Three RCVS Council members have been re-elected, while three new members will take their seats in July.

New RCVS and VN Council members announced

Results from this year's RCVS and VN Council elections are now out, showing an even split between re-elected members and new members.

RCVS president Neil Smith came out on top with 1,687 votes. He will resume his place on council alongside vice-president Jacqui Molyneux and incoming Standards Committee chairman, David Catlow, who were also re-elected.

Gordon Hockey, RCVS registrar, said he is "delighted" the three candidates will be retaining their seats and is "looking forward" to working with the new members.

Joining them on council for the first time will be David Bartram, Susan Paterson and Mandisa Greene.

David Bartram is a director of the Veterinary Benevolent Fund and has a passion for the mental health and wellbeing of the veterinary profession. Speaking to MRCVSonline prior to the election results, he said vets need to believe the disciplinary system is robust, as "fear of potential proceedings is counterproductive."

Small animal vet Mandisa Greene hopes to be a "positive force for change" within the college, representing a growing majority of women, working mothers, new graduates and vets with diverse backgrounds.

Susan Paterson hopes to become a voice for the veterinary surgeon in private practice, creating a "better dialogue between the Royal College and the profession". She says she supports the RCVS decision to introduce a new Royal Charter and regulation of veterinary nurses but feels the RCVS should play a greater role in educating the public about the Practice Standards Scheme.

Previous elections have led to concern over the lack of female candidates for RCVS Council. Indeed, not a single female candidate stood for election last year. This year's elections, however, saw a record number of female candidates and an equal number of men and women elected.

Despite this, voting is down this year with 4,137 vets casting a vote compared to 4,661 last year.

In the VN Council elections, Hilary Orpet retained her seat while Amber Richards will become a new face on the council. Kathy Kissick, VN Council chair, said: "Hilary’s experience and Amber’s fresh input will, I’m sure, combine to provide an excellent contribution to our ongoing work."

VN Council voting also saw a dip this year, falling from 1,329 to 1,157.

Mr Hockey commented: "It was always going to be tough to beat last year’s record turnout, even with a record number of candidates standing this year, but it’s encouraging that voter numbers are still the third highest in the last ten years."

The most popular method for casting votes remains via post, according to the RCVS, though online voting has increased this year.

Re-elected and new council members will take their seats on RCVS Day on July 11.