Candidate also shares his views for education shake up
"The original charter was set up to guarantee the standard of veterinary surgeons to ensure the best welfare of animals and we must not undermine that concept," Chris Pearson says.
An RCVS council candidate, Chris says animal welfare needs to be at the front of everything, be it practice standards, affordability of drugs, legislation, or wildlife management.
He has also suggested training of veterinary surgeons could be improved by having less time in college, and more CPD/on the job experience.
Having started in career in a mixed and equine practice in 1979, Chris has gone on to run his own practice, run a farm, and been a partner at a equine and small animal practice. He has worked for Defra on foot-and-mouth disease, and been a locum. He has even been a relationships counsellor for Relate.
He now works for CVS as a night vet in Exeter and works part time in a rescue centre in Wales.
Why did you decide to stand for elections?
I have had a memorable time as a veterinary surgeon and I feel it is time to give something back to the profession. I find myself hopping up and down at things in the news and want to try to actually do something about what I see instead of expostulating in frustration.
What are you hoping to achieve if you are elected to the council?
I believe passionately that my role as a defender of the welfare of animals is paramount and one that is getting lost in maneuverings in the RCVS. I would like to try to be part of the "conscience" of the profession and ensure that the vital role we have been given under the current Charter (to ensure that we try to protect animals from unnecessary suffering) is at the forefront of those minds managing our profession.
I also want to try to ensure that we do not forget the welfare of those in the profession. I feel privileged to have had certain freedoms as a practicing veterinary surgeon.
I believe that we should be careful not to restrict the abilities within the profession by over controlling standards and we should try to ensure that we care for our vets in all parts of their careers. The skills and abilities of this gifted group is an opportunity to challenge and contribute to the knowledge of the world.
It needs sensitive and careful management to provide a safe framework which allows growth with reasonable freedom.
What changes would you like to see in the profession?
I would like us to put animal welfare at the front of all that we do. If we use this as a lens it will help us steer through the difficulties of providing a cost effective first opinion service affordable to all and a high tech capability that extends the boundaries of medicine and surgery, and not only in the veterinary field.
The wildlife in this country is not as wild as it used to be. We need to be at the forefront of the management this essential resource using our expertise in welfare as a guide for all those people and agencies involved in developing strategies concerning wildlife.
I would like to see affordable veterinary training. A three year degree to provide "veterinary assistants" and then further training to continue to develop expertise thus nurturing our future talent rather than dropping them in at the deep end.
Where do you see the college in five years time?
I believe the RCVS should be mainly focused on achieving "what it says on the label" ie ensuring that standards the profession works to are sufficient to ensure that we protect animals from unnecessary suffering.
This means that what we do is affordable and that standards we try to achieve are really necessary.
The top end of the standards scale should not really be the RCVS’s concern. For example : cascade should be reviewed to ensure that we can deliver affordable medicines; CPD and certificates and diplomas should be linked into actual qualifications required to practice.
The development of globally accepted standards of animal welfare which we apply at home.
Why should people vote for me?
If you agree that animal welfare should be at the front of all the RCVS agendas then I will ensure that it is ...so you don’t have to.
How can the college connect better with the veterinary profession / nursing profession?
In my opinion less is more when it comes to regulation. The college should be concerned with minimum standards but be more outspoken about those standards. We need to be supported in our efforts to deliver affordable but paid for veterinary attention.
"The RCVS needs the skill base to maintain the authority of the profession in ALL matters of animal welfare.
"I do not think the nurses should be tacked on to the veterinary Charter. I think they should try to get one of their own.
"Veterinary nurses have skills and abilities that are different and not properly valued. Adding them onto the veterinary charter might make them lower standard vets rather than on their own terms as higher standard nurses."
Ballot papers for the RCVS and VN Council elections will be sent out next week. Voting will close on April 25.
Birmingham Dogs Home has issued an urgent winter appeal as it faces more challenges over the Christmas period.
