Veterinarians are a huge part of our lives as pet owners. We need to find someone we trust and someone with whom we can communicate since our pets cannot speak for themselves. By and large, these are wonderful people who are in the profession because they truly care about animals. But, as with anything, there is always a bad apple or two. What can you do about it? In the U.S., some of the States have something set up at the Veterinary Board so you can file a complaint. It really takes a lot for someone to be pushed that far but it's important that all animals get quality care, not just our own and if something is horrendously wrong in a practice then it makes sense to file a report. This can be pretty controversial. I'm lucky, I have wonderful veterinarians and a great rapport with them. But I have friends who have not been so lucky. They don't live in my State and I can't say, well, try this veterinarian...
I'm not the only one who has been thinking about this topic. In the U.K. The Bella Moss Foundation is doing something about it. They are asking pet owners, no matter where they live, to respond to a few questions and send their answers to: info@thebellamossfoundation.com
Here are the questions. Please cut and paste them into an e-mail form and send to the address above:
1 - Do most owners know their vet can be disciplined for misconduct? The RCVS response will be that complaints/disciplinary is easily accessible on its website (www.rcvs.org.uk/complaints/ - where, to be fair, things are explained clearly) - but is this enough?
2 - The college also puts hearing details and outcomes online - so there's plenty of information on the internet - but is there still a fundamental problem that owners just aren't aware of how vets are regulated? Even if they are aware vets can be struck off, do they understand the process?
3 - Does it go even deeper than that - simple lack of knowledge about the RCVS register?
4 - There have been articles and programmes touching on the self regulation of the profession (Panorama being a biggy) - should there be wider media coverage explaining how the profession works? Does the RCVS need to do this?
Again, copy and paste these questions into an e-mail form, answer the questions and then e-mail the message to:
Thank you for helping with such a worthy cause. Feel free to share this with friends.
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