RCVS news: RCVS launches new survey to understand how ‘under care’ guidance is working in practice

Today (Monday 28 September 2026) the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) has launched a new survey for the professions in order to better understand how the College’s ‘under care’ guidance is working in clinical practice, three years after its initial launch.

In late 2023 and early 2024, the RCVS published new guidance on prescribing prescription-only veterinary medicines (POM-Vs), as well as guidance on limited service providers (defined as a veterinary practice that offers no more than one service to its clients) and information-and advice-only services. The full background about the under care guidance can be found on the RCVS website.

This survey will now seek to gather feedback and insight from the professions about how the guidance is working on a day-to-day basis and its impact on prescribing behaviours. This is part of an overall review process that was agreed by RCVS Council at the same time as approving the guidance in 2023.

The review process began in early 2025 when independent research was commissioned with VetCompass to look at prescribing behaviours before and after the implementation of the guidance. This research project has examined clinical records relating to nearly 8 million animals across the two study periods, including around 1.5 million cats, 2.8 million dogs and 75,000 horses in the pre-guidance period alone. The findings of this research will be published in detail as part of the Standards Committee’s final report on the review.

Dr Sam Bescoby MRCVS, Chair of the RCVS Standards Committee which developed the survey, said: “The original ‘under care’ consultation was a very significant undertaking and the RCVS made considerable efforts before and after the guidance was launched to explain what was changing and why.

“However, we know that, with any major guidance changes, there will be a bedding in period to allow veterinary professionals and practices to get used to new ways of working, and this is why RCVS Council committed to having a review to understand how the guidance is working, where improvements could be made and, if needed, how we can help the professions better understand the changes.

“The review has also been a massive undertaking and we’re so pleased at how comprehensive and thorough the VetCompass research has been and we look forward to it being published in the near future. In the meantime, this survey will add vital context to that research regarding the professions’ attitude towards the guidance and how they feel it is working.

“While we recognise that the guidance primarily affects veterinary surgeons we also want to hear from veterinary nurses as they are uniquely placed to provide informed observations on how the guidance is working.”

An email with a link to the survey was sent to all UK-practising veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses today with a deadline to respond by 5pm on Monday 26 October 2026. During this timeframe, the Standards Committee is also inviting written submissions from veterinary organisations to feed into the review which should be sent StandardsSecretary@rcvs.org.uk.

If you have any questions about the survey or the guidance, please contact the Secretary to the Standards Committee: StandardsSecretary@rcvs.org.uk
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