Three fitness-to-practice hearings were carried out by the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) in 2020, relating to complaints received prior to 2020.
A spokesperson for the VCI said:
“The council carried out five disciplinary sanction hearings in 2020, in which it considered reports from its Fitness to Practise Committee.
“Resulting from these hearings, four veterinary professionals were suspended, two for a period of six months, one for a period of three months, and one for a period of two months.”
Another registrant, the spokesperson said, was censured – formally reprimanded for breaching the VCI code of conduct – as a result of the disciplinary sanction hearings in 2020.
Complaints to the VCI
Of the 38 total complaints received in 2020, the VCI confirmed that:
- 17 related to inadequate veterinary care and treatment;
- Six related to poor communication;
- Six related to issues around the certification of veterinary professionals;
- Three related to issues around 24-hour emergency veterinary medicine cover;
- One related to a pre-purchase examination;
- Four related to other issues.
A total of 61% of the complaints received in 2020 related to dogs and cats, followed by cattle, equine, sheep and poultry.
Twenty five of the 38 complaints were investigated by the council’s Preliminary Investigation Committee, which decides whether there is sufficient cause to warrant further action being taken.
These cases were deemed not to warrant further investigation or referral to the council’s Fitness to Practise Committee.
The remaining 13 complaints are awaiting further consideration in 2021.
In 2019, 32 complaints were received by the VCI.
Premises inspections
The VCI considered 16 successful applications for new registered veterinary premises in 2020.
In addition, 249 registered premises were assigned for routine revisit inspections in 2020.
Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, 89 revisit inspections were carried out successfully, and the remaining premises have been reassigned for inspection in 2021.