BVNA ‘Protect the Title’ campaign
Following the release of preliminary results in February 2023, BVNA have now released a report detailing the results of our recent ‘Protect the Title’ surveys.
These surveys sought to obtain information from the veterinary profession and the public about their understanding and feelings about the issue of statutory protection of the title ‘veterinary nurse’ (VN), along with the potential use of unqualified staff.
The ‘Protect the Title’ surveys were completed by over 12,000 respondents between 26th September and 31st December 2022 – 8,302 members of the veterinary profession, and 3,926 members of the public.
The report can be accessed here
We are supported in our ‘Protect the Title’ campaign by the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). Following the work of the RCVS Legislation Working Party (LWP), statutory protection of the VN title has already been recommended to the Government (Defra) by the RCVS Council. This recommendation forms part of proposals for wider legislative change to the 1966 Veterinary Surgeons Act, and we anticipate that this ‘Protect the Title’ report will help to support this ongoing work.
BVNA comment
BVNA President, Charlotte Pace, comments:
“This report, which follows on from the preliminary results we published in February, gives a taste of some of the comments we received, and gives our recommendations following the survey. It is clear from this report, and the overwhelming number of responses we received, that protection of the VN title is both needed and wanted by the veterinary profession and the public. Veterinary nurses said overwhelmingly, that title recognition is crucial to feeling valued in their work.
“It is vital that we keep up the pressure to get our title protected, and make not only the wider public, but also the government realise how important this issue is. Pet owners deserve to be assured that the people looking after their pets are fully trained and qualified, and veterinary nurses should be recognised for the hard work and training they go through to deliver expert care.”
BVA comment
British Veterinary Association President Malcolm Morley said:
“Dedicated and highly skilled, veterinary nurses are critical to the care of animals in practice and essential to the smooth day-to-day running of vet businesses. It’s therefore unsurprising to see the appreciation for the good work they do reflected in the strength of feeling, from both vets and the public, who feel only nurses who are qualified and regulated should carry the title Registered Veterinary Nurse.
“What BVNA’s survey particularly highlights is a lack of awareness amongst pet owners that any unqualified person can use the title veterinary nurse while working in practice. This is concerning and demonstrates the importance and need for it to be protected to help uphold client trust as well as ensure high standards of care and animal welfare.
“The title and those who hold it deserve respect and the security of knowing it is protected and BVA will continue to support and engage with BVNA’s fight for this formal recognition. However, there’s no need for vet practices to wait, they can start to have these conversations with their teams today and put in place the changes needed.”
RCVS comment
“We have long supported and called for the need to protect the veterinary nurse title – most recently as part of our current proposals to overhaul and reform existing veterinary legislation – so we are very pleased to support the BVNA’s ongoing efforts to achieve this and welcome the evidence this survey report provides.
“We firmly believe that protection of title will provide clarity and assurance for the public, and increase the standard of care for animals by ensuring the people who use it are suitably qualified and properly regulated.
“We also recognise the positive impact that protection of title would have on job satisfaction, workforce retention and recognition of registered veterinary nurses as highly trained, skilled and invaluable members of the vet-led team.”
What’s next?
We now intend to continue this campaign, actively working to increase public awareness of the issue, whilst also gathering more evidence which supports the LWP recommendations. Even with continued work towards legislative change, there is also an important opportunity to make change at a practice level. Ensuring staff are referred to and titled appropriately are important considerations to ensure that animal welfare and client trust are both upheld.
BVNA look forward to continuing to lead these conversations surrounding protection of the VN title, and would like to thank all the participants who took the time to complete the surveys.
Summary of preliminary results
In February 2023, we released a summary of preliminary results. You can read these here.
Please contact bvna@bvna.co.uk with any queries regarding BVNA’s Protect the Title campaign.