Veterinary nursing in the UK: the move towards statutory regulation
Abstract
Veterinary nursing in the UK has undergone many postive developments in recent years, and veterinary nurses have been able to contribute to this progress. But, how far is the profession from its ultimate goal — statutory regulation?
To understand the current status of the UK veterinary nursing profession with respect to regulation, it needs to be viewed in the context of veterinary nursing professional development as a whole. This article examines the developments leading to the current status of veterinary nurses and explains why a non-statutory register of veterinary nurses has been implemented rather than full statutory regulation.
Progress towards statutory regulation (Box 1) has been developed within the restrictions of the current 1966 Veterinary Surgeons Act, which is 44 years old, almost as old as the veterinary nursing scheme itself. A note sent on 13 August 1980 from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) said:
Box 1
‘It is recommended that provision should be included in any new legislation for … the establishment of a register for Registered Animal Nursing Auxiliaries’.
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