BCVSp welcomes three new trustees for 2019


Richard Hepburn (Treasurer), Karla Borland (Small Animal disciplines liaison) and Matthew Fiddes (Zoo and Wildlife Liasion) have joined the BCVSp Trustee Board while we say thank you and goodbye to Amanda Boag this year.

Richard is an RCVS Specialist in Equine Internal Medicine based in B&W Equine Hospital, Gloucestershire. He believes that BCVSp needs to continue to promote specialisation to our governing bodies, all members of the profession and to their clients; but also feels BCVSp needs to identify more opportunities to define our future. Richard passionately believes that we need to improve the quality of communication to animal owners and would like to explore methods to improve this digitally. This approach is common in human private healthcare, and is often combined with outcome measurement, enabling large scale data collection whilst improving patient experience and the perceived value of the care provided.

Matthew Fiddes is an RCVS Specialist in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. He is currently principal at CJ Hall Veterinary Surgeons, London’s only specialist exotic pet private clinic. Matthew’s vision as trustee responsible for liaison to the zoo and wildlife sector is to seek further recruitment of these specialists into the BCVSp. Zoo & wildlife is a small sector and Matthew hopes to promote involvement of this and other disciplines that have smaller numbers of specialists, ensuring BCVSp membership is fully reflective of the range of specialist activities. Working as a specialist in a first opinion and referral small-team practice, Matthew  frequently encounters public misunderstanding and ignorance of what the title of veterinary specialist actually means (across the disciplines). In zoo & wildlife and other sectors, the withdrawal of the RCVS diploma as a route to specialist status has been raised as a concern, Matthew is keen to further explore alternative pathways to specialist status for minority disciplines liaising with existing European and American colleges and the RCVS.

Karla Borland is a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia. She is based in Anderson Moores, a multidisciplinary, small animal, specialist practice in Hampshire where in addition to her role as a clinical anaesthetist, she runs a chronic pain clinic and manage workflow for the hospital.  I believe passionately in the service Specialists provide across all disciplines to vets, owners, patients and other institutions. Her role as an anaesthetist gives me a unique role as a Specialist interacting with many different disciplines and Karla has worked in both University as well as private referral and general practice. In joining BCVSp’s Trustee Board, Karla hopes to expand the current membership, communicate the needs and concerns of Specialists and accurately represent their views.