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EmailIphone Application    Posted: 11th November 2022
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VMD and RCVS Knowledge launch medication safety course
"30 per cent of errors reported to the VDS's VetSafe system are due to medication errors" - Chris Gush, RCVS Knowledge.

The course is freely available to anyone in the veterinary profession.

A free online course has been launched to help veterinary teams improve their medication safety in practice.

The course, Managing Veterinary Medicines: Staying legal and promoting safety, has been jointly launched by RCVS Knowledge and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate to provide knowledge on the safe and responsible use of veterinary medicines and medicine regulations. 

Delivering more than six hours of CPD, course users can expect to learn how to put systems in place that will reduce errors, improve patient outcomes and improve practice systems. 

RCVS Knowledge executive director, Chris Gush, said: “In England alone, more than 1,700 people die yearly because of medication errors. While we don't know the true figures in veterinary medicine, we do know that 30 per cent of errors reported to the VDS's VetSafe system are due to medication errors.

“That's why we think it's vital to have good robust systems in place in the practice dispensary and to use QI tools like guidelines, protocols, and checklists. We are pleased to have worked alongside the VMD to produce this fantastic course that will help veterinary teams improve their medication safety and ultimately save lives.”

The course will be delivered through podcasts, webinars and articles, and will help practices prepare for a VMD inspection or an RCVS Practice Standards Scheme assessment. 

CEO of the VMD, Abi Seager added: “Managing Veterinary Medicines will help teams comply with legislation as well as keep patients, team members and clients safe when prescribing and dispensing medicine. Both RCVS Knowledge and the VMD are committed to supporting veterinary teams to use and store medicines correctly to benefit patients, veterinary teams and practices.”

The course is open to everyone in the veterinary profession. For more information and to access the course, visit rcvsknowledge.org

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Applications open for MMI research grants

News Story 1
 RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.

Researchers have until 11.59pm on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 to apply for a grant for research which reflects MMI's 2025 focus areas.

Only one Impact Grant was awarded last year, and so this year there are two Discovery Grants and one Impact Grants available. Each Discovery Grant is worth £5,000 and the Impact Grant is worth £15,000.

For more information or to apply, email researchgrants@rcvs.org.uk to contact the MMI team.

 

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News Shorts
Germany livestock import ban lifted

The UK government has amended its ban on the import of livestock, meat and dairy products from Germany.

Defra said the decision follows 'rigorous technical assessment' of the measures applied and the current situation. "If the situation changes, we will not hesitate to take necessary action in response to the FMD outbreaks in the European Union to protect our domestic biosecurity," it said.

The ban was implemented in January following an outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) near Berlin. Personal imports of meat, milk and dairy products will remain in place at a country level.