From Monday 3 November 2014 the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) will be undertaking a six-month alternative dispute resolution (ADR) trial as the first step towards developing a new consumer redress system for users of veterinary services.
Although the RCVS is obliged to investigate all concerns raised with it, the College is limited to dealing with only the most serious of concerns raised against a veterinary surgeon’s or registered veterinary nurse’s fitness to practise. This means that many of the 800 or so concerns received every year by the College’s Professional Conduct Department are closed with no further action.
Nick Stace, RCVS Chief Executive Officer and Secretary, explains: “It was clear from our consultations last year for the First Rate Regulator initiative that many animal owners who had made complaints were dissatisfied and frustrated with the fact that we were unable to take their, often very legitimate, concerns any further.
“We hope that the profession will actively support the trial, and any future scheme, as a way of resolving those intractable disputes which we know can hang over veterinary surgeons and practices and that they recognise that, ultimately, what is good for the consumer can be good for the profession.”
The trial will be administered by the Ombudsman Services, an independent and not-for-profit complaint resolution service, and limited to no more than 150 concerns raised about veterinary surgeons in regards to the treatment of a small animal. The Ombudsman Services will be assisted in its investigations by veterinary advisers who will provide guidance on clinical and other veterinary matters.
The results of the trial, which will end in May 2015, will be presented at the June 2015 meeting of RCVS Council where steps will be considered for the development of a permanent scheme.
More details about the trial can be found here.