New model for veterinary services
The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) has announced plans to develop a new model for the supply of veterinary services.
Delivery Partners will be invited to tender for the supply of government-funded veterinary services, which will be delivered within defined areas across England and Wales.
Services will include tuberculin testing for TB in cattle, other government-funded services such as brucellosis testing and possibly new areas of work.
According to the agency, it aims to make the process more efficient for the taxpayer, the farmed livestock industry and the veterinary profession. As well as enhancing quality controls, the agency says it will market-test the price paid for such services by taxpayers.
It is estimated that 10 Delivery Partners will be needed to deliver services in England and Wales. These will then sub-contract to small and medium businesses, who will supply veterinary services to livestock businesses within the region.
A single supplier will be responsible for new methods of veterinary training to support the new model. New training approaches include a "Certificate of Competence" which can be acquired by individual vets through accredited training, and maintained through periodical validation.
Tuberculin testing is the highest value service currently carried out by Official Veterinarians (OVs) on behalf of AHVLA, with an estimated £20 million to be paid to OVs in the fiscal year 2013-14.
The new arrangements follow pressure from the EU's TB Eradication Task Force to improve the quality of TB testing in the UK.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
