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Following hot on the heels of their Compassion Understood highest-level accreditation award in December 2016, Walsall practice, 387 Vets, has scooped a SPVS Well-being Award in the inaugural year of the event.

Practice directors, Hamish and Rachel Duncan were presented with the Small Practice Award at the VPMA-SPVS Congress Opening Ceremony in front of over 500 delegates. The award was one of three presented in recognition of practices that encouraged happy and fulfilling workplaces. Rachel later joined a panel of the other winners, along with vet coach Carolyne Crowe, Well-being Awards founder SPVS Member Nick Stuart and BBC Radio 1 broadcaster and GP, Dr Radha Modgil.

387 Vets were singled out as winners of the Small Practice category for clinics with up to 15 staff. They were noted for their efforts in encouraging mutual appreciation within the practice, and for their use of a gratitude board where practice members could thank each other and share positive feedback from staff and clients. Rachel had also made use of her learning from one of Carolyne Crowe’s courses on personality profiling, to help her resolve team conflict around an incident.

Part of 387’s submission also referred to the training and accreditation that the practice had undergone in the Autumn of 2016 in end-of-life, from pet loss training company, Compassion Understood. 387 Vets was the second practice in the country to receive Platinum accreditation. One of their initiatives post-training has been to set up monthly EE meetings (End of Life Experience meetings) where team members can share their thoughts and experiences, helping to support each other and minimise compassion fatigue.

Compassion Understood Managing Director, Doug Muir (pictured with 387 Director Rachel Duncan and her award) said, “We are delighted for Rachel and her husband Hamish who have shown real commitment to supporting both their clients and their team. Everyone at Compassion Understood offers their congratulations and looks forward to seeing what this dynamic and caring practice will achieve next!”

Compassion Understood attended the VPMA-SPVS Congress at the Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, where they were on hand to discuss client attrition with practice managers and leadership teams. With losses in revenue estimated to be in the region of £55,000 over a three-year period, from client attrition post-loss, and staff attrition due to compassion fatigue*, a focus on end-of-life care will benefit the practice financially as well as making it more resilient.

The Compassion Understood Pet Loss Support Training Programme (www.compassionunderstood.com/vets) is designed to help practices retain clients by improving their experience at the end of their pet’s life. The course is run through an online portal, making it easy to fit around a busy practice schedule and is designed for the whole practice team. It includes helpful practical protocols and guidance on how to handle grief and approach clients with sensitivity and compassion, giving the whole team confidence in supporting their clients during this difficult final journey. Recommendations for team self-care are also included, along with tips on preventing compassion fatigue.

Further information can be found on www.compassionunderstood.com/vets

Photo: Compassion Understood MD, Doug Muir with SPVS Well-being Award winner and practice director, Rachel Duncan of 387 Vets.

*‘Face up to bereavement: the hidden costs of euthanasia’ by Caroline Hewson in Veterinary Business Journal, August 2014