We know that with another lockdown many Members are worried about their horses receiving urgent medical care if they need it and about what will happen to routine treatments and vaccinations. Rest assured the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and the British Veterinary Association (BVA) have issued a joint statement that confirms that they will not be reverting to emergency-only work in this lockdown as stated below:
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and British Veterinary Association (BVA) have issued a joint statement following the announcement that Scotland and England will go into new national lockdowns as the UK coronavirus alert level has been raised to 5.
“We are urgently looking at what these new national lockdowns will mean for veterinary professionals and services, and we are liaising with the Chief Veterinary Officers.
“We aim to issue updated guidance in the coming days but can confirm that we will not be reverting to emergency-only work, as we saw at the start of the first UK-wide lockdown last March.
“Instead, we are developing guidance to support veterinary professionals to carry out work that is essential for public health and animal health and welfare, in the context of the very strong ‘stay at home’ messages from both governments.
“We recognise that this continues to be a very challenging and difficult time for our colleagues, and we want to thank veterinary teams across the UK for continuing to work safely so that we can all play our part in stopping the spread of Covid.
“Once again we thank animal owners for their understanding and ask them to continue to respect their vets’ decisions at this time. The range of services available will vary between practices so that vets can work in Covid-safe ways to keep their colleagues and clients safe.”
Reference: Coronavirus: joint RCVS/BVA statement on latest restrictions – Professionals
