March Update
We have been informed that the article 'Whiter Than White' that appeared on the front page of the Vet Times on Feb 14 contained serious inaccuracies. In particular, the statement ‘In retrospect, it would have been interesting to know if this dog was indeed carrying MRSA in its nasopharynx and if the owners had previous hospital contact’ was wrongly attributed to the BSAVA as a comment on Bella. The comment actually first appeared in the Journal of Small Animal Practice and referred to a different case in which the animal recovered.
We unreservedly apologise to the BSAVA for repeating this inacurate attribution and have removed the original article, and our response, from this website. We shall also seek a correction in the soonest possible edition of the Vet Times.
It is the policy of PETS-MRSA.com to maintain the highest accuracy possible in what we report.
New Charity
I am in the process of registering a new animal welfare charity. Called The Bella Moss Foundation, it will work towards improving infection control in veterinary practices, support and publicise research into MRSA and other serious infections affecting companion animals, offer information to pet owners on post-operative infections, help pet owners in selecting a vet and, ultimately, develop a veterinary clinic caring for companion animals suffering from serious infections.
The Bella Moss Foundation will concentrate on fundraising, publications and the clinic, whilst PETS-MRSA.COM will focus on the issues of clinical standards and regulation of vets. I already have some serious sponsorship and press interest. One of the projects already under consideration is the sponsorship of a conference (to take place later this year) that will discuss and promote advances in the fight against MRSA and other serious infections, and we are in discussions with an events organisation company, so watch this space.
Thank you to D for Dog and Jenny for publicising that we are looking for owners who’s pets have MRSA. It seems that it is more prevalent than first thought and people are putting up notices on the discussion board. Thanks also to Rob Prince who designed our forum, and also keeps an eye on it.
I was fortunate enough to be invited to the meeting of the RCVS Council held on March 2nd. Only a few observers are able to attend and I was lucky enough to hear a working party report to Council on a number of issues of great importance to PETS-MRSA.COM
The working party reported back on four main issues. On changes to the way vets and allied professionals should be regulated, it was noted that the status quo is not an option, and that modernisation of the regulation of vets and allied professionals was essential to protecting animals. One comment that was of particular interest to me came from a Council member who said that the RCVS had held a privileged monopoly on the veterinary profession but the world had moved on from 1966 and monopolies were not synonymous with the 21st century.
On the RCVS disciplinary system, changes were suggested to terminology and process, so that the RCVS would have a range of options to deal with varying severity of complaints. I was interested to hear the suggestion that pet owners should be offered an alternative if their complaint does not go beyond the preliminary investigation. Quite what that alternative might be, wasn’t too clear.
Proposals on the Practice Standards Scheme were of special interest to me, particularly discussion on how to make it enforceable. One member commented, “To accept the Practice Standards Scheme is to accept…(that) bad vets should not practice.” The working party’s position was that compulsory standards were inevitable but that clear definition would be needed.
Continuing Professional Development was the last issue discussed, and the suggestion that vets be licensed to work within a particular species was described as ‘revolutionary’. Probably of greatest interest to me was the fact that there was virtually no disagreement that change and modernisation was needed, and agreement to take the work forward was given almost unanimous consent. The proposals appeared, to me at least, to indicate that the RCVS is serious about giving pet owners and the public at large greater confidence in all aspects of veterinary care and practice.
After Council was concluded I was invited to spend time speaking with Jill Nute, Council Member, and we discussed a number of issues related to the Practice Standards Scheme and the work of PETS-MRSA.COM, including the registration of a charity and some projects that have already been pencilled in.
I was also able to spend time speaking with other members of Council and make the suggestion that the website would benefit from a greater contribution from vets on clinical issues, particularly on how to handle MRSA (and other serious infections) when they occur on vets’ premises.
All-in-all it was an incredibly interesting experience, and one that left me feeling a great deal more positive about the proposed modernisation of the Veterinary profession than I other wise would have been.
Bella was featured as a case study in an article ‘MRSA – The Facts’ in the April edition of Your Dog. Details of the article will appear on the website shortly.
I shall be visiting a leading microbiology laboratory in March to see how it works and talk about issues related to MRSA and other serious infections and will include that in the next update.
