The NVWA (Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority) will be talking to the three largest veterinary chains and the industry association about unregistered veterinary practitioners. The supervisor announces this following reports about medical procedures performed by unauthorized veterinary assistants.
The NOS and Omroep Brabant reported on Tuesday, based on their own research, that at least a hundred unauthorized veterinary assistants and at least four veterinarians without registration had performed medical procedures.
It concerns unregistered veterinary practitioners at AniCura, IVC Evidensia and VetPartners. The NVWA will be discussing this with those chains “in the short term”, a spokesperson for the supervisor tells news agency ANP.
The supervisor will also be talking to the Royal Dutch Veterinary Association (KNMvD). But according to the spokesperson, the first thing to do is to map out the situation. After the discussions, the supervisor will look at what is needed to solve the registration problem. The intention is that the unregistered assistants and doctors will still register.
The NVWA was not previously aware of the problem. The spokesperson explains that the supervisor does not actively check the registrations and has received two reports in the past five years. He emphasizes that the responsibility for registration lies with employers and employees.
The supervisor has not received any signals that unqualified veterinary practitioners are active. “But you can’t be completely sure,” the spokesperson reports.
The KNMvD regrets the registration problem and calls on employers to check employees who join the company for registration and to check the entire workforce once.