The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) has teamed up with a leading sustainable healthcare advocate and academic to deliver an interactive session at this year’s London Vet Show on whether carbon neutral veterinary surgery is achievable.
Mahmood Bhutta, a consultant ENT surgeon and professor of sustainable healthcare at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School, will host the interactive panel alongside RCVS President Dr Sue Paterson, FRCVS, and Vet Sustain Director Dr Zoe Halfacree, FRCVS.
The session, organised under the remit of the RCVS Fellowship and titled “Is carbon neutral surgery possible? What can we learn from the NHS?” will look at the available options for reducing the carbon footprint of veterinary surgery and how the NHS has achieved this in some areas of healthcare without compromising on patient care and safety.
Those attending the panel, which takes place on Thursday 16 November 2023 from 11.20am to 12.20pm in Gallery Suite 10, will have the opportunity to join in the discussion and ask questions of the panellists.
Sue Paterson, RCVS President, said: “As the College’s representative on the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change (UKHACC), I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Mahmood in his capacity as chair of its Green Surgery Project Team and am delighted he’s agreed to chair this panel.
“On UKHACC I have been made aware of some of the pioneering ideas and actions to ensure that our healthcare systems, while playing such a vital societal role, are also not having a deleterious effect on our environment.
“I’ve no doubt that many of the sustainable innovations and interventions in human healthcare can be applied in the veterinary sector, and I look forward to discussing this with Mahmood and Zoe next month.”
Throughout London Vet Show, which takes place at Excel London on 16 and 17 November 2023, the RCVS will be based on stand N66 where College staff will be available to deal with queries from delegates.
The RCVS stand will also host a learning zone where short, educational presentations on regulatory issues will be hosted over both days. These include:
- RCVS junior vice-president Dr Linda Belton will deliver a talk titled “Under care and remote prescribing: your questions answered”
- RCVS digital learning designer Claire Bogue talking about the RCVS Academy
- RCVS education department staff Britta Crawford and Jenny Soreskog-Turp on the 1CPD platform
- RCVS VN Council chair Belinda Andrews-Jones on the VN Futures project
Furthermore, RCVS staff will also be available for one-to-one sessions with delegates on the Veterinary Graduate Development Programme (VetGDP) and the Practice Standards Scheme (PSS).
The VetGDP sessions are relevant to new graduates, VetGDP Advisers and employers.
Those with any queries about the event itself should contact the events team.
