Annex 1
Disease Surveillance and the "Single
National Standard". A concept note by the University of Bristol
Veterinary School
INTRODUCTION
This concept note is for DEFRA funding towards
the establishment of a University of Bristol based National Disease
Surveillance and Knowledge Transfer programme in partnership with
the National Animal Disease Information Service (NADIS) and others.
The University of Bristol Veterinary School
has unique research and teaching expertise in key areas relating
to UK livestock production. NADIS is the UK's largest private
sector disease surveillance and information service and has been
quoted by Professor Roger Morris of Massey University as "the
World's leading example of a sentinel practice network".
PROPOSAL
Bristol's expert knowledge in the following
areas is vital to the future success of the UK livestock industry
and many of them are in areas of direct DEFRA interest:
— Food safety/freedom from zoonoses.
Bristol also has specific knowledge of training
and knowledge transfer methodology:
— Major partner in recent national
DEFRA KT project.
— Animal welfare courses widely taken
up in meat industry in UK.
— Delivery of OVS courses to Meat Hygiene
Service.
— Training of assessors in Farm Assurance.
— Audits for major retailers.
The Bristol Veterinary School and NADIS propose
operating via a network of specially trained veterinary surgeons
who pay for access to essential expertise in farm animal welfare
via the supply of comprehensive CPD training programmes run by
Bristol's Continuing Education (CE) unit and supported by factsheets,
websites etc.
In addition the linked veterinary surgeons will
collect disease surveillance information according to the present
procedures of NADIS which will be expanded and enhanced within
the programme. This data will be fed back to Bristol/NADIS who
will coordinate its supply to DEFRA under contractually agreed
terms.
The service offered to participating farms will
be a comprehensive veterinary input to provide credible professional
support in animal health and welfare provision for the increasingly
demanding UK Farm Assurance schemes.
Future plans will include a farm costings service
in collaboration with Exeter University's Centre for Rural Research.
This integrated farm support could provide the
basis of a "Single National Standard" for livestock
farmers which adds value to the farm business and its veterinary
support infrastructure by underpinning the livestock industry
with the full endorsement of credible professional services in
the areas above.
METHODOLOGY
This process will be administered by a new body
established at the University Of Bristol Veterinary School and
will build on the DEFRA livestock KT programme which showed that
veterinary practices are the most trusted source of advice to
livestock farmers across a wide range of topics.
This new body (NewCo) will be owned by the Universities
of Bristol, NADIS, Exeter and other key stakeholders. It will
have limited company status and will seek to provide farmers with
top quality advice and support in partnership with his veterinary
surgeon or (where necessary) a NewCo consultant/employee.
The consortium partners will make the following
resources available to the project:
The Bristol Veterinary School will:
Continue to lead health and welfare research
at all levels of the livestock production chain from the farm,
to the abattoir to the processor (including public health). Disseminate
this knowledge to the livestock industry via the integrated knowledge
transfer programme.
A recent survey of regional veterinary practices
conducted by the Bristol Veterinary School in the South West has
shown that veterinary practices are keen to source knowledge from
Bristol (or sourced by Bristol), to add value to their current
service provision through specialisation.
NADIS will: Expand and modernize their existing
systems of disease surveillance, data recording, interpretation
and dissemination, and disease forecasting. These processes will
be integrated within the programme in order to improve national
disease surveillance and knowledge transfer in animal health and
welfare to reduce the cost of disease at the farm level.
The Centre for Rural Research, University of
Exeter will: Adapt and expand their existing systems for farm
economic costings research to include the full costs of production
(initially for cattle and sheep) including veterinary costs/costs
of disease. Integrate this within the programme to enable farmers
to make the best strategic use of medicines and veterinary advice
to improve farm profitability.
NewCo will: Manage all the above inputs in partnership
with participating farms, veterinary practices and other collaborators
in order to ADD VALUE to livestock products at the farm level.
Extra knowledge will come from groups with which Bristol University
and/or other consortium members collaborate in research contracts
eg IGER, Silsoe, SAC.
This programme will seek to develop a unique
and credible level of quality assurance in UK livestock production
based on coordinated disease surveillance and forecasting, practical
herd health planning and sound farm economics.
DEFRA AND NATIONAL
ANIMAL HEATH
AND WELFARE
NewCo will be under contract to DEFRA and based
at the University of Bristol Veterinary School. The costs of establishing
this programme will initially be borne by DEFRA. Ultimately however,
"NewCo" would seek to charge veterinary practices and
farmers for essential services supplied to the programme.
NewCo will provide all the knowledge required
by contracted specialist veterinarians/practices to perform at
least one annual veterinary visit supported by effective knowledge
transfer. This could form the main plank of support for a Single
National Standard for Animal Health and Welfare in UK livestock
production. NewCo will employ its own quality management system
to ensure effective delivery of knowledge to contracted practices/veterinarians.
CONCLUSION
This proposal builds on the work of farm assurance
by providing the knowledge to fill the current gaps in the provision
of best practice in disease surveillance and animal health and
welfare. If we can re-direct the veterinary surgeon's input in
this way there will be minimal or no extra cost to the farmer.
At the heart of this proposal is NewCo's mission statement which
is "to coordinate the provision of animal health and welfare,
disease surveillance and financial services to add value to farm
production in the UK".
This proposal represents an opportunity for
the development of a sustainable and credible national disease
surveillance/quality assurance system benefitting the farmer,
the supply chain and the consumer at minimal or no extra cost
to the industry. British livestock farming will become more competitive
as a result and will lead the rest of Europe in providing an international
brand of integrity for quality safe food.
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