January 2013

BEVA has been working with lantra, the BVA and the BVDA for the last six months to develop national occupation standards for equine dental technicians.  These NOS are a useful and practical stepping-stone to the development of an exemption order, to enable EDTs to practice legally.  After pages of paper and hours of work, the NOS have been agreed and signed off by the veterinary and the EDT organisations, however it now looks like these can't be published because some of the techniques we'd like to deregulate to EDTs are essentially illegal.  Whilst it feels like all that effort as been in vain, we hope to use this to pressure the minor procedure project board at DEFRA to hasten the implementation of an exemption order.  We would also prefer a situation where anyone (including those who practice category 1 procedures) have to be trained and qualified to do so.

I had the pleasure of meeting those behind the new veterinary school at Surrey yesterday.  We do have some real concerns about the oversupply of veterinary surgeons in equine practice and whilst I made this clear to them yesterday, there is no getting away from the vision and determination of the Surrey team to produce high quality veterinary graduates for veterinary practice.  Whether a new veterinary school is required in the UK is open to debate.  

I had an interesting meeting with the RCVS and the BHA about the firing of horses' tendons before Christmas and BEVA is planning to get some practitioners of thermocautery around a table to discuss the future of the procedure.  

K.Chandler

BEVA President