More than 12,000 responses were received.

The British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA) has released the preliminary findings from recent surveys asking veterinary professionals and members of the public about their views on making ‘veterinary nurse’ a legally protected title.

The results reveal that 95 per cent of the veterinary professionals who responded agreed that ‘veterinary nurse’ should be a legally protected title and 99 per cent thought that a change in the law would help veterinary nurses to feel that their profession is valued.

Evidence about the public’s understanding of veterinary nursing was also uncovered, with 91 per cent saying they would assume that someone calling themselves a veterinary nurse was fully qualified and regulated by a professional body. 92 per cent felt that it was very important their pet received care from a registered veterinary nurse.

More than 12,000 people responded to the surveys, which were open between 26 September and 31 December 2022.

A full report of the results will be published later this year and submitted to Defra as part of the BVNA’s push for the government to introduce statutory protection of the title ‘veterinary nurse’. The campaign is supported by the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS).

The government has already received recommendations made by the RCVS Council to legally protect the title as part of wider changes to the 1966 Veterinary Surgeons Act.

Charlotte Pace RVN, BVNA president, said: “The response to our ‘Protect the Title’ campaign has been fantastic! This shows that there is a lot of interest and support for legislative change from both the veterinary profession and the public. At BVNA, we will continue to push for the highest quality nursing, with full accountability. Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill out our survey, or shared it with friends and family.”

BVNA senior vice-president Alex Taylor RVN added: “The response and results of this survey just highlight how important protection of the title 'veterinary nurse' is, not just to the veterinary nursing profession, but to other veterinary professionals and the public themselves, who would assume that someone who calls themselves a veterinary nurse is fully trained and properly regulated.”

The preliminary report can be read on the BVNA website.

Image (C) BVNA