scholarly journals Owner and veterinary surgeon perspectives on the roles of veterinary nurses and receptionists in relation to small animal preventive healthcare consultations in the United Kingdom

2018 ◽  
Vol 183 (9) ◽  
pp. 296-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoe Belshaw ◽  
Natalie Jane Robinson ◽  
Rachel Sarah Dean ◽  
Marnie Louise Brennan

Veterinary receptionists and veterinary nurses rarely feature in published practice-based research, yet are integral to small animal veterinary practice in the UK. The aim of this study was to investigate the perspectives of UK-based owners and veterinary surgeons about veterinary nurses and receptionists in relation to their role in preventive healthcare. Semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with 15 dog and cat owners and 14 veterinary surgeons. Interview transcripts were thematically analysed. Reception staff were identified as having a range of important roles, from rapport building to providing healthcare information and advice. The perceived importance of those roles appeared to differ between owners and veterinary surgeons. Veterinary nurses were described as performing a diversity of roles in relation to preventive healthcare, both in the reception area and in the consulting room. Many owners, and some veterinary surgeons, expressed uncertainty about the remit and status of veterinary nurses in relation to providing veterinary advice. This study identifies for the first time the degree of responsibility for preventive healthcare given to veterinary receptionists and veterinary nurses in UK small animal practices. Further work is needed involving reception and nursing staff to fully appreciate and define their roles in small animal practice.

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-109
Author(s):  
Lynda M. Warren

In January 2021 the UK government granted an application for authorisation to use thiamethoxam, a neonicotinoid pesticide, to protect commercial sugar beet crops from attack by viruses transmitted by aphids. This was the first time such an authorisation had been granted in the United Kingdom (UK) and there were concerns that it signalled a weakening of environmental standards now that the UK was no longer part of the European Union. In fact, similar authorisations had been granted by several European Member States in the last 2 years, despite the ban on the use of neonicotinoids introduced in 2018. Nevertheless, the reasons for granting the authorisation do suggest that the balance between adopting a precautionary approach to environmental protection and taking emergency action to protect economic interests may have shifted. It was acknowledged that the proposed mitigation to safeguard bees and other wildlife was not entirely satisfactory. In the end, due to unforeseen weather conditions it meant that the pesticide is not necessary, which in itself demonstrates that short-term emergency measures are unsuitable for dealing with the problem. If the sugar beet industry is to continue to prosper in the UK, it will need to be managed in a way that provides resistance to virus infection without the use of controversial chemicals.


Author(s):  
Samuel Yee Ching Leung ◽  
Alex Chun Hei Chan

Abstract Halliburton Company v Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd (formerly known as Ace Bermuda Insurance Ltd [2020] UKSC 48 is an important case not only to the UK but also to the international arbitration community for several reasons: first, it examines indispensable duties in international arbitration and for the first time recognises and explicates upon the duty of disclosure at the highest court of the United Kingdom; secondly, it addresses and clarifies key concepts in international arbitration; thirdly, it confirms the objective nature of the test of justifiable doubts which has wider implications for other arbitral forums; fourthly, it illustrates how the duties of impartiality, disclosure, and confidentiality interact with and affect each other and how the key concepts should be applied to this interaction; and finally, it lays down useful guidance for arbitrators. For these reasons, this case deserves close and careful examination. This article aims to explain the significance of the aforesaid and suggests that, in addition to what has been addressed, further judicial explanations are warranted in what other aspects.


2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 164-185
Author(s):  
Caroline Mackenzie

AbstractDuring my first twelve years in India I studied Hindu art and philosophy, encountering "inculturated" Catholic Christianity for the first time. When I returned to the United Kingdom, I was struck by a manifest separation between the dry, orderly church, and the imaginative world of "New Age" networks such as Dances of Universal Peace. In 1999 I received a major commission to re-design a church in Wales. This opening allowed me to use art as a means to bring some of the insights gained in India into a Western Christian context. After this public work, I made a series of personal pictures that depicted the healing and empowering effect of the new public images (archetypes) on my inner world. I then tried to connect the work in the church to liturgy but found no opening in the UK. In 2003, I returned to India to the Fireflies Intercultural Centre in Bangalore. There I found a "laboratory of the spirit" that provided the right conditions for serious religious experimentation. In 2007, I found a way to express the vision of the artwork in the Welsh church via an embodied liturgy. Using masks representing the Elements, I worked with an Indian Catholic priest to create a cosmic Easter Triduum.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 3140
Author(s):  
Ailsa Brogan-Hewitt ◽  
Tanefa A Apekey ◽  
Meaghan Sarah Christian ◽  
Rhiannon Eleanor Day

Vitamin D deficiency is a serious public health issue in the United Kingdom. Those at increased risk, such as pregnant women, children under 5 years and people from ethnic groups with dark skin, are not all achieving their recommended vitamin D. Effective vitamin D education is warranted. A qualitative study was undertaken to evaluate the acceptability and understanding of a vitamin D infographic, developed using recommendations from previous research. Fifteen parents/carers, recruited through local playgroups and adverts on popular parent websites, participated in focus groups and telephone interviews. The majority were female, White British and educated to degree level. A thematic analysis methodology was applied. The findings indicated that understanding and acceptability of the infographic were satisfactory, but improvements were recommended to aid interpretation and create more accessible information. These included additional content (what vitamin D is; other sources; its health benefits; methods/doses for administration and scientific symbols used) and improved presentation (eye-catching, less text, simpler language, more images and a logo). Once finalized, the infographic could be a useful tool to educate families around vitamin D supplementation guidelines, support the UK Healthy Start vitamins scheme and help improve vitamin D status for pregnant and lactating women and young children.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandros Nafpliotis

The focus of this article is an analysis of the Greek junta’s relations with the Wilson and Heath governments in the United Kingdom from 1967 to 1974. Emphasis is placed on diplomatic relations between the two traditional allies. The reactions of the military leaders of the regime in Athens and its representatives in Britain to policies pursued by London towards the establishment, consolidation and eventual demise of the colonels’ dictatorship are presented through the examination (for the first time) of official documents from both the UK and Greece. It is argued that the Greek military regime struggled to cultivate relations with Britain primarily for reasons of domestic and international prestige. Whereas Whitehall pursued a policy of “good working relations” with the junta in order to promote British interests vis-à-vis NATO, Cyprus and trade, the leadership in Athens was solely interested in using British support to gain legitimacy internationally and domestically.


1990 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. C. M. Fyfe

Most lower limb amputations in the United Kingdom (UK) are carried out within general surgical, orthopaedic and plastic surgical units of district hospitals. This study of patients referred for rehabilitation was undertaken to determine the number and specialty interests of surgeons referring amputees, the numbers referred by each and, as one of several possible measures of appropriateness for rehabilitation, the amputation levels in patients referred for the first time to one sub-regional Disablement Services (limb fitting) Centre (DSC) over a 14 month period. Thirty nine surgeons, referred 263 amputees. The majority (61%) of surgeons referred 5 or fewer: a nucleus of 11 vascular surgeons (28%) referred 64% of the patients. The underlying pathology, speciality interest of the surgeon or numbers referred by individual surgeons had no relation to final healed level which was below the knee in 55% of cases compared to national figures for all other DSC's ranging between 39% and 48% below-knee between 1981 and 1988. Since current practice in the UK is to refer all but the frailest patients for consideration of prosthetic rehabilitation, this study suggests that, nationally, more patients could be suited for the functionally superior below-knee level of amputation than are currently benefiting from it.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Reilly ◽  
Adrienne R. Hughes ◽  
Xanne Janssen ◽  
Kathryn R. Hesketh ◽  
Sonia Livingstone ◽  
...  

Background: This article summarizes the approach taken to develop UK Chief Medical Officers’ physical activity guidelines for the Under 5s, 2019. Methods: The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE)-Adaptation, Adoption, De Novo Development (ADOLOPMENT) approach was used, based on the guidelines from Canada and Australia, with evidence updated to February 2018. Recommendations were based on the associations between (1) time spent in sleep, sedentary time, physical activity, and 10 health outcomes and (2) time spent in physical activity and sedentary behavior on sleep outcomes (duration and latency). Results: For many outcomes, more time spent in physical activity and sleep (up to a point) was beneficial, as was less time spent in sedentary behavior. The authors present, for the first time, evidence in GRADE format on behavior type–outcome associations for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Stakeholders supported all recommendations, but recommendations on sleep and screen time were not accepted by the Chief Medical Officers; UK guidelines will refer only to physical activity. Conclusions: This is the first European use of GRADE-ADOLOPMENT to develop physical activity guidelines. The process is robust, rapid, and inexpensive, but the UK experience illustrates a number of challenges that should help development of physical activity guidelines in future.


Significance The Brexit process also has coincided with the rise of national over British identities in Scotland and Wales, as well as an increase in younger generations supporting independence. In Northern Ireland, Catholics are likely to outnumber Protestants for the first time when the census is released next year. Impacts The UK government’s hard-line opposition to another Scottish referendum vote could risk increasing support for independence. Resolving tensions over the Northern Ireland protocol will be crucial in making progress on other aspects of UK-EU relations. Concern over the economic impact of Brexit suggests that London will continue to take a lax approach to customs checks on EU imports.


2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 725-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
SUZANNE MOFFATT ◽  
PAUL HIGGS ◽  
KIRSTEIN RUMMERY ◽  
IAN REES JONES

ABSTRACTThe introduction of choice and consumer mechanisms in public services has been identified as a fundamental shift in welfare service provision internationally. Within the United Kingdom (UK), such mechanisms developed and integrated into English services have not been replicated in their entirety in Scotland and Wales. For the first time since the inception of the UK welfare state, there are now formal differences in entitlement for older people as a result of devolution. This paper uses comparative policy analysis to review a range of sources not hitherto brought together in order to explore how these concurrent developments – choice and devolution – impact on people over state retirement age. We also consider the extent to which a more consumerist approach to public services might redress or increase later-life inequalities. Drawing on theoretical research and policy evidence, we argue that for many people over state retirement age, the prospect of becoming a consumer in these varied contexts is difficult and unwelcome. We suggest that although it is too early in the devolutionary process for any significant impact of these divergent policies to materialise, continued policy divergence will lead to different experiences and outcomes for older people in Scotland, Wales and England. We conclude that these divergent social policies offer significant research opportunities, particularly concerning their impact on later-life inequalities.


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