RCVS Council asked to back down over post-nominals
The Operational Board has recommended the council review its decision.
RCVS Council will be asked to review its decision to remove certain post-nominals from the register of veterinary surgeons.
The decision prompted an outpouring of criticism from vets in the press, on social media and an online petition forum.
After a meeting yesterday (April 24), the RCVS Operational Board has recommended the council rethink its decision.
More than 1,200 people have signed a petition calling for the RCVS to overturn its decision and the college has been accused of being "out of touch" with its members.
The Operational Board says that while it feels the reasoning behind council's decision was "sound", other methods could now be used to tackle the issues it aims to address.
Council will be asked to review its decision at its meeting on June 5.
The volume of criticism from vets has prompted some to question how a situation has arisen where a council decision is so at odds with the views of the profession.
It also raises the question of how decisions are made at the college and how this could be improved to better represent the profession.
Meanwhile, RCVS Council election voting closes today (April 25). In recent weeks a number of candidates have commented on under-representation of certain sections of the profession on council - for example new graduates, women and vets in practice.
It could be argued that this latest example of a disconnect between council and the profession underlines this further.
Similarly, some have questioned whether the college is accepting enough of those who challenge its views. This has been fuelled by the recent resignation of long-term councillor Bob Partridge due to "personal reasons".
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
