Page 12 - Chiron Calling Autumn/Winter 2022

Inspiring excellence in Animal Response during emergencies
by Nicola Housby-Skeggs,
Veterinary Director at the Horse Trust
Many of readers of Chiron Calling will have met Nicky, when she was a serving Veterinary Officer, she is now the Veterinary Director at the Horse Trust, (the umbrella charity that includes BARTA). Nicky is also the Chairperson for the BARTA board, a veterinary advisor, and she instructs on a number of courses.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO GET INVOLVED WITH BARTA?
I started my career in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps and the veterinary responder course was considered essential learning prior to starting any equine veterinary job. There are few courses that genuinely shift your understanding and approach to cases or situations; however, the veterinary responder course did this for me and has fundamentally influenced how
I have approached emergencies throughout my career.
The RAVC was already using many of the rescue techniques and the overall approach they used strongly aligned with the teaching. Throughout my time as an equine vet in the RAVC we ensured that all soldiers working with horses had first responder training in
dealing with emergencies and entrapments and trained a select group to team leader level. This ensured that there was a consistent approach to all emergencies where every team member understood their role resulting in seamless communication and collaboration to ensure the most efficient casualty centred rescue no matter what the situation.
WHAT SPECIAL INTEREST DO YOU HAVE IN DEALING WITH INCIDENTS INVOLVING ANIMALS/ DISASTERS?
I see incidents involving animals as a niche element of “one health” it is when animals, humans and their environment are often in conflict with one-another. The rescue team must understand all three to find
a way to resolve a situation with limited impact on the well-being of that triad.
Having been part of both dangerous, emotional and stressful rescue situations as well as those that have run smoothly, I want
to ensure that everyone involved has the right tools for the job. This includes technical veterinary and rescue skills along with
the management skills such as communication, collaboration, and problem solving.
We don’t always get the outcome we want but that is easier to come to terms with when you know you did everything you could.
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR VISION FOR THE FUTURE?
I would love to see vets turning up at emergencies being as seamless as paramedics arriving at an incident and I would love to see all emergency responders trained to an appropriate level for their role. I believe we are getting closer to that goal every week!
I would also like to see us all analysing each incident in a standardised way. Investigating human and system factors
that are impacting rescues and implementing protocols based on these learnings.
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