FAQs

Schedule 2 Controlled Drugs (CD) must be destroyed in the presence of a witness. A witness can be a veterinary surgeon who is independent from the practice where the CD is destroyed. This also applies to Schedules 3 and 4 CDs that have been prepared extemporaneously for use under the Cascade. To be considered independent this vet:

• Must not demand or accept any form of payment, beyond that which is reasonable to cover travel costs.
• Must record their RCVS number and confirm their independence in the CD register.
• Must have no personal, professional, or financial interest in or relationship with the veterinary practice where the drug is being destroyed (for example, temporary staff and family members of staff are not considered to be independent; ‘family member’ refers to spouse, partners, parents, siblings, children or other relatives).
• Must not share stock with or provide services (with exception of the function as a witness to the destruction of CDs) to the practice where the drugs are being destroyed.
• May work for the same franchise or corporate group provided the practices have a different owner and are separate legal entities.

To maintain independence, the vet destroying the CDs should not use the same witness repeatedly for the destruction of CDs at their practice.

The VMD guidance on the disposal of controlled drugs provides further examples of when a vet would be considered “independent”.

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Veterinary Medicines Regulations (VMR), including the registration and inspection of veterinary practice premises. All newly registered premises will be inspected within 6 months of registering. The frequency of further inspections is determined using a risk-based approach with the most compliant premises inspected every 4 years. However, less compliant premises may be inspected more frequently. The statutory fee for a VMD inspection of a vet practice premises is £350. If a practice is in the Practice Standards Scheme (PSS) then a Practice Standards Inspector will be responsible for ensuring that the practice is compliant with the VMR during the PSS inspection.

Anybody involved with the practice may register it as a veterinary practice premises with the RCVS, but it would be helpful if within the practice there is agreement about who is to be the point of contact.

All newly qualified graduates and those with less than one year’s clinical experience are required to complete the PDP, regardless of where they qualified in the UK or overseas. Anyone who is returning to work after a career-break is also encouraged to use the system until they feel they have adequately refreshed their skills.

The PDP is based on the concept of self-assessment, and seeks to encourage graduates to have a realistic view of their professional competence. The graduate can apply for PDP completion when they have marked themselves as confident across all the PDP areas, have checked their performance against the general RCVS PDP Competences, and their record includes evidence of a broad range of experience in the species area in which they are working (either small animal, farm animal, equine practice or any combination of the three). They must then print out and sign the declaration which can be downloaded from their PDP record. Their employer or other senior MRCVS colleague will also need to countersign the form to confirm that the graduate has taken part in the process, and that they have discussed their PDP entries with them.

Employers are not asked to formally examine or assess the graduate’s PDP competence for the purposes of PDP (although, of course they will want to make a judgement about a graduate’s competence on a regular basis in order to decide the level of responsibility which they are prepared to allow them to have in the practice).

The RCVS-appointed Postgraduate Dean is available online to provide guidance to each graduate about completing their records. When the graduate claims they have achieved the PDP competences, the RCVS Postgraduate Dean will review the case records and reflective notes online, before confirming that they have completed their PDP. Once confirmed by the Postgraduate Dean, the RCVS will send a completion certificate to the graduate.

After they have completed the PDP and received their confirmation certificate from the RCVS, the graduate will not be able to add to or edit their PDP records, although they will be able to view them online if they wish. If they decide to move into a different area of practice later on, they may wish to come back to the PDP system and continue completing their records in a different species area. If they want to reactivate their PDP record, they should contact the RCVS at [email protected], explaining the background to their request. 

Attendees are split into four broad groups. The first is the Committee itself, and the people directly assisting it. For veterinary surgeon hearings, this includes 5 to 7 members who are a mix of veterinary surgeons and lay members. For Veterinary Nurse hearings, there are three members comprised of a lay person, a Registered Veterinary Nurse and a veterinary surgeon, . There will also be the Legal Assessor whose job it is to advise the DC on the relevant law. There will also be one or two DC Clerks in attendance, as well as a shorthand notetaker.

The second group is the RCVS which includes the RCVS solicitor who has been liaising with you and the external barrister who is presenting the case. There may also be other witnesses (including an expert witness).

The third group is the Respondent’s team. This includes the veterinary professional as well as any representation they have (for example a barrister, solicitor and/or someone from their professional indemnity insurers). It may also include any witnesses or experts they intend to call.

The final group is the public. DC hearings are generally open to the public, but it is quite rare that members of the public attend if they have no interest in or connection to the case. It is often those with an interest in the hearing (e.g. family members or friends). The press can also attend the hearing if they wish to.

You are being called as a witness as you have either raised concerns regarding a registered veterinary professional or are a witness to events that somebody else has raised concerns about. You will have already been interviewed and given a formal statement to RCVS’ external solicitors.

On this occasion, a decision has recently been made by the Preliminary Investigation Committee to refer the matter to the Disciplinary Committee (‘DC’) for a hearing which means that those who have provided a witness statement are required to attend and give evidence.

It is important that those who have provided witness statements are available on the day of the hearing so that both parties, and the DC, have the opportunity to ask questions and better understand the incident(s) complained about.

The A-Foundations of Advanced Veterinary Practice.1 module is compulsory for all CertAVP candidates. These cover skills that the RCVS considers important for all competent veterinarians to be able to demonstrate, whatever their area of practice. The inclusion of modules covering essential key professional and clinical skills is designed to ensure that topics which are of importance to all areas of practice - including welfare and ethics, biosecurity, and evidence-based approaches to medicine - are covered by everyone achieving the qualification.

The Academy’s courses are designed to provide you with a directed learning pathway in a particular subject area. Each course will identify which veterinary professionals it is suitable for. Learning objectives will also support you to select the courses relevant to your role and learning needs.

Enrolling with the RCVS means that we will keep a record of your credits, wherever you achieve them. It also enables us to keep in touch with you and let you know about any new developments, modules or courses. Please note that you cannot earn credits towards an RCVS qualification unless you are enrolled with us.