Livestock Matters - Winter 2017/18

WORKING TOGETHER FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE... 2 1 LIVESTOCK MATTERS Veterinary surgeon Lauren Porteus XLVets practice Scott Mitchell and Associates Lauren Porteus, Scott Mitchell and Associates GRADUATE D I ARY Seasonality speeds expertise I joined the practice in October 2016 – and went straight into autumn calving work. It was a steep learning curve! This led into a busy springtime calving with the lambing season added on top. Come summer, we were looking towards the next year with bull breeding soundness examinations, then tup testing and vasectomies. Due to the seasonality I’ve been able to improve my competency very quickly as I’ve been doing the same operations and tests, repeatedly. In fact, between January and June, I carried out 23 cattle Caesareans by myself, four of these in one day! Safety BVA statistics show that in 2016, over 50% of farm vets suffered an injury at work. Safety and communication was therefore a topic covered in one of the modules of the XLVets Graduate Training programme that I attended. We learnt that one of the biggest risks for injuries is TB testing. We are fortunate here that TB testing is every 4 years (although this may change in the future). The downside is that some farms’ handling systems are not always the safest for this task! But I do find our farming clients have a lot of consideration for their vet’s safety! And I will speak out if I think changes are needed to make the situation a safer one - for me and farm staff. Based in Hexham, Scott Mitchell and Associates has a small farm team of four vets, plus one Vet Tech. The practice area extends almost to the Scottish border, west into Cumbria and south into Durham. This is predominantly a beef and sheep farming area, so veterinary work is very seasonal. Following the seasons The result from one of Lauren’s Caesareans