Jade Statt with Lola and owner Gary Spall.

Jade Statt among six recipients of the 2018 RCVS honours

StreetVet founder Jade Statt has won the 2018 RCVS Impact Award in recognition of her work to improve the welfare of homeless dogs.

StreetVet provides free and accessible veterinary care to homeless pet owners on the streets of London. Dr Gabriel Galea, who nominated Jade for the award, said:

“Jade’s most substantial contribution has been to the welfare of the dogs she selflessly gives up her time and energy to treat, using resources she works hard to source. Her authoritative yet friendly, caring and non-judgemental attitude has made her a favourite with often vulnerable owners, who have grown to trust her unconditionally with their sole companions.”

Introduced last year, the RCVS Impact Award is awarded to veterinary surgeons at all stages of their career who are undertaking projects and initiatives that have a discernible impact on the profession and/or animal health and welfare.

Inspiration Award

Professor Derek Knottenbelt OBE and Dr Ebony Escalona have been awarded the 2018 RCVS Inspiration Award. Professor Knottenbelt, who received the honour for inspiring others, is an emeritus professor in equine internal medicine at the University of Liverpool.

His nominator Dr Jessica Kidd, an RCVS-recognised specialist in equine surgery, said: “Derek has supervised numerous residents and influenced countless students during his time in academia. His ability to excite and inspire people in the profession is monumental, as is his philanthropic personality and innate need to help those less fortunate.”

Ebony won the Inspiration Award for her work as a veterinary advisor at the Brooke equine charity and as the founding member of the Facebook group 'Vets: Stay, Go, Diversify'. The award also recognises her involvement in the Learn Appeal Project, which provides basic veterinary, farriery and husbandry knowledge to rural communities without internet access.

Her nominator, Dr Aurelie Thomas, said: “Ebony has done more for the veterinary community over her eight-year career than many would over 20 years. Ebony’s generosity, enthusiasm and energy for our profession seems limitless, and I believe her efforts should be encouraged and rewarded. Ebony constructively challenges the status quo for a better future and excels by using simple approaches to infuse positivity to hundreds of veterinary professionals across the globe.”

International Awards

The two recipients of the 2018 International Awards were Dr Alemayehu Hailemariam, an Ethiopian vet who does much of the Brooke’s clinical and educational fieldwork in that country, and veterinary nurse Rachel Wright who founded the Tree of Life for Animals animal hospital in Rajasthan, India.

RCVS President Stephen May said: “Our International Awards really demonstrate that our work as veterinary health professionals does not stop at the borders of the UK and that sharing knowledge, skills, time and effort with our international colleagues improves the health and welfare of animals across the world".

The Queen’s Medal

The Queen's Medal - the highest honour that the College can award a veterinary surgeon - was bestowed upon Professor Peter Clegg, an equine vet who is currently head of the Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease at the University of Liverpool.

His nominator, Mandy Peffers FRCVS, said: “Professor Clegg is unique as he manages to combine a clinical career, with a recognised specialism in equine surgery, along with a successful academic research career. His research studies span clinical veterinary studies, basic biomedical sciences and human musculoskeletal biology."

She continued: "Within both his research and clinical careers he has been instrumental in developing and mentoring many individuals through clinical and research training schemes. In particular, he has trained a considerable number of veterinary PhD students.”

The winners will receive their awards at RCVS Day 2018 – the College’s Annual General Meeting and awards ceremony – on Friday 13 July.

Image (C) Blue Cross