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Veterinary disease centre receives funding boost
"The St Boswells centre is an important part of the national disease surveillance programme."

Scotland’s Rural College invests £500k in St Boswells to upgrade facilities

A veterinary disease surveillance centre in the Scottish Borders has received £500,000 from Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) to improve its facilities and promote animal health.

The money will be used to support the refurbishment of St Boswells and extend the life of the building. Among the planned works include a revamp of the interior and exterior and an upgrade to the laboratory facilities.

“The St Boswells centre is an important part of the national disease surveillance programme helping to improve animal health and support farm production,” explained George Caldow, head of SRUC Veterinary Services.

“The refurbishment of St Boswells will help secure this service for many years to come and provide a focal point for farm animal health across the region.”

Based at Greycook in St Boswells, SRUC Veterinary Services provides animal health diagnostics for livestock across the Borders, Midlothian and East Lothian and further afield as required.

Other planned works include an upgrade to the post-mortem room with a new hydraulic table and a new cradle design to improve efficiency and safety when examining adult cattle post mortem.
The room will remain closed while the work is in progress, and vets will provide an alternative post-mortem service from an alternative location nearby. 

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Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
New guidance for antibiotic use in rabbits

New best practice guidance on the responsible use of antibiotics in rabbits has been published by the BSAVA in collaboration with the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWA&F).

The guidance is free and has been produced to help veterinary practitioners select the most appropriate antibiotic for rabbits. It covers active substance, dose and route of administration all of which are crucial factors when treating rabbits owing to the risk of enterotoxaemia.

For more information and to access the guide, visit the BSAVALibrary.