CVS is funding a research project at the University of Liverpool (UoL) to understand more about veterinary workplace injuries and what can be done to prevent them.
It is their hope that this understanding will help improve the safety of the veterinary profession.
CVS says that the veterinary profession is the fifth highest profession for non-fatal injuries in the USA, with equine veterinarians sustaining an average of eight serious injuries during their career – injuries that are often preventable.
“The context, consequence and prevention of veterinary workplace injuries: a qualitative and quantitative study in the UK” will be undertaken at the UoL in collaboration with CVS colleagues.
It will run over the course of three years (starting November 2022), supported by £74,400 of CVS funding as part of its Clinical Research Awards.
The research will investigate what veterinary injuries are, what context they occur in and what their consequences are.
It will look to highlight areas of the profession where injury prevention training and strategies can be developed and adopted to improve the safety of working in veterinary practice.
As a first stage, UoL researchers have rolled out the largest ever survey to explore veterinary workplace injuries, with over 5,000 CVS staff UK-wide.
The survey explores how veterinary professionals define injuries, their specific causal mechanisms and why individuals do or do not report injuries or seek medical treatment.
Following this, an independent audit of CVS’ full accident reporting system will occur.
The results of these two activities will lead to the development of a suite of industry leading “open access” educational tools aimed at promoting injury awareness and prevention to help drive behaviour change and support injury avoidance.
The research project is being led by Dr John Tulloch, a research fellow and European specialist in veterinary public health at UoL. Collaborators will include CVS head of health and safety Rebecca Jackson and director of learning, education and development Dr Martin Whiting.
John said: “Currently we do not know some critical details that would help to improve safety within the veterinary workplace.
“If we can better understand these details, we will be able to develop and strengthen prevention measures through policy, education, and training.
“We anticipate that this project will result in safer workplaces within the wider veterinary community and, indirectly, in improved animal treatment through a fitter, healthier and safer profession.”
