College to focus on Mind Matters at the London Vet Show

Come to visit us at this year’s London Vet Show from 17 to 18 November at the ExCel, London, where we will be promoting a number of our projects and initiatives.

The focus of our stand (Q58) will be the Mind Matters Initiative, a project launched in 2014 that aims to increase the accessibility and acceptance of mental health support, and encourage a culture that better equips individuals to talk about and deal with stress and related issues.

The stand will feature tips gathered from a month-long social media campaign in September, which saw daily suggestions for how to improve wellbeing from members of the veterinary profession and mental health experts. Visitors will be able to share their own wellbeing tips and be in with a chance to win a FitBit Alta worth £100. The wellbeing tips given during the social media campaign can be found on the Mind Matters Initiative’s Twitter account @vetmindmatters.

We will also be co-hosting a ‘Breakfast on Brexit’ meeting with the British Veterinary Association (BVA) at 8.30am on Friday 18 November. Delegates are invited to attend and hear from Chris Tufnell, RCVS President, and Alick Simmons, Chair of BVA’s Brexit Working Group and former UK Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer, about our Brexit Presidential Taskforce and BVA’s Brexit Working Group, respectively. The audience will be encouraged to contribute to the discussion, with comments, feedback and suggestions.

The Vet Futures project, a joint initiative between us and the BVA, will also be featured on our stand. The project was launched at London Vet Show in 2014, and the Vet Futures Action Plan, which detailed how the organisations would deliver on the recommendations of the 2015 Vet Futures Report, was launched at the Vet Futures Summit on 4 July 2016.

Furthermore, we will be holding a series of free 20-minute Practice Standards Scheme surgeries with PSS Lead Assessor Pam Mosedale, to assist those practices that are thinking of joining the Scheme, have an upcoming inspection, or are applying for an optional PSS award. To sign up, please email Alicia Menendez-Buick, PSS Officer, or visit the RCVS stand, Q58.