President’s Reflection – Julian Hoad

16 June 2025

I’m reminded of John Cleese’s harassed character, Basil Fawlty: ’What was that? That was your life, Mate. Oh, that was quick: do I get another?’ I know previous Presidents have spoken about how quickly the year rushes by, but until you’re in the whirligig of presidential life you don’t really believe it.

Let’s talk about the highs. A definite high was the launch of our refreshed brand. Although the most visual part of that is our new logo, the brand refresh itself goes far beyond that, symbolizing, as it does, our commitment to excellence and innovation. United by the power of association, we are working towards a future-ready, more member-centric organization, standing at the very heart of the small animal veterinary community. The Programme of Change is ongoing, and we are starting to see very positive outcomes, with several key projects progressing at pace such as the AI Assistant and our new approach to lifelong learning. It has been a very successful year for BSAVA’s ProtectME initiative: working with RUMA we have seen a decrease in antibiotic usage in small animals, and RUMA’s Antibiotic Amnesty in November saw an increase in the number of practices willing to get involved in the return of unused antibiotics and other medicines.

The CMA investigation continues. This has taken a huge amount of time and resource, but it has been enjoyable working with BVA, BVNA, FIVP and SPVS on the transparency working group. One of the great things to have come out of the investigation is that the public trust in vets and nurses is very high. Trust in the profession is crucial and underlines every interaction we have with the animals under our care. Greater transparency around veterinary pricing can only improve that, and help our members deliver contextualised care to their patients. There is optimism that a new Veterinary Surgeon’s Act – long overdue – may be part of the CMA’s remedies and that veterinary nurses may at long last get the recognition they deserve by protection of the title. As part of the Legislative reform working party, I have been fortunate to have been involved in helping to shape that new act. I have also been involved with the RCVS working group on contextualised care, and with the BVA Council on policy positions on the Northern Ireland Veterinary medicines and the EU-UK Veterinary agreement. We are progressing through our governance restructuring, with an aim to improve member representation and decision-making. With that in mind, we are absolutely delighted to have Jo Megarity as the first Veterinary Nurse on the BSAVA Board.

One of my greatest delights this year has been to travel to many conferences and Congresses – China (Suzhou), Athens, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Birmingham, Manchester and Stratford. Aside from clocking a record high number of CPD hours, these have been an opportunity to meet up with old friends, make new ones, and, importantly, to begin conversations that have led to new or improved collaborations for BSAVA – the Power of Association in practice.

The year did have some lows, such as the passing of Des Thompson and Simon Doherty. They were lives worth living and their memories will be cherished: in Simon’s case by his posthumous awarding of the King’s medal, and in dear Des’s case, by the announcement of a new BSAVA award: the Des Thompson Award (‘The Des’) for General Practice.

The day I had to make the announcement about the retirement of Congress seemed never to end. Congress has been a much-loved – even cherished part of many of our lives. I know many of you will have reflected on this sad news and come to accept it while others might still be coming to terms with it. However, it is now time for BSAVA to look forward, to regain our place as innovators of the veterinary CPD field and to really give our members what they need for truly inspirational lifelong learning.

In December and January, I embarked on a tour of the Regions with Carole Haile. We covered almost a thousand miles and joined the Regions for their AGMs – and occasionally for their CPD events also. Carole retires this year – her unceasing devotion and commitment to BSAVA and her incredible knowledge of the membership will be missed greatly. As our lives appear to get busier and busier, it is hard to find time and enthusiasm after work to go to CPD events, let alone arrange them, and so we are incredibly grateful to all of our volunteers who run regional events, become involved with committee or support the association in the many ways our valued volunteers do.

Going to CPD events is very invigorating and learning new stuff is fun. But what is even more energising is being reminded that you are part of an amazing profession. It is easy to lose sight of that when you hear of the CMA investigation, or have had a day of angry clients. Reconnecting with other members of the profession, sharing cases, stories or gripes, is both cathartic and rejuvenating.

We should take pride and joy in being part of the veterinary profession, and make it our constant endeavour to play our part well – reaching out to fellow vets and nurses who may be struggling as well as encouraging and supporting those in the early stage of their careers. Fellow vets and nurses are our friends, and we should treat them as such.

Last month I undertook a WingWalk to raise money for PetSavers – this was a high point in a very real sense: travelling at 140 miles per hour on the top of a 1942 biplane gives one a very different perspective on life! It certainly gave me a chance to reflect on my past year. I am immensely proud to have been able to represent the BSAVA over the past year, and look forward to supporting David Godfrey in his Presidential Year. Best of luck, David!