Industry responds to Radio 4 documentary
Vets claimed they were receiving 'clinical challenge milestones'.
IVC Evidensia, as well as other veterinary organisations, has issued a response to a Radio 4 documentary which investigated increases to veterinary bills.
The recent File on 4 Investigates documentary, 'What's Happening to Your Vet Bills?', included anonymous allegations from IVC Evidensia's veterinary teams, accusing the group of setting financial targets for its staff.
Responding to a survey issued by the British Veterinary Union (BVU), one veterinary surgeon reported receiving 'clinical challenge milestones' from IVC Evidensia. He claimed that colleagues were encouraged to compete with other practices to perform a certain number of procedures on animals.
IVC Evidensia has strongly refuted the claims, accusing the BBC of attempting to 'malign a profession dedicated to caring for animals'.
A spokesperson for IVC Evidensia said: “All of our 8,000 vets and vet nurses have the clinical freedom to recommend appropriate care, considering each animal’s needs and the owner’s circumstances, and are not set individual financial targets or incentives. It is due to their dedication and passion we have a net promoter score (NPS) of approximately 80%, an exceptionally high score for a customer-facing industry.
“If care or behaviour falls short of professional guidelines or our own high standards, we investigate and take swift action where necessary. There is no record of the examples ‘File on 4’ has featured having been raised by our colleagues.”
Regulatory body RCVS took the opportunity to renew its calls for mandatory practice regulation. It also explained its current action to improve veterinary autonomy in practice.
RCVS president Linda Belton said: “As the regulator of the veterinary professions, but not of veterinary businesses, we aim to safeguard veterinary autonomy by saying there should be a senior veterinary surgeon in every practice who is responsible for the delivery of veterinary care within the organisation.
“We recently wrote to veterinary employers to remind them of this need, and to stress the importance of providing an environment where veterinary professionals have the autonomy that they need.”
The documentary also followed the case of a dog brought into a veterinary practice to be treated for a tumour. Its owner was concerned about the costs of treatment.
The Staffordshire terrier, called Benji, was brought into independent practice Anrich Vets in Wigan. The practice, a member of the Federation of Independent Veterinary Practices (FIVP), worked with the client to offer accurate information about the necessary procedure and offer affordable payment plans.
Ian Wolstenholme, business development manager at FIVP, said: “We were glad to hear independent practices being represented by FIVP member Anrich Vets. James Weston demonstrated the positive values maintained by independent practices across the UK – providing empathetic and contextualised care for clients and their pets.”
The full documentary is available on BBC iPlayer.
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FIVP has shared a survey, inviting those working in independent practice to share their views on the CMA's proposed remedies.
