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Growing your practice's bottom line
If the cost of consults was increased by £2 over a 12 month period, there would be in the region of £4000 more income.
Words of wisdom from John Sheridan
 
"A simple way to grow your bottom line" was how Mr Sheridan described his advice on consult charges during a lecture at London Vet Show.

Whatever our main consult charge may be, the fact is that if you work out the average consult charge for your practice, it will be much lower than this.

The reasons are simple - it's a mixture of free consults, second consults and charging for second consults instead of a full price first consult. We know this happens in all practices and probably we will never be totally able to change this.

However, there is a simple way to increase this basic and vital income. If the cost of consults was increased by £2 over a 12 month period, based on a single vet carrying out 2,000 consults, there would be in the region of £4000 more income.

Sounds simple, but of course nothing is ever quite that simple. Nevertheless this action would significantly increase the bottom line and this has got to be financial progress.

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Reporting service for dead wild birds updated

News Story 1
 The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has updated its online reporting service for dead wild birds.

The new version allows those reporting a dead bird to drop a pin on a map when reporting the location. It also includes a wider range of wild bird species groups to select from when describing the bird.

The online service, which helps APHA to monitor the spread of diseases such as avian influenza, can be accessed here

Click here for more...
News Shorts
NI chief vet urges bluetongue vigilance

Northern Ireland's chief veterinary officer (CVO) has urged farmers to be vigilant for signs of bluetongue, after the Animal and Plant Health Agency warned there was a very high probability of further cases in Great Britain.

There have been 126 confirmed cases of bluetongue virus serotype 3 in England since November 2023, with no cases reported in Northern Ireland. The movement of live ruminants from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is currently suspended.

According to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), the virus is most likely to enter Northern Ireland through infected animals or germplasm (semen or ova) being imported.

Brian Dooher, Northern Ireland's CVO, said: "Surveillance for this disease within Northern Ireland has been increased to assist with detection at the earliest opportunity which will facilitate more effective control measures."

Farmers should report any suspicions of the disease to their private veterinary practitioner, the DAERA Helpline on 0300 200 7840 or their local DAERA Direct Veterinary Office.