Nicki Grint
Anaesthesia Specialist Launches Nationwide Education Scheme For Primary Care Vets
4 years ago 
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An anaesthesia specialist at a leading veterinary referral centre in the south west is launching a pioneering education scheme which is set to be rolled out nationwide.
EBVS and RCVS-accredited specialist Nicki Grint, who runs the anaesthesia service at Cave Veterinary Specialists in Wellington, Somerset, is launching an education programme for primary care vets across the Linnaeus Group.
Under the scheme, all Linnaeus primary care practices will be invited to send veterinary nurses or veterinary surgeons to see practice with an anaesthetist at their nearest referral centre.
Each visiting vet or nurse will be offered a mentoring service, advice on anaesthesia protocols and anaesthetic record templates and each visit will count towards individuals’ CPD hours.
Nicki floated her idea at one of the UK-wide Linnaeus Group’s ‘away day’ conferences and it is being rolled out with the blessing of chief medical officer Séverine Tasker.
Nicki said: “Linnaeus has specialist anaesthetists at its referral practices across the country, meaning we can provide high-quality education with the intention of creating excellent anaesthesia standards across all the practices in the group.
“I raised the idea of creating an anaesthesia assistance programme, with a multi-faceted approach, to interact with our primary care vets on several platforms.
“I am so grateful that Séverine Tasker, along with the other anaesthesia associates attending, were as keen as I was to develop these platforms.
“We are excited to offer this bespoke service, which is open to any Linnaeus primary care practice looking to improve its anaesthesia skills.”
Other Linnaeus referral centres set to adopt the programme include Davies Veterinary Specialists, in Hertfordshire; London Vet Specialists, in Belsize Park; North Downs Specialist Referrals, in Surrey; Paragon Veterinary Referrals, in Yorkshire and Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service, in Solihull.
Nicki added: “Anyone attending will accrue time towards their RCVS CPD hours and we will offer a mentoring service, advice on anaesthetic protocols, anaesthetic record templates and aspects of the RCVS practice standards scheme (PSS) anaesthesia module.
“In addition, by providing this anaesthesia support, we can improve ‘Schedule 3’ competencies for vet nurses and aid our practices in achieving their RCVS practice standard scheme accreditations and merits awards.
“The primary vet practices linked to each referral centre will also have specific invitations to all anaesthesia-related CPD delivered by that centre. We have organised a series of 12 webinars, starting in January 2020, which will be broadcast monthly to all Linnaeus practices.”
Séverine Tasker said: “I am very excited about this initiative, which came out of our first anaesthesia away day, held in Birmingham in September.
“What was very clear was the enthusiasm of our referral hospital clinicians to help improve our anaesthesia service across the group.
“This whole initiative shows the benefits of being part of the Linnaeus family, both for primary care and referral practices, and will help forge closer relationships throughout the group.”
For more information on Cave Veterinary Specialists, visit https://cave-vet-specialists.co.uk.
For more information on the Linnaeus Group, visit www.linnaeusgroup.co.uk.
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