Following news that ministers are reconsidering their approach with the contact tracing app being trialled on the Isle of Man, the British Veterinary Association has released a letter imploring Matt Hancock to adapt the NHS Test and Trace system.
The BVA believes that the current system threatens veterinary practices with closure and urges Mr Hancock to consider treatment of professionals in the field by public health experts.
This open letter from the BVA, on behalf of some 18,000 members, talks about how the veterinary profession has "done a huge amount to slow the spread of Covid-19" but remarks that vets are "understandably anxious" about what the virus means for the future of their practices.
"The way vets work together in clinical practice means close contact is inevitable and, with that, comes the reality of whole teams having to self-isolate," the letter reads.
"It is an understandable ask given the
severity of the public health challenge, but one that we fear could have a serious impact on the
profession’s ability to continue to deliver veterinary services throughout the UK."
The BVA has also contacted chief veterinary officers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in an effort to discover how contact tracing will affect the profession more widely.
In a briefing with politicians, BVA president Daniella Dos Santos asked politicians to make veterinary teams a "priority" when it came to testing capacity, allowing practices to return to full capacity as soon as possible.
On the push for greater contact tracing, Ms Dos Santos said it was "important" that the BVA supported government efforts, including NHS Test and Trace, but asked for greater flexibility.
“It is important that we all actively support the contact tracing programmes to reduce the spread of Covid-19. But we’re asking government to recognise the potential impact on veterinary service provision.
“Our pragmatic asks could be the difference between a practice effectively having to shut down – potentially depriving a local area of vital veterinary services for two weeks – or being able to remain open, while still prioritising colleague and client safety.”
