Standards & Advice update: November 2022

This month's Standards & Advice update looks at the fact that new guidance relating to routine veterinary practice and clinical veterinary research has now come into effect. 

In July of this year, new guidance relating to routine veterinary practice and clinical veterinary research was published to help the profession to navigate clinical and ethical judgements. The guidance described clinical veterinary research, which is where routine procedures are undertaken for the benefit of the animal/s, with the concurrent intention to generate new knowledge that benefits animals, such as developing new procedures, improving a diagnosis, changing a routine procedure, or comparing existing procedures.

The guidance also introduced an obligation to obtain ethics review for all clinical veterinary research where one would be expected to obtain permission from the owner/keeper of an animal prior to being enrolled, or when consent is needed for use of previously collected samples or the use of data from an animal.

In order to give the profession time to prepare, the guidance did not apply over the summer, however this obligation came into effect on 1 September 2022.

Veterinary surgeons and registered veterinary nurses conducting clinical veterinary research outside the scope of a university should seek ethics review from the RCVS Ethics Review Panel (ERP) or another appropriate panel (eg a recognised institutional veterinary ethics review committee).