We responded to a number of requests from member practices to hold a workshop to deal with questions relating to the administrative aspects of our VDP contract. This was held in the Castle Hotel in Llandovery on 29/1/25 and we would like to thank all the speakers and attendees for what was a very valuable day.
APHA
We collated a number of questions for APHA about various aspects of Tb policy and delivery. These were handled by Michal Siwonia and Andrea Davies, our colleagues in APHA. We were grateful for the time and effort they had put in preparing for the meeting.
Main topics discussed were:
Rules regarding the delayed removal of reactors
Timing of test dates for SI tests
What happens to results of tests performed by APHA staff as regards sharing results and consequences with the OV practices as these do not appear on Dewin
Changes of interpretation following the disclosure of reactors on a standard interpretation test.
As in all of these sessions one question cascades into a number of follow ons, and it is fair to say that this session could have taken up the whole day. But the dialogue was useful and as in all of these things, putting a face to a name helps in communication.
Dewin
Natasha Thomas then discussed the functionality of Dewin. Dewin is our database and communication system, and we are regularly trying to update it. A number of tweaks were suggested, which we will work on. Dewin helps Iechyd da in its management of the contracts that we hold, and keeping the practices’ details up to date is vital.
Natasha is available to help with training practices with the functions of Dewin
Health and safety
Paul Rodgers then dealt with the health and safety reports and their importance in the safe delivery of accurate testing.
We need to engender a culture of safe working, as farms and animals can be dangerous places to work (people employed in agriculture make up 1% of the UK workforce, yet agriculture accounts for 20% of deaths in the workplace).
The need to record incidents and the near misses was emphasised, as well as the details of handling facilities. There was useful feedback on improvements to the H&S forms which will be acted upon.
UK Farmcare
Kate Bowen from UK Farmcare then discussed their role in auditing OVs, ATTs and practices. She outlined the common non compliances found in audits (e.g missing paperwork and equipment )
She also emphasised the requirement to put test arrangement details on SAM, listing date, time and tester name no later than 2 working days before the test date, and sooner if possible. This is required whenever possible, but any test of 100 or more animals should have all of these details entered. This is required for the auditing process, (which is more onerous in Wales as 75% of audits have to be unannounced).
Wasted visits are costly and this cost will be passed on as management fees to us, and ultimately to the member practices.
KPIs
David Thomas, the senior OV for Iechyd Da, has the overall responsibility for overseeing the Government contract. He outlined the various KPIs that we have to fulfil. Iechyd Da has a good track record, with our performance being amongst the best, if not the best on all KPIs over the lifetime of the contracts. This is down in no small part to the efforts of the administration staff, and he congratulated them on their work as they were vital and valuable people in the running of Iechyd Da.
Pembrokeshire project
Brendan Griffin and Paul Rodgers described some of the activities and techniques used in the pilot project on farms in Pembrokeshire. This is an inspiring project which tries to enable farmers and vets, with enhanced training and data, to understand and control TB on their farms.
Residual disease on farms is a big driver of TB in many of the persistently infected farms and there was a description of the use of RiskRate that is used to highlight high risk animals from their previous skin readings. This underlined the need for accurate recording of measurements from the skin tests. Improving biosecurity through identifying weak points was the focus of the HerdSafe app, the use of which was conveyed by one of its designers, Paul Rogers.
Operations and development manager role
Phil Thomas introduced his new role in Iechyd Da. He is trying to coordinate the various projects that Iechyd Da have got involved with in the last 10 years, and to help with the communications with members as well as the industry at large. He will be heavily involved with the next tender process.
He also sits on the various BVD committees and outlined the progress of the BVD Cymru roll out.
One project that Iechyd da started was the Wales Veterinary science centre, and the WVSC has been involved in farm animal post mortems, providing laboratory testing and CPD.
It has also been responsible for the Badger Found dead survey and he thanked the participating practices for their efforts, as this helps track the spread of TB in Wales and was one important piece of the jigsaw in the Pembrokeshire project.
The WVSC also provides a free helpline for practices to discuss BVD results and testing options.
Audience feedback:
Useful information on
The reasons for delaying on reactor removal; BVD rules re animals coming from England post July.
Adopting a new mindset about TB and that it’s not all about badgers
One practice thought they might use forms as screensavers as a reminder.
The importance of recording H&S events and near misses
Getting the person receiving a TB181 to sign a form in a job bag as proof of receiving the paperwork.
It was a good opportunity to meet people from across the region, exchange ideas and experiences. There was a lot of positive feedback and it has been decided that this workshop should become a more regular fixture on the calendar.
The effects of TB go beyond the physical injuries and the business costs. It puts a mental strain on the farmers and the vets delivering the bad news.
Probably the most important comment made on the day, was from one of younger colleagues who volunteered her experiences. She recounted giving a very distressed farmer a card for the DPJ foundation after a TB test, when she returned a few months later for a SI test he thanked her for helping save his life. Thank you for sharing that.
