The Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (Schedule 3 Amendment) Order 2002

Statutory Instruments

2002 No. 1479

VETERINARY SURGEONS

The Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (Schedule 3 Amendment) Order 2002

Approved by both Houses of Parliament

Made

6th June 2002

Coming into force

10th June 2002

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Secretary of State for Wales and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland, acting jointly, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 19(5) of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966(1) and now vested in them(2) and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, after consultation in accordance with the said section 19(5) with the Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and with persons appearing to them to represent interests appearing to be substantially affected, hereby make the following Order, of which a draft has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament:

Title and commencement U.K.

1.  This Order may be cited as the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (Schedule 3 Amendment) Order 2002 and shall come into force on 10th June 2002.

Amendment U.K.

2.  Part I of Schedule 3 to the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (exemptions from restrictions on practice of veterinary surgery)(3) shall be amended as follows—

(a) for paragraph 6(4) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“6.   Any medical treatment or any minor surgery (not involving entry into a body cavity) to any animal by a veterinary nurse if the following conditions are complied with, that is to say—

(a) the animal is, for the time being, under the care of a registered veterinary surgeon or veterinary practitioner and the medical treatment or minor surgery is carried out by the veterinary nurse at his direction;

(b) the registered veterinary surgeon or veterinary practitioner is the employer or is acting on behalf of the employer of the veterinary nurse; and

(c) the registered veterinary surgeon or veterinary practitioner directing the medical treatment or minor surgery is satisfied that the veterinary nurse is qualified to carry out the treatment or surgery.

In this paragraph and in paragraph 7 below—

“veterinary nurse” means a nurse whose name is entered in the list of veterinary nurses maintained by the College.”.

(b) after paragraph 6 there shall be added the following paragraph—

“7.   Any medical treatment or any minor surgery (not involving entry into a body cavity) to any animal by a student veterinary nurse if the following conditions are complied with, that is to say—

(a) the animal is, for the time being, under the care of a registered veterinary surgeon or veterinary practitioner and the medical treatment or minor surgery is carried out by the student veterinary nurse at his direction and in the course of the student veterinary nurse’s training;

(b) the treatment or surgery is supervised by a registered veterinary surgeon, veterinary practitioner or veterinary nurse and, in the case of surgery, the supervision is direct, continuous and personal; and

(c) the registered veterinary surgeon or veterinary practitioner is the employer or is acting on behalf of the employer of the student veterinary nurse.

In this paragraph—

“student veterinary nurse” means a person enrolled under bye-laws made by the Council for the purpose of undergoing training as a veterinary nurse at an approved training and assessment centre or a veterinary practice approved by such a centre;

“approved training and assessment centre” means a centre approved by the Council for the purpose of training and assessing student veterinary nurses.”

Elliot Morley

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

6th June 2002

Helen Liddell

Secretary of State, Scotland Office

29th May 2002

Paul Murphy

Secretary of State, Wales Office

29th May 2002

Brid Rodgers

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,

Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland

29th May 2002

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends Schedule 3 to the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966.

Part I of Schedule 3 to the Act (treatment and operations which may be given or carried out by unqualified persons) is amended so that a veterinary nurse (new paragraph 6) or a student veterinary nurse (new paragraph 7) may carry out any medical treatment or any minor surgery to any animal in specified circumstances.

A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared and placed in the library of each House of Parliament. Copies may be obtained from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Animal Welfare, Branch D), 6th Floor, 1A Page Street, London SW1P 4PQ.

(1)

1966 c. 36; “the Ministers” referred to in section 19(5) are defined in section 27(1) as amended by paragraph 1 of Schedule 5 to S.I. 1978/272.

(2)

In the case of the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland, by virtue of section 40 and of paragraph 7(1) of Schedule 5 to the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 (c. 36) and section 1(3) of and paragraph 2(1)(b) of Schedule 1 to, the Northern Ireland Act 1974 (c. 28).

(3)

Schedule 3 was substituted by S.I. 1988/526.

(4)

Paragraph 6 was substituted by the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (Schedule 3 Amendment) Order 1991, S.I. 1991/1412.