Ep052 - RCVS MMI updates - Rapinder Newton and Elinor O'Connor

On this edition of Practice Matters we hear about some of the latest practice support strategies around the RCVS Mind Matters Initiative. The College Lead RAPINDERNEWTON tells us about the new Academy courses for Managers, MMI online workshops and Applied Mental Health Science, as well as guidance for the forthcoming requirement as part of the Practice Standards Scheme to have a Suicide Prevention Plan in place. We also meet Professor Elinor O’Connor from the Alliance Business School at the University of Manchester - one of the 2025 Research Grant Award recipients about their work and how independent practices can contribute to their research project to support wellbeing in practice.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in the episode, please contact:

Vetlife - https://helpline.vetlife.org.uk/

Samaritans - https://www.samaritans.org/

HOW TO HELP WITH RESEARCH:

The University of Manchester and Birkbeck, University of London are undertaking a research project funded by the RCVS Mind Matters Initiative on organisational stress management and wellbeing initiatives in the UK veterinary sector. Many stress-management initiatives aim to develop workers’ ability to cope with stress, for example mindfulness. In contrast, organisational wellbeing initiatives are those that target sources of stress at work by changing how work is arranged or managed; examples might include changes to rota systems, workload management strategies, or efforts to improve communication or support within teams.

If you are currently working or have worked in the UK veterinary sector and have been involved in implementing or participating in an organisational wellbeing initiative in the past three years, the research team would like to hear about your experiences People working in any role in the veterinary sector can participate in the study (e.g. clinical staff, animal care assistants, receptionists etc). Please contact Professor Elinor O’Connor for more details: elinor.oconnor@manchester.ac.uk

As ever, we would love to hear from your practice. You can send us a voice note, via WhatsApp to 07709 83 68 65