Elections: New council members discuss future aims
The successful candidates will take up their seats in July.
Last week, the results of this year's RCVS and VN Council elections were announced. Six elected RCVS members and two VN members will take up their seats on the councils this July. MRCVSonline caught up with the successful candidates to find out more about their hopes for the future.
Existing member Niall Connell was re-elected with the highest number of votes (2,575), along with Lynne Hill, who was also voted in for another term. Niall said he was "thrilled and humbled" to be voted back onto the council, where he hopes to get involved with reforming the council structure and working alongside the VN Council to protect the 'veterinary nurse' title.
"I will do my utmost to work hard for the profession I hold dear," he commented. "My congratulations to the other successful candidates. I would like to dedicate what I may have achieved on RCVS Council so far and what I hope to achieve in the next four years to the memory of my friend and classmate, Penny Gillespie BVMS MRCVS 1958-2013."
Peter Robinson was elected again, after serving on council in 2013/14. Speaking to MRCVSonline during the voting phase, he said he believes more must be done to help vet students prepare for life in practice, as poor preparation is one of the major causes of stress in the profession.
Thanking those who supported him in the elections, Peter said: "The real work starts now. We need find a way to make the transition from vet school to practice easier and we must strive to make general practice more like a specialty in its own right."
Newly elected vet Jo Dyer will be a new addition to the RCVS Council. Last year, she launched a petition calling for mandatory home visits to be removed from the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct, which received over 2,800 signatures and led to a change in the code's guidance.
"It is the first time I have stood for election for anything, or done anything political, so it is a little bit scary to be elected, and a big responsibility," she commented. "I will do my best to justify the trust placed in me by those who voted."
Jo would like to see good two-way communication between the college and its members, increased democratisation of the RCVS and a clarification of its aims and responsibilities.
"My understanding is that RCVS is all of us vets; we are all members of the college. RCVS Council is there to make governance decisions on behalf of the members, so to say that council members are not there to represent the profession (as stated in an edition of RCVS news) seems wrong to me.
"Recently there has also been a message sent out that 'We [RCVS council] are there to regulate you' and the feeling in the profession is that this is the only role. I would like to see clarification that we are a self-regulating profession, and, as such, Council is there to oversee this function as well."
Also joining the council for the first time are Tim Greet and Kate Richards.
Tim, a partner at Rossdales Equine Hospital in Newmarket, hopes to be a part of directing the future of the veterinary profession in a period of great change, ensuring that quality of care is not eroded.
Speaking after the election results were announced he said: "I feel very privileged to have been elected to RCVS Council. I am particularly grateful to my proposers, Polly Taylor and Julie Fitzpatrick and to all those who voted for me. I will endeavour to represent the views of practising veterinary surgeons to the best of my ability in all the diverse activities in which the RCVS is involved."
Kate Richards has worked as a cattle vet and in senior roles across government. She is now a non-executive director at Moredun and Scotland's Rural College. In her manifesto she said while many veterinary graduates aim for a clinical career, it is important to remain "flexible and innovative", particularly with increasing numbers of veterinary graduates.
Commenting on her election, she said: "I am delighted to be elected to RCVS Council and would like to thank everyone who voted for me and supported me. I am looking forward to working with Council colleagues in working through some interesting challenges."
Lucy Bellwood will join the VN Council as a new member, along with existing member Liz Cox, who was re-elected for another term.
In her manifesto, Lucy said she would like to focus on educating the public and nursing students, as well as ensuring veterinary nurse training programmes are balanced for those students with strong academic abilities, with those who have excellent practical skills.
“I was amazed and delighted by the result of the election, and am really looking forward to the next four years. The fact that a record number of RVNs voted this year is astounding and makes me very proud to be part of it all. Veterinary nursing is at a pivotal point in its development as a profession, and I can’t wait to be more involved - thank you very much to all who voted."
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