Not My College ?

So what's this election all about ? I think its about democracy and accountability; let's take accountability first. In June 2022 the College imposed a revised 'How we work' statement, effectively preventing Council members from publicly expressing opinions contrary to RCVS policy (Ball gag and no balls).  Since then the ability of the membership (that's you and me) to find out what is being said, planned, or agreed in our name has been relentlessly choked off. Nothing escapes the information black hole that is the RCVS. Occasionally a nicely polished PR piece might find its way into your inbox, but that's it.  In 2020, before the information blackout, 26% of the registered electorate voted in Council elections. In 2023 that number had fallen to 16%. As the membership is slowly pushed out of the information loop it feels alienated, loses  interest and eventually stops voting.   And the RCVS response ? Acknowledge their failure to engage the profession in the dem

Update; So the Cass Report and the WPath files have confirmed what 99.9% recurring of us knew - that experimental drugs and irreversible surgery performed on minors is child abuse. What genius (geniuses) in the College thought it was acceptable to allow our good name to be associated with this abomination ? The College needs to concentrate on the profession, not chase after every stupid progressive butterfly that catches its passing attention. The RCVS has announced (albeit very quietly) that as of 2023 it will no longer be a Stonewall Champion. This is tremendously good news for everyone in the profession, the reputational damage of continued association cannot be overstated. It's particularly good news for all the profession's Gay/Straight biological women (adult human females). When Stonewall's  CEO Nancy Kelly can describe lesbian girls declining to have relations with male bodied trans-women as 'sexual  racism,' it really is time to go.  All in all we're j

  Dr. Gerard Henry , a long time contributor to Samizdat is standing for election to the RCVS Council in March. This is his election statement, we wish him well. 'There comes a point when you think, enough is enough. Like most practitioners I've been too busy to involve myself with the College or with professional politics. For most of my life as a vet the RCVS didn't really feature on my horizon. Sometimes you'd see an old friend or mentor becoming President, a worthy end to a distinguished career. Local veterinary meetings might be attended by a Council member who would apprise us, informally, of what was going on or being said in London. That was then.  In June 2022 I was disturbed to read an elected member had resigned from Council because of the imposition of a new 'how we work' statement, which in essence forbad the informal exchange of information which had existed previously. This new imposed secrecy benefits neither the public nor the profession althou

  So said the brilliant singer, song-writer, satirist and mathematician, Tom Lehrer ... well not quite Tom, not quite. On the 18th of January the RCVS voted by a majority of 16 to 5 to abolish  Council elections and replace them with an 'independent appointments system.' One of the sixteen who voted to end elections and move to an appointments based system is now standing for re-election  (here)   As they say, you really couldn't make this stuff up. This is excellent - The Elements by Tom Lehrer If you want to read more posts, click on the arrow 🠈 on the top left of the page or on the 'MORE POSTS' button at the bottom. If you want updates from NMC click on the menu top left and select follow.

Its March, spring is sprung, and with it comes the annual RCVS begging letter.  When many of the membership are struggling to cope with record costs-of-living, a demand for payment is never welcome, particularly when it has increased by 6%. Perhaps if the College hadn't splurged £20 million on the new headquarters, in the process emptying the contingency fund which was,  ' built up over a number of years for just such an eventuality,'   or so we're told, the increase might have been absorbed. With more of the profession practicing part-time, shouldn't we be looking at reducing the fees for those working shorter hours ? It would certainly be a more equitable way of doing things but I'm not holding my breath. Empires are being built even as we speak and empires need money ... i n this case, yours (So where are they putting the throne room?). .   Con·tin·gency fund  [contingency fund]  noun;  a reserve of money set aside to cover possible unforeseen future expens

  ' The  Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has introduced environmental sustainability requirements as part of the  Practice Standards Scheme (PSS) . These requirements aim to address the global climate crisis and encourage veterinary practices to lead the way in sustainability.  The key points include a w ritten environmental sustainability policy for all practices and nominating a d edicated sustainability champion or team.' More virtue signalling from the College, more pointless paperwork for overworked vets. Good for big corporations with HR departments. Bad for the smaller practice tied up with inconsequential, non-essential trivia such as ... oh, I dunno ... patient care ?  But don't be downhearted, help is at hand. China might be building two large coal fired power stations per week, but the  Greener Veterinary Practice website has some useful hints to help us all do our teeny tiny bit. These include,  'reducing the use of disposable surgical textiles,' c