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Findings from vet mental health symposium published
“The fourth Mind Matters Mental Health Research Symposium was a massively inspiring and insightful day” – Angharad Belcher.
Report and videos have been made available online.

The Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has released a report of the findings from its most recent mental health research symposium alongside videos of the talks given at the event.

Researchers from across Europe attended the symposium, which took place in Manchester on 10 October 2023. A variety of veterinary mental health topics were covered on the day, including suicide and suicide prevention, moral injury, the impact of racism, workplace stressors for autistic veterinary professionals, and veterinary nurse mental health.

The speakers included Helene Seljenes Dalum from the Institute for Studies of the Medical Profession, Oslo, Vanessa Ashall, a senior research fellow at the Wellcome Trust, and the University of Manchester’s Dr Leah Quinlivan, who delivered the plenary address.

The report provides summaries of each of the talks given as well as information about the speakers. Both the report and the videos can be accessed on the MMI website.

Funded and run by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, MMI works to improve the mental health and wellbeing of veterinary professionals through training and research.

Angharad Belcher said: “The fourth Mind Matters Mental Health Research Symposium was a massively inspiring and insightful day. The field of veterinary mental health research is still relatively small so it remains of utmost importance that we continue to band together to share our knowledge on this subject, so that we can continue to learn and grow together and put these important learnings into practice.

“For us, it is vital that these new ground-breaking research projects are made available to all who want to learn more about helping to improve the mental health and wellbeing of those working within the veterinary professions. There is some truly fantastic work going on which provides us with hope that we can all continue to work together towards a brighter future.”

Image © Shutterstock

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Applications open for MMI research grants

News Story 1
 RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.

Researchers have until 11.59pm on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 to apply for a grant for research which reflects MMI's 2025 focus areas.

Only one Impact Grant was awarded last year, and so this year there are two Discovery Grants and one Impact Grants available. Each Discovery Grant is worth £5,000 and the Impact Grant is worth £15,000.

For more information or to apply, email researchgrants@rcvs.org.uk to contact the MMI team.

 

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News Shorts
BBC Radio 4 documentary addresses corporate fees

BBC Radio 4's File on 4 Investigates has released a documentary exploring how corporate-owned veterinary practices may be inflating bills to increase profit.

Released on 15 April, 'What's Happening To Your Vet Bills?' revealed the policies which many corporate groups have in place to increase their profits. This included targets and upgrades which veterinary teams are tasked with meeting on a regular basis.

It also features Anrich Vets, an independently-owned practice based in Wigan. Following the case of Staffordshire terrier Benjy, who is diagnosed with a tumour, the documentary shares how the team were able to offer contextualised care and advice to make the procedure as affordable as possible for his owners.

The documentary can be heard on demand on BBC iPlayer.