Comments BVNA NEWS

Officials from the UK government ' s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs( Defra) have been engaging with key stakeholders in the veterinary sector to review the options. In December 2024, BVNA joined a Defra-led working group on the reform of the VSA. The group included BVNA, Veterinary Schools Council UK, RCVS, BVA and other government departments.

BVNA, as the only representative of registered veterinary nurses( RVNs) and student veterinary nurses( SVNs), provided insight at every stage in every meeting( known as sprints). BVNA also consulted its members and formed a focus group to ensure wide representation from all veterinary nursing roles, covering small animal, equine and large animal nursing, general practice, referral and leadership roles. BVNA President( now Senior Vice President) Lyndsay Hughes also delivered a specific presentation at the Veterinary Nursing sprint.

Within its presentation, BVNA outlined the significant role of veterinary nurses in promoting animal welfare and public health. It emphasised the need to protect the title‘ veterinary nurse’ to ensure only trained and regulated people may refer to themselves as such.

BVNA also discussed how, under the current Schedule 3 amendment to the VSA, there is a lack of clarity about what RVNs are allowed to do, which often leads to underutilisation of RVN skills within practice. BVNA considers that Schedule 3 should be removed and permitted tasks should come under the Day One Skills and Competencies framework, allowing greater autonomy of the role under appropriate supervision by a veterinary surgeon( VS), where required.

BVNA also suggested the term‘ diagnosis’ should be reviewed as, although it fully recognises diagnosing as an activity that is restricted to VSs, nursing observations are invaluable and often underutilised.

BVNA emphasised the need to enhance the RVN role to ensure a more efficient, team-based approach to patient care, by providing clear career pathways and

Volume 40( 6) • December 2025

7