RCVS welcomes the conclusions of RCVS Knowledge report on contextualised care

The RCVS welcomes the publication last week (Thursday 6 November 2025) of the report by our charity partner RCVS Knowledge on how to empower veterinary teams to deliver contextualised care, and highlighted the work it has underway that align with the report’s recommendations.

The report ‘How to achieve contextualised care: insights from the veterinary sector and pet owners’ sets out the steps that can be taken by individuals and organisations in and around the professions to deliver contextualised care – which is defined as ‘care that is adapted to the circumstances of each animal, its owner and the wider context.’

The steps it sets out are broken down into five sections (Professional leadership, Veterinary education, Practice support, Evidence and research, and Pet owner empowerment) and within those sections it recommends actions for the RCVS, including:

• Running a campaign to increase awareness that provision of contextualised care is a requirement under the RCVS Codes of Professional Conduct;
• Reviewing day one competences for newly-qualified veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses to ensure there is explicit reference to contextualised care and the skills that enable it;
• Ensuring the Veterinary Graduate Development Programme (VetGDP) has an explicit emphasis on a contextualised approach and communication skills; and,
• Developing guidance on how to record and use contextual information about the owner that is compliant with data protection regulations.

Lizzie Lockett, RCVS CEO, said: “Thank you to our colleagues in RCVS Knowledge for publishing this excellent report and setting out the path on how veterinary teams can incorporate contextualised care into everyday practice.

“In light of the current public debates over veterinary care and its costs, this report recognises that veterinary professionals should be supported to meet the needs of their clients and animal health and welfare as best they can under varying circumstances.

“We are glad that RCVS Knowledge has acknowledged the ways in which the RCVS plays a role in delivering on its road map and empowering vet teams.

“Much of the work is already underway– for example, we have a section of the Codes of Professional Conduct that address contextualised care, and have recently added RCVS Knowledge’s guidance on contextualised care to our own supporting guidance to the Codes.

“In addition, both the veterinary and veterinary nursing day one competences have included the need for newly-qualified vets and vet nurses to be educated in the provision of contextualised care for some time, although not using that particular term as this is recent terminology. Reviews of both sets of day one competences are already underway and updated references to this will be included in future versions.”

The full report can be found on the RCVS Knowledge website.