RCVS supports practices on suicide prevention with new PSS requirements

We're bringing in new requirements for individual veterinary practices to have a suicide prevention plan in place later this year.

From 1 April 2026, the Core Standards of the Practice Standards Scheme will require all accredited practices to implement a practice-specific suicide prevention plan, assessing potential risks within the practice setting, and putting in place measures to address and mitigate each identified risk.

The changes have been made as part our Mind Matters Initiative’s (MMI) preventative work, in which it aims to proactively look at systemic issues within the veterinary profession with a view to minimising the chance of people becoming unwell in the first place.

The decision also comes following the College’s response to two separate ‘prevention of future death’ reports issued by coroners’ courts in respect of one veterinary surgeon and one layperson who used lethal veterinary medicines to take their own lives.

The PSS requirements for a suicide prevention plan recognise that different practices will need different approaches, depending on factors such as access to lethal medicines, access to firearms, and how likely it is that will work alone.

Zara Kennedy MRCVS, Chair of MMI, said: “Many veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses and other colleagues in the veterinary team have been deeply affected by the suicide of their friends, colleagues and peers in the professions.

“While it may not be possible to prevent every death by suicide, we hope that by taking proactive measures such as the requirement for practices to have suicide prevention plans, we can prevent some. In doing so we can help those people who may be thinking about taking their own lives to get the treatment and help they need.

"While it may not be possible to prevent every death by suicide, we hope that by taking proactive measures such as the requirement for practices to have suicide prevention plans, we can prevent some. In doing so we can help those people who may be thinking about taking their own lives to get the treatment and help they need." 

“Suicide prevention plans are a collection of measures that aim to protect staff, as well as the wider public, by reducing incidences of suicide and this decision by the RCVS Standards Committee aligns with the prevention aspect of the Mind Matters Strategy and the proactive work the initiative has been doing in this area.”

Among the resources produced by MMI that may be useful to practices is our new RCVS Academy course ‘Suicide Awareness Fundamentals’. The course, which was launched in October 2025, looks at the contributing factors behind suicide in the profession, how to talk about it, reduce stigma, and support those in crisis. The course was developed in collaboration with veterinary mental health experts and aims to build confidence in responding to suicide-related situations with sensitivity. 

Another resource that practices can use is the new British Standards Institution guidance on suicide awareness which is designed to help organisations identify and manage suicide risk in the workplace. In addition, mental health charity Samaritans has advice on how to develop a ‘safety plan’ to support someone with suicidal thoughts.

The new requirement will be included in the Core Standards of the PSS for all three practice types – small animal, equine and farm animal. Practices that are not within the PSS will also need to meet the requirement – as in Section 4.3 of the Code of Professional Conduct which states that: ‘Veterinary surgeons must maintain minimum practice standards equivalent to the Core Standards of the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme.’

Following our response to the coroners’ courts, updates have also been made to Chapter 4 (‘Veterinary Medicines’) of the supporting guidance to the Code of Professional Conduct in regard to storing controlled drugs in vehicles.