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New scholarship in compassion...
The recently awarded Claire Rayner Scholarship for the Study of Compassion in Nursing/Midwifery Care demonstrates just how important compassionate nursing is: both in human nursing and the veterinary profession. 

The scholarship, offered by the University of Huddersfield, provides funding for a 4-year part time doctoral study in the area of compassion in nursing or midwifery care. It hopes to provide a significant contribution to the understanding of compassionate care and how the delivery of it could be enhanced in the medical world.

During her life Claire Rayner, President of the Patients Association, actively campaigned on behalf of patients’ issues. Speaking after her death, the Patients Association said: "For almost 30 years, Claire devoted much of her time and energy to championing patient issues. She was a figurehead and inspiration to us all. She cared deeply that the voice of the patient should be heard, and worked tirelessly to ensure patient care issues were given prominence.”

The Patients Association, with the strapline ‘Listening to patients, Speaking up for change’, acts to highlight the concerns and needs of patients and aims to help develop better health services. One of the key issues often focused on by the charity is the importance of care and compassion in nursing.

Indeed, just over a year ago, faced with changes to the education of human nurses, the Patients Association released a statement, posing the question: “How can you begin to ‘teach’ people how to treat patients with dignity and compassion in an academic setting?” At the core of the issue was the worry that an increased focus on academia would reduce the opportunity for nurses to learn how to deliver, on a practical level, the basic fundamentals of care and compassion in the nursing environment.

The parallels between human nursing and veterinary nursing are unquestionable and this doctorate reflects the increased need to focus on practical competencies and care. This is encouraging for the veterinary world which is actively seeking to promote compassionate nursing and ensure all trained nurses are given practical first hand experience, not just the academic capabilities.

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Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
RCVS pays tribute to well-loved equine vet

The RCVS and the Riding Establishments Subcommittee has paid tribute to well-loved veterinary surgeon and riding establishment inspector, Rebecca Hamilton-Fletcher MRCVS.

Linda Belton MRCVS, RCVS President, said: "I, along with my colleagues on the RESC, RCVS Council, RCVS Standards Committee, as well as RCVS staff, was very saddened to hear of the sudden death of Rebecca, or Becca as we knew her, last week.

"She was a true advocate for equine welfare and in her many years on the RESC worked to continually improve the quality and consistency of riding establishment inspections, all in the interests of enhanced horse welfare and rider safety."