The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is requiring all veterinary practices to have practice-specific suicide prevention plans in place by 1 April 2026.

The new requirement will be included in the Core Standards of the Practice Standards Scheme (PSS) for all three practice types – small animal, equine and farm animal.

The changes have been made as part of the RCVS’ Mind Matter Initiative (MMI) preventative work and following the RCVS’ response to two separate ‘prevention of future death’ reports issued by coroners’ courts in respect of one veterinary surgeon and one layperson who used lethal veterinary medicines to take their own lives.

‘Proactive measures’

“Many veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses and other colleagues in the veterinary team have been deeply affected by the suicide of their friends, colleagues and peers in the professions,” said Zara Kennedy MRCVS, chair of MMI.

“While it may not be possible to prevent every death by suicide, we hope that by taking proactive measures such as the requirement for practices to have suicide prevention plans, we can prevent some.

“In doing so we can help those people who may be thinking about taking their own lives to get the treatment and help they need.

“Suicide prevention plans are a collection of measures that aim to protect staff, as well as the wider public, by reducing incidences of suicide and this decision by the RCVS Standards Committee aligns with the prevention aspect of the Mind Matters Strategy and the proactive work the initiative has been doing in this area.”

The PSS requirements for a suicide prevention plan recognise that different practices will need different approaches, depending on factors such as access to lethal medicines, access to firearms, and how likely it is that staff will work alone.

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