The government has set out plans for a new independent veterinary ombudsman in a White Paper published today setting out its vision for a ‘thriving and fairer veterinary sector’.
The government described the White Paper as the most significant overhaul of veterinary regulation in six decades, with measures to ‘radically modernise the industry, delivering better protections for households and greater transparency around prices’.
It also includes new proposals for veterinary businesses to be subject to statutory regulation, including a mandatory licencing system, inspections and published compliance reports to improve accountability and choice. Greater transparency around prices and practice ownership will be mandated for the first time, so pet owners can make ‘genuinely informed decisions about their care’, the government added.
The White Paper responds to the findings of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) which highlighted concerns around transparency and competition in the veterinary sector. Recommendations from the CMA will address competition concerns, ahead of the new legislation coming into force.
The government said the changes are vital with the profession today radically different to the 1960s when the Veterinary Surgeons Act was introduced, with the sector now dominated by small animal care and a handful of large corporates, meaning the legislation has not kept pace with the modern world.
The reforms will support veterinary professionals and businesses, ensuring the regulatory framework keeps pace with a modern, growing sector.
It said the White Paper reforms will:
- Require Vet practices to publish price lists for common treatments and be transparent about options and changes allowing pet owners to choose the best treatment for their animals.
- Introduce more competition to lower costs over time: Vet businesses must disclose who owns them so pet owners know if their local practice is part of a larger chain or independent.
- Mean every vet practice will need an official operating licence – similar to GP surgeries and care homes.
- Introduce rules on how veterinary businesses must operate with an easier and more effective route for customers to raise concerns along with more support offered to allow vets and vet nurses to carry out their roles successfully, benefitting animal health and welfare.
- Provide better regulatory oversight of veterinary businesses with a new ombudsman being considered. This will regulate businesses not just individual vets, so the responsibility for upholding standards is shared and clearer.
- Ensure better access to quality care: New measures will bring veterinary nurses and certain allied veterinary professionals into regulation, freeing up veterinary surgeons to focus on more specialist care, improving access and reducing delays.
- Introduce legal recognition for veterinary nurses to strengthen professional identity, helping improve job satisfaction and boosting retention rates.
- Modernise processes for registration and ‘fitness to practice’, focusing on current competence rather than past mistakes.
Defra secretary Emma Reynolds said: “We’re modernising a system that hasn’t been updated for sixty years, putting pet owners first while giving vets the modern framework they need to support the future of the profession.”
UK Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss, said: “This new framework will build a stronger, more resilient veterinary profession fit to meet the needs of the UK’s animal sector whilst ensuring the highest standards of care for our animals.”
Veterinary view
The British Veterinary Association said the White Paper marks a ’huge milestone’ in BVA’s long-standing campaign to secure reform of the outdated Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (VSA).
“This is a pivotal moment for the profession and these changes will have a significant impact on our daily work as vets, the service we provide our clients and the care we give to patients,” it said.
“As we dive into the detail, we’re pleased to see that Defra has listened to our recommendations as it has shaped these proposals, which for the first time, will regulate veterinary businesses and other veterinary professionals alongside vets and vet nurses.
“It also outlines a clear division of the professional leadership and regulatory functions – something we had pushed for – with transparency of funding and independent external oversight of the regulator alongside a strong and well-funded professional leadership function.”
Alistair Carmichael, chair of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee, said the committee supported the proposal for a new veterinary ombudsman and was glad to see Ministers act on its recent recommendation.
“We heard evidence that many in the veterinary workforce would also support this move. The industry is changing and so too should the way it is regulated, as happened previously in the legal and medical professions,” he said.