Is your veterinary practice up to the (book) mark?

The RCVS Practice Standards Scheme offers animal owners peace of mind that an accredited practice meets stringent standards – and it now has a new (book)mark to prove it.

“If you’re heading to the vets, it’s important you know whether the practice is RCVS-accredited – and what type of accreditation it holds,” says Lizzie Lockett, Head of the RCVS Communications Department.

“Now there is a new bookmark that accredited practices can give to animal owners which explains the scheme.” 

Veterinary practices that volunteer for RCVS accreditation must meet exacting standards, are inspected every four years and may be spot-checked at short notice.

Over half of the UK’s veterinary practices are now RCVS-accredited.

The bookmark is not the only way animal owners can find out if a practice holds accreditation, however.

“If you’re looking for an accredited practice you can check if they are displaying the RCVS-accredited practice logo – or use our free online Find a Vet search tool to locate accredited practices near to you,” says Lizzie.

“Simply type in your postcode or town, and tick the ‘accredited practices only’ box to check which practices nearby have RCVS accreditation.” 

There are three types of veterinary practice accreditation: Core, General Practice, or Veterinary Hospital. To gain Core standards accreditation, a practice must meet all the essential requirements for a veterinary practice.

If the practice can meet these standards, and extra requirements such as a system to monitor the outcome of treatments, and laboratory facilities access for diagnostic tests, it may be accredited as a General Practice for small animal, farm or equine patients, as an emergency services clinic, or as a combination of these; around a quarter of UK veterinary practices are accredited as General Practices. 

Veterinary Hospital accreditation, either for small animal or equine patients, means the practice meets all the standards of a General Practice and is equipped to offer a wider range of facilities and treatments.

For more information, and to search for RCVS-accredited practices, visit www.findavet.org.uk

Are you an accredited practice?  

All accredited practices may order a free sample of 100 bookmarks, and a further 400 free bookmarks are available to practices recently renewing or receiving accreditation.

More bookmarks may also be ordered from the RCVS, as well as the new accredited-practice logos.

To find out more, or download an order form, practices can visit www.rcvs.org.uk/PSSpromo.