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News & Reports
News & Reports professional regulation
RCVS tells Unite to get its facts right THE RCVS has told the trade union Unite to ‘get its facts right’ after the union put out a press release calling for its regulatory activities to be put under the scrutiny of the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Unite has the British Veterinary Union (BVU) under its umbrella. In a press release on February 7, it said that the RCVS should not be ‘judge and jury’ when it came to regulating veterinary surgeons in the UK and called for a shake up of the regulatory system. It reported that it had written to George Eustice, the parliamentary undersecretary of state at Defra, asking for the PSA, which regulates governing bodies such as the General Medical Council, the General Dental Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council, also to have scrutiny of the RCVS. ‘The RCVS disciplinary process and decisions have long been a matter of discontent for the members of the RCVS,’ said Unite. It reported that, in the letter, Shams Mir, chair of the BVU, had referred to the disciplinary case involving Munhuwepasi Chikosi, who was removed from the RCVS Register in June last year (VR, July 6, 2013, vol 173, p 6). It reported that Dr Mir had told the minister that the case was ‘widely seen by the veterinary profession as a blatant miscarriage of justice’ and that ‘many expressions of “outrage” were published in the veterinary press and online’. Dr Mir said that the BVU was petitioning the Government to extend the remit of the PSA to incorporate the RCVS to ensure ‘appropriate overview and scrutiny’. He added, ‘The RCVS proposed new Royal Charter could be exploited by the RCVS to give itself new proxy powers to introduce incontestable new regulatory measures,’ he said. Unite said that the Veterinary Surgeons Act of 1966 was now outdated and that it had asked for an urgent meeting with Mr Eustice. ‘Our initiative is designed to safeguard the interests of both the public, and practising vets and veterinary nurses in the UK,’ said Jane Beach, Unite’s professional officer. ‘Basically, the way that the RCVS is
presently constituted means that it is both judge and jury in disciplinary matters. It sets the rules and hands down the judgements – and we believe that an extra layer of scrutiny needs to be introduced, which we would like to be the PSA.’
RCVS response
Responding on February 7, the RCVS described Unite’s call as misguided. ‘Unite’s suggestion that veterinary regulation should be under the scrutiny
‘Unite is seeking to recruit members of the veterinary team as members of its union and it may be more successful in that pursuit if it was to start to understand the profession better, perhaps beginning with getting its facts right’ – Nick Stace, RCVS of the Professional Standards Authority is misguided,’ said Nick Stace, the RCVS’s chief executive. ‘The PSA is there to oversee regulation in the human healthcare sector and the RCVS already has Defra and Privy Council oversight. ‘Its further thoughts around the RCVS disciplinary process are out of date and missing the point. We would be very happy to help put them right and to hear any legitimate concerns they may have.’ Mr Stace said that the Legislative Reform Order achieved by the College in 2013 (VR, February 3, 2013, vol 172, p 114) meant that the RCVS Disciplinary and Preliminary Investigation Committee would become independent of the RCVS Council. Regarding the Chikosi case, he said: ‘Unite also talks about the profession’s disquiet about last year’s disciplinary hearing into Mr Chikosi, something we are well aware of and are currently responding to by looking at the biggest area of concern, the provision of 24/7 emergency cover. Our fact-finding mission is seeking views from the profession and the public.’ He said that feedback from the RCVS’s
first rate regulator initiative had suggested that the profession did have confidence in the College’s disciplinary procedures and that these were ‘certainly not subject to long-standing discontent’. The initiative was leading to significant improvements in the way that complaints were handled, he said. ‘Unite is seeking to recruit members of the veterinary team as members of its union and it may be more successful in that pursuit if it was to start to understand the profession better, perhaps beginning with getting its facts right,’ said Mr Stace. ‘We would be delighted to meet with Unite to put them right where they are factually wrong, and hear what they have to say.’ The BVA President, Robin Hargreaves, commented: ‘On the matter of the College being “judge and jury” the BVA fully supported the Legislative Reform Order that will separate the membership of the Preliminary Investigation Committee and Disciplinary Committee from RCVS Council so that those who set the rules are not the same as those who investigate complaints. This is in line with regulatory best practice and there is no suggestion or evidence that further changes are required. ‘The College’s powers to regulate our profession are derived from the Veterinary Surgeons Act, not the Royal Charter. The proposed changes to the charter will allow the RCVS to regulate veterinary nurses, and other groups, subject to both parties being in agreement. We do have some concerns about the new draft charter which we are communicating to the College, but it is disingenuous to suggest that the changes to the charter will affect the way veterinary surgeons are regulated. ‘These are all important issues, and must be debated and discussed, but those discussions must be based on fact and accurate information. Vets who wish to keep up to date with the debates can do so on the RCVS and BVA websites and in the BVA member community.’ doi: 10.1136/vr.g1486 February 15, 2014 | Veterinary Record | 155
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on July 25, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
RCVS tells Unite to get its facts right
Veterinary Record 2014 174: 155
doi: 10.1136/vr.g1486 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/174/7/155
These include:
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News & Reports
News & Reports professional regulation
RCVS tells Unite to get its facts right THE RCVS has told the trade union Unite to ‘get its facts right’ after the union put out a press release calling for its regulatory activities to be put under the scrutiny of the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Unite has the British Veterinary Union (BVU) under its umbrella. In a press release on February 7, it said that the RCVS should not be ‘judge and jury’ when it came to regulating veterinary surgeons in the UK and called for a shake up of the regulatory system. It reported that it had written to George Eustice, the parliamentary undersecretary of state at Defra, asking for the PSA, which regulates governing bodies such as the General Medical Council, the General Dental Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council, also to have scrutiny of the RCVS. ‘The RCVS disciplinary process and decisions have long been a matter of discontent for the members of the RCVS,’ said Unite. It reported that, in the letter, Shams Mir, chair of the BVU, had referred to the disciplinary case involving Munhuwepasi Chikosi, who was removed from the RCVS Register in June last year (VR, July 6, 2013, vol 173, p 6). It reported that Dr Mir had told the minister that the case was ‘widely seen by the veterinary profession as a blatant miscarriage of justice’ and that ‘many expressions of “outrage” were published in the veterinary press and online’. Dr Mir said that the BVU was petitioning the Government to extend the remit of the PSA to incorporate the RCVS to ensure ‘appropriate overview and scrutiny’. He added, ‘The RCVS proposed new Royal Charter could be exploited by the RCVS to give itself new proxy powers to introduce incontestable new regulatory measures,’ he said. Unite said that the Veterinary Surgeons Act of 1966 was now outdated and that it had asked for an urgent meeting with Mr Eustice. ‘Our initiative is designed to safeguard the interests of both the public, and practising vets and veterinary nurses in the UK,’ said Jane Beach, Unite’s professional officer. ‘Basically, the way that the RCVS is
presently constituted means that it is both judge and jury in disciplinary matters. It sets the rules and hands down the judgements – and we believe that an extra layer of scrutiny needs to be introduced, which we would like to be the PSA.’
RCVS response
Responding on February 7, the RCVS described Unite’s call as misguided. ‘Unite’s suggestion that veterinary regulation should be under the scrutiny
‘Unite is seeking to recruit members of the veterinary team as members of its union and it may be more successful in that pursuit if it was to start to understand the profession better, perhaps beginning with getting its facts right’ – Nick Stace, RCVS of the Professional Standards Authority is misguided,’ said Nick Stace, the RCVS’s chief executive. ‘The PSA is there to oversee regulation in the human healthcare sector and the RCVS already has Defra and Privy Council oversight. ‘Its further thoughts around the RCVS disciplinary process are out of date and missing the point. We would be very happy to help put them right and to hear any legitimate concerns they may have.’ Mr Stace said that the Legislative Reform Order achieved by the College in 2013 (VR, February 3, 2013, vol 172, p 114) meant that the RCVS Disciplinary and Preliminary Investigation Committee would become independent of the RCVS Council. Regarding the Chikosi case, he said: ‘Unite also talks about the profession’s disquiet about last year’s disciplinary hearing into Mr Chikosi, something we are well aware of and are currently responding to by looking at the biggest area of concern, the provision of 24/7 emergency cover. Our fact-finding mission is seeking views from the profession and the public.’ He said that feedback from the RCVS’s
first rate regulator initiative had suggested that the profession did have confidence in the College’s disciplinary procedures and that these were ‘certainly not subject to long-standing discontent’. The initiative was leading to significant improvements in the way that complaints were handled, he said. ‘Unite is seeking to recruit members of the veterinary team as members of its union and it may be more successful in that pursuit if it was to start to understand the profession better, perhaps beginning with getting its facts right,’ said Mr Stace. ‘We would be delighted to meet with Unite to put them right where they are factually wrong, and hear what they have to say.’ The BVA President, Robin Hargreaves, commented: ‘On the matter of the College being “judge and jury” the BVA fully supported the Legislative Reform Order that will separate the membership of the Preliminary Investigation Committee and Disciplinary Committee from RCVS Council so that those who set the rules are not the same as those who investigate complaints. This is in line with regulatory best practice and there is no suggestion or evidence that further changes are required. ‘The College’s powers to regulate our profession are derived from the Veterinary Surgeons Act, not the Royal Charter. The proposed changes to the charter will allow the RCVS to regulate veterinary nurses, and other groups, subject to both parties being in agreement. We do have some concerns about the new draft charter which we are communicating to the College, but it is disingenuous to suggest that the changes to the charter will affect the way veterinary surgeons are regulated. ‘These are all important issues, and must be debated and discussed, but those discussions must be based on fact and accurate information. Vets who wish to keep up to date with the debates can do so on the RCVS and BVA websites and in the BVA member community.’ doi: 10.1136/vr.g1486 February 15, 2014 | Veterinary Record | 155
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on July 25, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
RCVS tells Unite to get its facts right
Veterinary Record 2014 174: 155
doi: 10.1136/vr.g1486 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/174/7/155
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
