Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Written Evidence


Supplementary Memorandum submitted by Mr Mike Christian BVM&S, MRCVS (W15(a))

  I am writing to express my dismay at the complacency of Mr Morley and his senior veterinary advisors in their statements to you at the recent sub-committee hearing.

  I have read the transcripts and there are several factual points 1 would like to clarify.

  Firstly, an impression was given that there are 7,000 LVI's (Local Veterinary Inspectors) in general practice who are working hard on behalf of DEFRA on farms. (Question 82 & Q 114). There are approximately 8,500 vets in general practice according to the Royal College. In the latest Quo Vadis manpower study 64% never dealt with any farm animals. There may be 7,000 LVI's but the majority only deal with pet animals for import/export and the PETS scheme.

  The Meah Review of Veterinary Surveillance notes there are only 350 practices that regularly submit samples to the Veterinary Laboratory Agency. There are only 454 practices who have a member of the British Cattle Veterinary Society. The numbers of vets on the ground doing large animal work is much less than indicated in your hearing!

  This is the situation at the moment.

  In the latest survey 60% of the practices had less than the recommended "critical mass" of 3 vets FTE (Full Time Equivalents) doing large animal work. This means the practice will have problems recruiting and training new graduates, and is probably not viable in the long term.

  Secondly the effect of the Competition Inquiry will have a profound effect on veterinary services. (Question 125 &ft)

  Our own experience of employing locums to help with the backlog in TB testing (one last spring and one this spring). After paying their direct costs of travel and wages the practice made a gross profit of only a few hundred pounds. This would have had to pay for the costs of managing them, all our overheads, lay staff etc if we were not making money from the sales of pharmaceuticals. The Competition Inquiry says we should charge for our professional fees directly, which will make the costs of those fees totally uneconomic for the farmers.

  Paradoxically it is those who rely extensively on farm practice (In rural Cumbria Question 141) that will be initially worst affected. There will be a temptation to cross subsidise from the small animal side of the veterinary practice to the farm animal side, to put off taking the hard decisions. Most large animal practitioners enjoy the farm side more and are already in many places where the farm side is marginal is carried on more for pleasure than profit.

  (Question 179). In February 2000 I spoke to Richard Drummond, then the RVO at an excellent meeting on the increased risk of EMI) entering the UK put on by the SVS, where we discussed the forthcoming LVI Intranet, which was being rolled out that summer. We await it still.

  (Question 157). The Northumberland Report addressed the issue of the recruitment to the SVS in its report. Like many of its other recommendations MAFF/DEFRA did not act on it.

  In conclusion I hope that someone will have the common sense to see the complacency in DEFRA and the SVS. There is now a proposal by DEFRA to remove TB testing from Veterinary Practice, which will add to the economic woes of practice. 1 remember in March 2001 while on secondment to the Carlisle DECC, being told that FMD is under control. I now see Mr Scudamore says he does not know what the impact of removing a large part of the income of veterinary practice will be. I feel the same sense of despair that Page Street does not know what is going on in the real rural world.

  Unfortunately it will not be Mr Scudamore but his successor or their political leaders, that will have the problem of how to meet the challenge of ensuring veterinary cover for the agricultural sector both in the day to day and in the event of a disease outbreak.

  My view is that farm animal veterinary practice is going to contract radically in the next five years, and as Mr Scudamore puts it I have made the "economic decision" to leave. I am not the first, and will soon be followed by a large number of others.

  I hope that your committee will help to prove me wrong.

8 July 2003



 
previous page contents next page

House of Commons home page Parliament home page House of Lords home page search page enquiries index

© Parliamentary copyright 2003
Prepared 23 October 2003