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Practices honoured for commitment to wellbeing
Awards were presented at the opening ceremony of the SPVS/Veterinary Management Group Congress.
Award winners announced at SPVS/VMG Congress

Three veterinary practices were recognised in the 2018 Vet Wellbeing Awards, recognising their commitment to motivating and engaging their teams, making their practices a better place to work.

Now in their fourth year, the awards are run by the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) and the RCVS Mind Matters Initiative.

The winners for the 2018 awards are:
  • small practice: Westpoint Farm Vets Chelmsford
  • medium practice: Beaumont Sainsbury Veterinary Hospital, RVC
  • large practice: Drove Veterinary Hospital, Swindon.

Awards were presented at the opening ceremony of the SPVS/Veterinary Management Group Congress at Celtic Manor in Wales. The winners joined a panel chaired by Emma Mamo, head of workplace wellbeing at the mental health charity Mind, to share their approaches to wellbeing in practice.

Ami Sawran of Westpoint Farm Vets, which won the small practice award, said sharing ideas with other practices is what the awards are all about.

“I looked at case studies of past winners on the awards’ website and picked up new ideas, some of which were quick and easy to implement, others are still work in progress. Entering has been a very positive thing for the whole team as a great deal of collaborative reflection went into the process and we were pleasantly surprised by how much we were already doing; we just weren’t calling it ‘wellbeing’.”

Nick Stuart, speaking on behalf of SPVS, added: “It is good to see so many practices making wellbeing a priority. Involving their teams in planning rotas, encouraging support through buddying and mentoring, and encouraging better communication through social events, charity involvement and effective meetings, are just some examples of how our winners stood out.”


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Equine Disease Surveillance report released for Q4 2025

News Story 1
 The latest Equine Disease Surveillance report has been released, with details on equine disease from Q4 of 2025.

The report, produced by Equine Infectious Disease Surveillance, includes advice on rule changes for equine influenza vaccination.

Statistics and maps detail recent outbreaks of equine herpes virus, equine influenza, equine strangles and equine grass sickness. A series of laboratory reports provides data on virology, bacteriology, parasitology and toxicosis.

This issue also features a case study of orthoflavivus-associated neurological disease in a horse in the UK. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
NSA webinar explores sheep tailing and castration

The National Sheep Association (NSA) is to host a free webinar on the castration and tail docking of lambs.

The webinar, 'Understanding the tailing and castration consultation: A guide for sheep farmers', will be hosted online on Monday, 2 March 2026 at 7.30pm.

It comes during a government consultation into the methods used for these procedures. Farmers are encouraged to engage before the consultation period closes on Monday, 9 March 2026.

The webinar offers clear and actionable guidance to support farmers to contribute meaningfully to the consultation and prepare for potential changes.

On the panel will be former SVS president Kate Hovers, farmer and vet Ann Van Eetvelt and SRUC professor in Animal Health and Veterinary Sciences Cathy Dwyer. Each panel member will utilise their own specialism and expertise to evaluate risks and outcomes to sheep farming.

Find out more about the webinar on the NSA website.