Page 7 - Animal Care Trust Annual Review 2018-2019

A YEAR IN REVIEW
FROM THE CHAIRMAN
OF THE ANIMAL CARE TRUST
Time flies! It only seems like yesterday that I was writing the introduction to our last Annual Review. Once more, we have had a successful year supporting animal health and welfare, through funding innovative projects and new equipment that allow us to enhance the Royal Veterinary College’s (RVC) diagnostic and therapeutic services, as well as its key educational role. I thank all our donors for their generosity, without which none of this could happen.
Not long after the discovery of x-rays, in the late 19th century, their value in diagnostic imaging of animals was recognised. No longer did veterinary surgeons have to guess what was going on inside their patients, they started to be able to see changes in internal structures with radiographs. Diagnostic imaging has expanded to include a range of different technologies, increasingly computer- driven, analysed and archived, and the RVC’s hospitals have continued to upgrade their capability in this area. Following diagnosis, all of us want to see effective and safe treatments undertaken, so we are delighted to report on the successful blood donor and cat ward appeals, as well as the purchase of new equipment for monitoring general anaesthesia.
The RVC’s clinical services are important for the good we can do for animal patients, but they are also an important resource for educating RVC students. For animal welfare and safety, students must be as well prepared as possible for work in the clinics, and that is where the RVC’s Clinical Skills Laboratory (CSL) comes in. I was one of a small group that established the very first veterinary CSL at the RVC, now a model for CSLs around the world, so I am delighted that the ACT has been able to support the purchase of one of the best equine colic simulators on the market for students to be introduced to rectal examinations in horses. Early referral is important if horses are to be treated for surgical causes of colic, so all general practice equine vets must be clear on whether or not a horse needs treating in a facility like the RVC’s Equine Hospital, if it is to survive. You will also be pleased to know that we have not forgotten about farm animals. So the ACT has supported the RVC’s farm with the purchase of a rotating brush system that the cows walk through to have their coats brushed. Cows, like our companion animals, love being brushed, and as well as directly contributing to the wellbeing of the cows, this acquisition will support student projects focused on the needs of cows and their quality of life.
All of us who take our animals to ‘the vets’ want to be reassured that the most up-to-date treatments are available. However, we also want our animals to be treated by clinicians who care for them, genuinely recognising their best interests.
This means that as well as funding projects aimed at better treatments, the ACT has been interested in supporting the development of RVC students more generally, like medical schools, recognising the importance of the humanities to educating rounded clinicians. We have previously supported Artists in Residence, and this year the RVC has contributed to the George Stubbs Exhibition All Done from Nature at Milton Keynes Gallery with the loan of the RVC’s precious skeleton and painting of Eclipse. I was delighted that some of you, as our supporters, were able to join the RVC’s Chairman of Council and the Principal at the exhibition, together with ACT staff and me, and I enjoyed the opportunity, in a presentation ‘All Done for the Horse’, to share with you the story of the creation of the veterinary profession in this country.
So thank you for another year of support! In various ways, the last 12 months have reminded me that unless we are constantly changing and improving what we do, we go backwards in terms of our purpose of fulfilling the needs of all whom we serve – animals, clients, students, and society more generally. Therefore, our work is never over, as we work with you to ensure that the RVC continues to be regarded as the number one veterinary college in the world!
Professor Stephen May
Chairman of the Animal Care Trust Management Committee
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