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Nursing – a self inflicted wound
In a recent Sunday Times article “ Our flawed, uncaring NHS is a self inflicted wound” , Minette Marrin discussed the latest revelations that certain UK hospitals are not providing the basic level of care expected and deserved by patients.

The Care Quality Commission reports have been quite damming and thought provoking but distract from the excellent care offered by a large number of caring professionals.

In the article, it stated “uncritical faith in NHS nurses as angels of selfless mercy is finally beginning to fail” and this points to a fundamental flaw in the training of nurses as a root cause.

“Taking all nurses out of hospital training into universities and insisting that all should have degrees has been disastrous for skilled bedside nursing. It has devalued it in the eyes of nurses themselves …”

The recent survey into veterinary nursing, ‘ New Awarding Body Seeks Your Views” showed an overwhelming desire by practices to retain a focus on practical nursing skills. In the change over from an NVQ to QCF qualification the RCVS made a number of significant additional changes, which received a lot of criticism and sparked a call for change.

The RCVS VN department has very firm views and interests in veterinary nurse training and the power to control the veterinary nursing profession resides in its hands. Its role as both regulator and provider of qualifications has recently come under scrutiny and it continues to be a source of frustration.  

With a new veterinary nursing qualification from an alternative awarding body on the horizon it seems the RCVS can either embrace the changes for the good of the profession or construct barriers to oppose the changes.

In the interest of care for our patients lets hope it’s the former.

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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.