Is your vet RCVS accredited??

......... and how important is it?

It means that the practice is inspected by the RCVS and given the accreditation to meet certain standards (which are many and I can't possibly remember). Then the practice is subject to spot checks without warning during it's accreditation.

I think it has to be beneficial to use a practice that is accredited as you know that they have had to meet the criteria laid out and this must give some peace of mind. Any qualified vet can set up in practice but this doesn't mean that they do everything well, but accreditation goes some way to helping you to know that they are doing things in a particular way.

(I work for an accredited group of practices)

*alison in about to disagree with Helen shocker* :lol:

I can think of one practice which is RCVS accredited that I wouldn't take an animal into if I was standing outside it and you were paying me to go there. So while in theory it provides a reassuring benchmark, I'm not convinced that it actually makes much difference in practice.

I'd also mention that 'small animal' accreditation really means cat and dog, not rabbit; so there's no guarantee that the vets at an accredited practice are any good with bunnies.

Personally I'd be more interested in their answers to a range of species specific questions, their general setup and my gut reaction to those vets, rather than whether or not they are RCVS accredited.

I think mine is as it says this on the website:

"Acorn Veterinary Centre is a Tier 2 Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Approved companion animal practice and an approved Veterinary Nurse Training Centre, with Mrs Christine Haseler and Mrs Stephanie Tickle as the Student Assessors."

My one that I go to for vaccines is accredited for small animals....but there are so many different vets, and only one knows anything about small animals

Santa said:

*alison in about to disagree with Helen shocker* :lol:

I can think of one practice which is RCVS accredited that I wouldn't take an animal into if I was standing outside it and you were paying me to go there. So while in theory it provides a reassuring benchmark, I'm not convinced that it actually makes much difference in practice.

I'd also mention that 'small animal' accreditation really means cat and dog, not rabbit; so there's no guarantee that the vets at an accredited practice are any good with bunnies.

Personally I'd be more interested in their answers to a range of species specific questions, their general setup and my gut reaction to those vets, rather than whether or not they are RCVS accredited.

Click to expand...

How dare you disagree Alison - that's not allowed! We are cosmic agreement twins..............but seriously. I agree with what you said.

It certainly doesn't suggest that they are particularly good with any type of animal such as rabbits as I know full well that even though we are accredited, there are a number of our vets that wouldn't know what to do with a rabbit (and most of them freely admit this). I think it's more about proceedure rather than type specifics.

When it comes to finding a vet that is good and good with rabbits too, it has to come down to asking the right quesitons and getting solid recommendations.

In any event a practice can be accredited and their staff change dramatically but remain accredited.

Our vets are accredited, but agree with the above comments.

I have to say thought they are pretty good and getting better and better....

I have no idea, I've never even heard of it
I like my vets anyway though

Santa said:

*alison in about to disagree with Helen shocker* :lol:

I can think of one practice which is RCVS accredited that I wouldn't take an animal into if I was standing outside it and you were paying me to go there. So while in theory it provides a reassuring benchmark, I'm not convinced that it actually makes much difference in practice.

I'd also mention that 'small animal' accreditation really means cat and dog, not rabbit; so there's no guarantee that the vets at an accredited practice are any good with bunnies.

Personally I'd be more interested in their answers to a range of species specific questions, their general setup and my gut reaction to those vets, rather than whether or not they are RCVS accredited.

Click to expand...

Ah, funny you should say that : http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=288315

In my opinion it's not about the qualifications of either the vet or the practise, after all I have a Mickey Mouse badge but I haven't been to Disneyland! it's whether they know what they are doing and surely that can only be decided after actually talking to them and asking the appropriate questions

mine are :wave: must say iv never had any problems with them.best vets iv ever been too