Dozens of practices recognised for PSS awards

Dozens of RCVS-accredited veterinary practice premises from around the UK were recognised for the high-quality veterinary care they offer at an awards ceremony hosted by us last month.

The event took place on Thursday 25 January 2018 at Celtic Manor near Newport, South Wales, shortly before the opening of the joint Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS)/ Veterinary Management Group (VMG) Congress, and celebrated awards achieved by some 35 practices in our Practice Standards Scheme (PSS).

There are 16 awards available to practices in the PSS – rated either ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ – across three different categories (small animal, equine and farm animal) in areas such as client service, in-patient service, team and professional responsibility, diagnostic service, patient consultation service and emergency and critical care service.

Vets, vet nurses and practice managers from each of the practices received their awards from our President Professor Stephen May during the course of the ceremony, which was hosted by RCVS Council member Jacqui Molyneux, Chair of the Practice Standards Group which coordinates the Scheme.

Speaking about the event Jacqui said: “I was delighted to host the third Practice Standards Scheme awards ceremony since the launch of the revised Scheme in November 2015. These awards really are a testament to the hard work of those practices that have achieved both the accreditation and the awards.

“Achieving an award is something that the whole practice team – veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses, practice managers, receptionists, care assistants and any other members of staff – can be rightly very proud of, because it demonstrates how effectively they work together to offer the best service possible to their patients and clients.

“I believe the Scheme and its awards are a brilliant way of recognising the high standards of veterinary care in practices across the UK and demonstrate a commitment to excellence."

The practices achieving the awards were:

• Aberdeen Veterinary Referrals
• Blacks Vets main premises in Dudley and branches in Lye, Oldbury, Quinton and Sedgeley
• Elands Veterinary Clinic, Sevenoaks
• Gatehouse Veterinary Group practices in Allerton, Bingley and Howarth
• Gillivervet, Chorley
• Grove Lodge Veterinary Group Ltd, East and West Sussex
• Maes Glas Vets Ltd, Bridgend
• Mill House Veterinary Surgery and Hospital, King’s Lynn
• North Downs Specialist Referrals, Redhill
• 18 Vets Now practices from across the UK (Bournemouth, Canterbury, Caterham, Chippenham, High Wycombe, Kilmarnock, Lincoln, Luton, Macclesfield, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Salisbury, Stoke-on-Trent, Thamesmead, Tunbridge Wells, Winchester and Worcester)
• YourVets, Solihull

The occasion also saw the launch of the Practice Standards Scheme ‘Communications Toolkit’ designed by our communications team to help practices promote their hard-won RCVS-accredited practice status – and any additional awards – in their local area.

The toolkit includes advice, tips and in-focus sections on print, broadcast and social media, events, marketing materials, photography and videos, as well as a detailed section on messaging and how best to convey the benefits of the PSS to clients.

Jacqui added: “We hope that this comprehensive toolkit will help practices make some noise about their achievements within the Scheme, so that their communities are fully aware of how this relates to the quality of the service offered and the benefits of using an RCVS-accredited practice.”

Pictures from the awards event are available to download.

Note: This news article was amended on 8 February 2018 to include Grove Lodge Veterinary Group and Maes Glas Vets Ltd as two of the practices receiving awards at the event.