Face coverings are not a replacement for the other ways of managing risk, including minimising time spent in contact, using fixed teams and partnering for close-up work, and increasing hand and surface washing. These other measures remain the best ways of managing risk in the workplace and government would therefore not expect to see employers relying on face coverings as risk management for the purpose of their health and safety assessments.

You should speak to the other practice and ascertain why they have refused to undertake the work. Communication between practices is vital. If the other practice believes that doing the specific work requested incurs unnecessary risk (eg inability to maintain appropriate 2 metres social distancing), then you should politely refuse to undertake the work and explain the reasons why to the owner. There may be some situations where it would be helpful to the other practice for you to do the work, but this should only be undertaken when mutually acceptable.

Speak to the practice involved and politely ask that they reconsider what they are doing (if you still believe that it is inappropriate). If you feel that the other practice continues to behave inappropriately or unprofessionally then you may wish to discuss the issue further (in confidence) with the RCVS (Confidential Reporting Line 02037955500; e mail reporting@rcvs.org.uk )

Veterinary surgeons and veterinary practices should refrain from using social media to voice their concerns about the activities of another practice – if you have concerns, then please contact the practice directly and explain your worries. Remember that different individuals and different practices may have different opinions and may interpret government / RCVS / BEVA guidance differently, and we must respect this.

Yes - BEVA considers that it is appropriate to continue administering influenza booster vaccinations under the current lockdown to prevent future welfare problems and to allow competitions to recommence as soon as possible once restrictions are lifted, provided that they can be done safely.

Maintaining 2 metres physical distancing when administering a vaccine to a horse that needs to be held by another person may be impossible. The individual veterinary surgeon should record a risk assessment alongside the horse’s clinical records (see BEVA’s Risk Assessment Tools here). Risk assessments should not only consider the risks posed by Covid-19, but should also include the risks associated with handling equids. Where the risks (to physical safety and disease transmission) can be sufficiently mitigated, the visit/procedure can go ahead provided that the mitigations are applied. Where the risks cannot be sufficiently mitigated, the visit/procedure should not go ahead.  (“Sufficient mitigation” is a matter for the individual to define according to their own professional judgement).  

Yes - BEVA considers that it is appropriate to undertake routine pre-breeding stud work, provided that it can be done safely.

The individual veterinary surgeon should record a risk assessment alongside the horse’s clinical records (see BEVA’s Risk Assessment Tools here). Risk assessments should not only consider the risks posed by Covid-19, but should also include the risks associated with handling equids. Where the risks (to physical safety and disease transmission) can be sufficiently mitigated, the visit/procedure can go ahead provided that the mitigations are applied. Where the risks cannot be sufficiently mitigated, the visit/procedure should not go ahead.  (“Sufficient mitigation” is a matter for the individual to define according to their own professional judgement).  

Government advice regarding safe working where 2 m social distancing cannot be maintained during outdoor work can be found be following the below links:

• Government advice

Veterinary surgeons need to use their professional judgement at all times, and minimise the potential risks to themselves, their teams and clients as far as possible.

Government guidance states that "Where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full in relation to a particular activity, businesses should consider whether that activity needs to continue for the business to operate, and, if so, take all the mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between their staff.  BEVA considers that this would apply in emergency situations.

Mitigating actions include:

• further increasing the frequency of hand washing and surface cleaning 
• keeping the activity time involved as short as possible 
• using screens or barriers to separate people from each other 
• using back-to-back or side-to-side working (rather than face-to-face) whenever possible 
• reducing the number of people each person has contact with by using ‘fixed teams or partnering’ (so each person works with only a few others)

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans, is believed to spread primarily through respiratory droplets from coughing, sneezing, or talking. Airborne transmission over long distances is unlikely. The virus has been shown to survive in aerosols for a few hours, and can survive on plastic and steel surfaces for up to three days.

One of the most important ways of minimizing the spread of Covid-19 in a hospital is to maintain a clean environment (and clean hands). All areas of the hospital and the equipment should be regularly cleaned. Most standard veterinary surface disinfectants will kill corona viruses. See the Covid-19 resources on the RCVS Knowledge website for further information.

You can reduce risk, although not eliminate it, by splitting your hospital staff into two or more small teams with minimal contact between them. Social / physical distancing within the teams should still be practised. This does depend on the numbers of staff you have to start with, and equally the division of skills. Each small team becomes a discrete epidemiological unit, so if Covid-19 symptoms develop in one of the team members, the risk of spreading the virus is limited to that individual team rather than the entire hospital.

Where deemed appropriate to reduce health and safety risks, administration of sedatives to hospital cases should be undertaken.

In situations where physical distancing between team members cannot be maintained (such as dealing with some emergency cases or some non-urgent but time sensitive cases), then consideration should be given to everyone in the team wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), including face masks, gloves and aprons, and hand washing before and after performing the procedure. A face mask may reduce the risk of a team member who is (unknown to themselves) an asymptomatic/presymptomatic shedder infecting a colleague, however it does not protect the wearer. Masks should be changed if they become damp and should be disposed of carefully. Disposable face masks should not be re-used; cloth masks should be washed (60o wash) daily. Veterinary hospitals are encouraged to develop their own guidelines and protocols on the use of PPE in different situations. Wherever possible, team members working closer than 2 metres apart from each other should try to stand side by side rather than facing each other.

Click here for guidance on the use of face masks.

No (as far as we know). Equine coronavirus is unrelated to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. There are a small number of reports of human spread to cats and dogs, but no evidence of spread from any companion animals (including horses) to humans. In theory, an animal may act as a fomite and spread the virus to humans who touch them, but this has never been documented.

Yes, but this is potentially a dangerous time as you and your team may, unwittingly come into contact with an infectious person / fomite.

Every effort should be made to prevent ill persons from entering the clinic, without negatively impacting animal welfare. If a horse owner currently has respiratory symptoms or is a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19, they should not visit the veterinary facility. If possible, a healthy friend or family member from outside their household should bring the horse to the veterinary hospital. The clinic should use all appropriate precautions to minimize contact with the person bringing the horse to the clinic. One technique is to have a stable or section of stables, close to the lorry park, designated for handover. The client can telephone on arrival, and be instructed to unload the horse and put it in this stable. They can then return to the lorry and drive away, and your team can then retrieve the horse and put it wherever is most appropriate within your hospital. Ensure that your horse naming system (eg mane tags, pastern bands, etc) is functioning accurately. An alternative is to ask the client to remain in their lorry, and for your team to get the horse off the lorry or out of the trailer.

Be aware that head collars, lead reins and other tack could act as fomites and be sources of the SARS-CoV-2 virus if the owner / trainer is an asymptomatic or presymptomatic shedder (viable virus can persist on cloth for 24 hours). It is advisable that gloves should be worn when touching such items.

Yes. This can be done as a reversal of your admission process. Be careful with discharge instructions. It is likely that your normal policy involves these instructions being explained to a client by a team member. This is a situation where it is very difficult to maintain social distancing. Make sure the discharge instructions are available to the client, and ask them to telephone if they have any questions. A key problem with the technique of getting your team to unload the horse is that you may then have to load it. Some horses can be difficult to load, particularly with unfamiliar handlers. You may risk ending up with team members and clients mixing while trying to load a horse. It is easier and safer to have the horse waiting in a designated stable, ideally near the lorry park, and to leave the client with the responsibility of loading it.

One of the common problems encountered in equine hospital practice is the horse that won’t load. It is quite reasonable to sedate the horse for a client, either providing them with oral gel, or by intravenous injection, although you must ensure appropriate social distancing. Either place the horse back in the stable, and then go and inject it (with one of your team holding it if necessary), or ensure that the client remains the other side of the horse and as far away as possible from you. In general terms, it might be possible to provide some assistance, such as waving a broom behind the horse. However it will be better to pre-empt this problem by warning clients that you will be unable to provide help loading their horse when it is discharged from the hospital so that they can make their own arrangements (and where possible delay performing the work in the case of known “difficult loaders” until restrictions are eased).

Stop doing this. While it is a laudable professional approach, these are not normal times. Telephone the client to obtain the history from them, or discuss it in the lorry / car park maintaining a 2m or more social distance.

Unfortunately these are not normal times and so bad news should be delivered by telephone using the same caring and professional approach that you would normally adopt face-to-face, or discuss it in the lorry / car park maintaining a 2m or more social distance.

Yes you can. But beware of mission creep. It is easy to stand a few metres away while you confirm the horse’s name or obtain a history, etc. It will be much harder to avoid reasonable “human” contact while explaining a horse needs urgent and expensive surgery for a life threatening condition, or worse, that it needs euthanasia. The telephone, though apparently less empathic, does avoid any compulsion to comfort or reassure a client from close range.

The passport should be considered a fomite – it can carry infectious agents. Only handle it with gloves. Store it securely, as you would normally, and ensure no one handles it without protection (viable SARS-CoV-2 virus can persist on plastic for 2-3 days and on paper/cardboard for 3-24 hours).

An alternative approach is to ask the client to photograph the passport and e mail it. Do not forget to get Section IX (or Section II Part II for passports issued from 1 January 2016) photographed as well. The client can then keep the passport in their lorry so it is with the horse as it is travelled. While this is approach is technically incorrect, it would certainly show that the matter had been considered and an alternative had been sought.

Emergency care is still required and so you should sedate the horse, anaesthetise it if necessary, working closely with your colleagues if you have to (wearing PPE if possible). Ideally keep the client at a distance, but getting the job done is a priority now, even if it is euthanasia. The RCVS flowchart is quite clear that if there are pressing animal welfare considerations, then treatment can go ahead.

No, assuming that you can maintain 2 metres social distancing (however, some PPE may be required for dealing with cases where 2 metres social / physical distancing cannot be maintained).

Provide clients with a letter indicating that they will bring their horse to a veterinary hospital for treatment, and will also have to return home with an empty lorry. E mail this to them prior to admission if possible, and tell them to print it and bring it with them. Also consider printing off some “blanks” to give to clients in an emergency situation out of hours.

The levels of asthma which are considered an increased risk are quite carefully defined. If a team member is in the high risk group, usually taking a higher dose of corticosteroids, then they should remain at home and should “shield” themselves. Trying to persuade members of staff who are at “high risk” to remain at work, particularly in an environment where clear social distancing cannot be maintained, would be inappropriate.

Pregnancy is probably not particularly high risk. It may be sensible to offer furlough to this staff member and ensure they are appraised of the advice. See guidance on pregnant employees during Covid-19 here. However should that member of staff decline furlough, and if they are aware of and understand the risk, then it is reasonable to allow them to continue to work.

No, they should follow government advice: call the 111 coronavirus helpline and self isolate at home for at least seven days (see NHS Symptom Checker) . Areas / vehicles / equipment that the sick employee has visited or touched must be cleaned and disinfected. As covered above, it will not always be possible to maintain social distancing in an equine hospital, so you must take all steps to ensure that team members remain as healthy as possible. Any team member showing any signs of a fever or a cough (or any other symptoms of Covid-19) should be sent home to self isolate and call 111 for advice. Their workload must be either cancelled or re-distributed. If this limits your service, then you should seek alternative service providers such as a neighbouring hospital. Speak to them early if you anticipate such a problem may arise.