard of behaviour accepted as the norm among members of the profession.
19. A series of substantiated allegations of unethical behaviour may lead to a charge of disgraceful professional conduct.
20. Disgraceful professional conduct - for example false certification or seriously deficient professional care for an animal - is serious in itself, and as such is likely to bring the profession into disrepute, and is likely to lead to referral to the Disciplinary Committee.
Distinction between Professional Negligence and Conduct Disgraceful in a Professional Respect
21. Professional negligence arises when the veterinary surgeon has failed to exercise the normal level of skill and judgement which would be expected of the average veterinary surgeon and as a result of which damage has been suffered. All harm is not necessarily actionable. It should be remembered that in the case of those with higher or specialist qualifications, or claimed specialist status, a correspondingly higher standard will be expected.
22. The RCVS has no power under the Veterinary Surgeons Act or other legislation to award compensation or damages which are the normal remedies when negligence is proven. Thus allegations of negligence which cannot be resolved directly as between veterinary surgeon and client are matters for adjudication by the civil courts. The RCVS has no power to usurp the court's jurisdiction.
23. It is accepted that in some cases negligence and disgraceful conduct may overlap, where, for example, the negligence has been so gross to amount to serious professional misconduct (seriously deficient professional care). Where this appears to be a real possibility the RCVS will investigate a complaint. If no issues of professional conduct are identified a complaint will not be pursued.
24. RCVS jurisdiction applies to all veterinary surgeons, whether EU, foreign or UK graduates practising in the United Kingdom, and to all UK veterinary surgeons practising in any part of the world who, although practising abroad have retained RCVS membership. Where there is a local veterinarian's board or regulatory body, however, the RCVS will usually work with that body rather than intervene itself. Similarly it will take into account any local circumstances in considering allegations of disgraceful conduct made against members practising abroad.
RCVS Complaints Procedure
25. The RCVS must investigate all complaints made against its members, which fall within its jurisdiction (i.e. complaints that raise an issue of professional conduct), however trivial they may appear, in accordance with the following procedure (much simplified in the interest of clarity).
26. In the majority of cases the member's response will reveal that a misunderstanding has arisen and enable the RCVS to resolve the complaint by correspondence. It is however incumbent upon members to respond constructively to the allegations. Persistent failure to do so will in itself raise a misconduct issue. Members may indicate that they choose to exercise their 'right to silence' and the complaint may then go forward unrebutted.
27. Similar procedures are followed when a conviction is reported to the RCVS. Usually, the Preliminary Investigation Committee considers convictions.
N.B. This is a general description of the procedures. More detailed information is available on request from the RCVS Professional Conduct Department; this includes a complaints form, information for complainants and information for veterinary surgeons asked to respond to complaints.
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