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Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons: Hearings

Where the veterinary surgeon’s alleged conduct or behaviour is fundamentally incompatible with his or her being a veterinary surgeon, the Disciplinary Committee has a three stage duty:

1. Deciding the facts charged
2. Deciding whether the facts proved in each head of charge, or the charge, amount to disgraceful conduct in a professional respect, or render the respondent veterinary surgeon unfit to practice.
3. Deciding the outcome/sanction

Hearings in Public

Disciplinary Committee hearings take place in public, although the Committee has discretion to exclude members of the public for all or part, where this would be in the interests of justice.

Appeal

A right of appeal against a decision of the Disciplinary Committee (to remove or suspend a veterinary surgeon from the register) lies to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.  The RCVS has no right of appeal against a decision of the Disciplinary Committee.

Application for Restoration

Applications for restoration to the register can be made 10 months after a veterinary surgeon’s name has been removed from the register.  The obligation is on the applicant veterinary surgeon to satisfy the Committee that he or she is fit to be restored to the register.  The Committee will consider a range of factors in exercising its judgment as to whether to restore a veterinary surgeon to the register, such as the following:

1. acceptance by the applicant veterinary surgeon of the findings of the Committee at the original hearing;
2. the seriousness of the findings;
3. the protection of the public;
4. the future of the welfare of animals in the event of the applicant veterinary surgeon being permitted to have his or her name restored to the register;
5. the length of time off the register;
6. the applicant veterinary surgeon’s conduct since removal from the register;
7. efforts by the applicant veterinary surgeon to keep up to date in terms of knowledge, skills and developments in practice, since removal from the register (accepting that he or she must not practice as a veterinary surgeon);
8. the impact on the applicant veterinary surgeon of having his or her name removed from the register; and
9. the public support for the applicant veterinary surgeon.