2 Jun 2021
RCVS carries out five-yearly review and makes updates to requirements on clinical governance, staff health and well-being, and role of VNs.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
Image © santypan / Adobe Stock
The RCVS has published guidelines changes to its Practice Standards Scheme (PSS) following a comprehensive five-year review.
Updates have been made to a number of requirement areas, including:
On the latter, at least one RVN will need to be employed at general practice level.
The PSS, a college-run voluntary quality assurance scheme, is reviewed in a widespread process every five years to ensure it still complies with legislative and clinical developments, and meets the needs of its stakeholders.
The review was postponed for 12 months by the pandemic, and has been carried out by the Practice Standards Group, which features representatives from across the professions.
RCVS president Mandisa Greene, who also chairs the Practice Standards Group, said: “Although the scheme is constantly being updated in light of, for example, changes to legislation or RCVS guidance, the review we carry out every five years gives us the opportunity to take a much more root-and-branch look at the scheme, and make sure it reflects what both the public and the professions expect from a high-quality veterinary practice.
“For example, these changes have a strong emphasis on making sure that practices take mental health and well-being of the team into consideration, with clear policies and support mechanisms in place for staff who need help, and ensuring that members of staff take sufficient breaks and annual leave.
“Likewise, the enhanced status and role of veterinary nursing is recognised in the update with expectations that practices should have sufficient levels of nursing staff and that, at veterinary hospital accreditation level, all patients should have a nursing plan.”
Full details of the changes, and ones made to the PSS Awards scheme, are online.
