Page 28 - Chiron Calling Autumn/Winter 2022

Veterinary Task Force and Veterinary Assurance
by Maj (Retd) Tom Roffe-Silvester MA VetMB PGDip(SML) CertAVP MRCVS & Capt (Retd) Sonia Roffe-Silvester BSc BVetMed CertAVP MRCVS
In 2021 Veterinary Task Force Ltd (VTF) was created with
a mission to optimise the
wellbeing of working animals; in particular operational working
dogs. With a combined RAVC service of twelve years, and postings including OC CTS and VSTAT, 2IC and VO roles, plus deployments
on Op HERRICK 9, 16 and 18, we have built on our experiences and developed a business that we are both excited and passionate about, and that will make a noticeable difference to this particular sector.
THE NEED FOR CHANGE
The need for this new venture stemmed from conversations with military colleagues now working in the private dog sector and through our own assessment of the industry as a whole. There is a huge gap between basic veterinary first aid courses delivered online or locally and the veterinary care afforded by veterinary practices and referral or emergency hospitals. Ambulance or paramedic services for dogs in the traditional sense are non-existent, and there is a deficit in the provision of training opportunities for civilian dog owners and some dog handlers. Organisations with mandated first aid training for their handlers may struggle to keep the training up-to- date and current, which is often not standardised across locations. There is also a huge range in the quality
of welfare-specific areas detailed in different organisation’s standard operating procedures.
Interestingly, the US have drawn together ‘best practice’ guidelines1, detailing what could and should
be done by the lay person on the scene, the first responder with
A full clinical examination of a working dog from ICTS as part of its annual Fit for Duty assessment
minimal training and the more advanced responder. There are two States (Ohio and Colorado) in which Emergency Medical Technicians (paramedics) can perform advanced life support techniques such as administering intravenous fluids to canine casualties. We are a member of a UK Working Group, headed up by the British Animal Rescue and Trauma Association (BARTA), who are currently developing standards and working with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) in order to enhance first responder animal care in a similar manner, within the limits of UK legislation.
It is not just first aid training that can be enhanced, however, and we have taken a wider view covering all aspects of veterinary assurance.
WHAT IS VETERINARY ASSURANCE?
The well-used term ‘clinical governance’ in the veterinary world means ‘a continuing
Scenario-based training on Dartmoor
process of reflection, analysis,
and improvement in professional practice for the benefit of the animal patient and the client owner’2,
and this is a key part of our ethos. Likewise, farm assurance schemes utilise veterinary expertise to set high standards of animal health and welfare, and quality assurance; and in veterinary practice the Quality Improvement movement focusses on the combined efforts of the whole team to make changes that will lead to better outcomes, better systems and better professional development and learning. In the NHS assurance is about getting the right balance
1 Hanel, R.M., Palmer, L., Baker, J., Brenner, J.-A., Crowe, D.T., Dorman, D., Gicking, J.C., Gilger, B., Otto, C.M., Robertson, S.A., Rozanski, E. and Trumpatori, B. (2016), Best practice recommendations for prehospital veterinary care of dogs and cats. Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, 26: 166-233.
2 https://www.rcvs.org.uk/setting-standards/advice-and-guidance/code-of-professional-conduct-for-veterinary-surgeons/supporting-guidance/clinical- governance/#:~:text=23%20June%202020-,Introduction,patient%20and%20the%20client%20owner.
26 / Chiron Calling