VPMA launch Member Assistance Programme
Julie Beacham, VPMA Honorary Secretary.
A new Member Assistance Programme was launched at the recent VPMA-SPVS Congress.
VPMA say that the programme was created to fill a needs gap for managers with somewhere to go for help on a range of issues from personal to professional.
The programme will provide a 24-hour confidential helpline for VPMA members, backed up by a Wellness portal where they can access range of support tools.
The need for such a scheme was stressed by VPMA Honorary Secretary, Julie Beacham: “It’s very difficult for some practice managers, who find themselves in a limbo-situation between providing direction and support for employees, while trying to comply with their responsibilities towards their practice principal or employer.
"We’d had many reports of managers really struggling with no-where to go to find help for themselves. So, working with a provider, we came up with a package that gives each of our members, and their immediate families, support for both work-related issues such as financial and legal support, as well as personal issues such as stress and family matters.”
Senior vice-president Helen Sanderson added: “Our members are our central focus – and along with the CPD and networking opportunities that VPMA provides, we wanted to support well-being. We hope that through the programme, practice managers will feel that they are not alone."
The Member Assistance Programme is available free of charge to all VPMA members. For further details, contact the VPMA Secretariat on 07000 782 324. Non-members wishing to join the association and access the programme should email the secretariat at secretariat@vpma.co.uk.
Companies marketing medicines for small pets exempt from authorisation must submit their annual return to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) by 30 November 2026.
