Ours is a unique set of circumstances

Moments before I sat down to write this, the news dropped that veterinary surgeons will no longer be considered key workers when it comes to school places. The ever-shifting sands of covid restriction make life incredibly challenging for those who are trying to juggle work and family – a big enough challenge in usual times. In most countries veterinary surgeons have been considered as essential from the get-go, since any change that might adversely affect animal welfare has been considered a restriction too far. In the UK, our profession has been divided: those involved in food production being considered essential, those of us involved in equine practice not essential, but potentially still key? It has all been very confusing, highly changeable and it makes staffing a practice and providing a consistent message to clients virtually impossible. Advice from the leaders of our profession has not always appeared aligned with the advice that is coming directly from government and that is where we find ourselves now with respect to school places. Government advice has been vague at times, perhaps deliberately so, and we trust in our leaders to make interpretations on our behalf. These interpretations have, at times, been questioned.