SAVC The Council's Voice: Newsletter 103 -104

THE COUNCIL'S

VOICE

SOUTH AFRICAN VETERINARY COUNCIL

ISSUE 103 - 104

OIE - SAVC extending a helping hand within the continent p12

World Veterinary Day p10

1

Contents The President’s Message

1

Meet the SAVC Administrative Team

3

We are here to assist you!

5

Maintenance of registration

7

SAVC extending a helping hand within the continent

8

World Veterinary Day 2021

9

Veterinary professionals can play an important role in the national Covid-19 response

11

Covid-19 watch

12

What does a day look like for a Veterinary Technologist?

14

A Day in the Life of a Laboratory Animal Technologist

14

Another successful webinar for the SAVC!

16

SAVC empowers YOU with our Legal Webinars

17

In Memoriam

18

Save the dates – days to celebrate

20

New website coming soon

20

SAVC Annual Indaba

21

DO NOT FORGET TO DO YOUR ANNUAL DECLARATION!

21

Do you feel stressed and overwhelmed?

22

Bird’s-Eye View

THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

We are very proud to present to you this exciting newsletter that covers activities of the first part of 2021 within Council. The purpose of these regular newsletters is to keep you abreast on developments within the SAVC and share activities we carry out to fulfil our statutory mandate.

Despite the onset of the second wave of Covid-19 at the beginning of this year, our Council members and staff continued with their duties and responsibilities in support of our Strategic Plan 2019 – 2022. The past few months have seen various scheduled Council committee meetings taking place and numerous strategic and operational decisions made. We have embarked on a drive to digitize our internal processes to improve efficiencies. We further bolstered our human resource capacity through appointment of additional personnel in the registration and education departments.

to set minimum standards and at the same time work in tandem with these institutions/facilities on continuous improvements.

We have developed a draft Risk Management Policy that ensures that the SAVC adheres to principles of good governance and evaluates organisational risks while at the same time identifying procedures to avoid and/or minimize such risks. One of the recent highlights of our work is the submission of proposals for regulatory amendments to the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to enable electronic voting for Council members. This is an epic milestone as it paves a way for possible electronic voting for the first time in the 88-year history of Council.

These issues are more often unpleasant to talk about, but we feel we need to be open and transparent with you about them and assist you in understanding them better.

We believe that a member who understands the processes and rules better, is less likely to infringe or transgress such rules. We received a lot of positive feedback on these seminars, and we believe they will continue to enrich and empower you in your daily professional life. There are more seminars coming in the future and we look forward to your attendance of those. You are welcome to suggest topics of interest to you.

We have embarked on a concerted rollout of a series of webinars. These webinars form part of the Council’s undertaking and effort to familiarise our members with the processes within Council. Our recent webinars have focused on legal matters such as complaints handling, investigations, inquiries and appeals processes that are followed by Council.

In these past few past months, Council has also approved new rules for para-veterinarians that will give way to a broader participation of these professions in veterinary care delivery in the country. We continue with our routine inspections of veterinary facilities and visitations of academic institutions to ensure adherence

1

Bird’s-Eye View As Council, we want to assure you of our steadfast commitment to the principles of fairness, administrative justice and equity, in what we do. We have to uphold this principle without any fear, favour or prejudice.

Every registree has to be treated with respect and impartiality; and equally the legal authority of Council has to be executable. We are currently reviewing our disciplinary process from an end-to-end perspective to ensure that we are efficient in complaint processing.

Such review should also ensure that whatever investigations, inquiry bodies or appeals process we follow, are in concordance with constitutional prescripts of a democratic South Africa. We will engage with you in this very important process.

standards. The SAVC is proud to have participated in such a project further reaffirming the trust that the OIE has given to us as a regulatory body. After the validation of all the technical and financial reports that were submitted, the OIE issued a certificate of successful completion of the project on 24 March 2021.

It is common cause that the SAVC has a statutory and legal duty to regulate the standards of the veterinary professions. However, I would like to point it out very clearly, that our duty is not to follow only on transgressions, but to also encourage and even celebrate members of the profession who are doing things right. This ‘new and fresh’ approach is unprecedented in the history of Council and is a philosophy that the current Council is embracing. We will continue to empower you and celebrate your hard work as you have seen in our past and recent communiques. Please read more about the good stories we covered in this edition of our newsletter.

The veterinary professions should have an opportunity to articulate clearly, what they think the professions should look like in order to deliver quality, relevant and accessible veterinary service for the country. The workshop will be in a hybrid format, providing opportunity for both physical and online attendance. Physical attendance will be in line with Covid-19 regulations. We implore you to make time to join us in this upcoming seminar to be held on 25 June 2021.

As part of our regional and international engagements, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has recently validated the completion a capacity building project (Twinning Project) between the South African Veterinary Council and the Veterinary Council of Tanzania as concluded in December 2019. The objective of the OIE Veterinary Body Twinning Programme is to encourage the creation or strengthening of national Veterinary Statutory Bodies and to ensure that they fulfil their responsibilities, whilst complying with international

2

As a regulator of the veterinary professions, it is important for us from time to time to pause and reflect on the past, the present, and perhaps most important, on the future ahead of us. The Council has therefore decided that this year’s SAVC Annual Indaba should focus on the “Future of the veterinary profession(s) and the necessary transformation required for the professions to remain relevant”.

I wish you well and trust you will continue providing a great service to our beautiful country!

Ke a leboga, Thank you, Baie dankie, Ro livhuwa, Siyabonga Yours truly

(BVMCh, MBL, LLB) President SAVC

Bird’s-Eye View

Our SAVC Administrative Team Our administration team is the backbone of the SAVC. These individuals are committed to delivering excellent services to veterinary and para-veterinary professionals, the public and the animal population of South Africa. They also ensure that the objectives of Council are carried out efficiently.

Registrar Mr Mongezi Menye

Director Legal Affairs Mrs Dinamarie Stoltz

Complaints Co-ordinator Ms Lorraine Mhlongo

Director Finance Mr Sive Nqawe

Finance Clerk Ms Nombulelo Vetezo

Education Co-ordinator Ms Lenora Erasmus

Education Assistant Ms Zimkhitha Ngqola

Legal Secretary Ms Renate Armstrong

Director Education Ms Leonie Westcott

3

Bird’s-Eye View

HR Officer Mr Chester Magardie

Technical Manager: Systems and design Mrs Ronel Mayhew

Director Registration Mrs Mpho Mojanaga

Authorisation Co-ordinator Ms Talita Coetzee

Facility Inspections Coordinator Mrs Minette Claassen

Reception and Registry Official Ms Makhosazana Mashinini

Registry Official Ms Mandy Gumede

Registry Official Ms Micaela Brown

Registry Official Ms Keneilwe Malefane

4

Personal Assistant: Meeting support Ms Neo Tsumaki

Catering Official and Surface Mail Processing Ms Johanna Mahabile

Bird’s-Eye View

We are here to assist you!

Now that you know our team members, we encourage you to contact us with your SAVC related matters.

Sy s & D tem es s ign

Registrar’s Office

Le ga

SAVC Administration

l

Finance & Office Support

Re

Education

gis

tra tio

n

Team Structure

Systems & Design

systems@savc.org.za – All queries relating to IT systems and support, technical queries on registree portal, CPD portal, annual declaration, website, newsletter, advertising, marketing and PR

Finance & Office Support

debtorclerk@savc.org.za – invoices, maintenance fees, payment-related matters director.finance@savc.org.za – special dispensation, all finance-related matters meetings@savc.org.za – committee meetings, queries relating to meetings with the SAVC President, Registrar, Executive Committee

Education

edu.coordinator@savc.org.za – information on and applications for Council Registration Examination, applications for specialist peer review, CPD provider queries, accreditation of CPD events, individual application for allocation of CPD points director.education@savc.org.za – all education-related matters

Registration

authorise@savc.org.za – authorisation matters admin@savc.org.za – facility inspections, community engagements queries facilities@savc.org.za – registration of facilities, change of facility principal queries registration2@savc.org.za – registrations, Letters of Good Standing, confirmation of registration, general queries relating to re-registration student.registration@savc.org.za – registration of students, inscriptions, critical skills letters queries cpd@savc.org.za – CPD audit & CPD cycle queries director.registrations@savc.org.za – all general queries relating to registrations, facilities, inspections and authorisation matters

Legal

legalsecretary@savc.org.za – general legal queries complaints@savc.org.za – lodging complaints, investigation matters director.legalaffairs@savc.org.za – all legal matters, legislation & policy queries

5

Bird’s-Eye View

Welcome to our new

SAVC internal team members

With the new year in full swing, there are a few fresh faces that will greet and assist you at the SAVC offices.

We are proud to introduce three new internal team members.

Ms Keneilwe Malefane, Registry Official: CPD & Database

Ms Malefane comes into the SAVC with 8 years’ experience within the Data Capturing, Processing and Administration fields and has worked for both public and private sectors, including Statistics South Africa, Department of Military Veterans, EOH and Imvula Quality Protection.

Mr Chester Magardie, HR Officer

Mr Magardie comes with 8 years’ experience within the Human Resources and Recruitment field and has worked for both private and public sectors, including National Department of Science and Technology, National Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, Civilian Secretariat for Police Service (SAPS) and recently MediPost Holdings/MediPost Pharmacy as a Recruitment Officer.

6

Ms Zimkhitha Ngqola, Education Assistant

Ms Ngqola studied at North-West University and completed a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology in 2019 and she did a couple of part time jobs while she was studying. After completing her degree, she joined the JD Group in March 2020 as an Intern in the Human Resource Administration Division.

Good luck, colleagues, may your journey at the SAVC be positive and your impact on our organisation significant!

Bird’s-Eye View

2021/2022 Maintenance fee invoices were sent to Registrees in April

Maintenance

Of Registration Council is taking its registrees into consideration and we are aware of challenges experienced by the veterinary and para-veterinary professionals during the Covid-19 pandemic. Council therefore made the decision to increase the annual maintenance fees by only 3%. LINK to the 2021-2022 fees (https://www.savc.org.za/about-the-council/payments-to-council)

We fully understand that last year has been a difficult year, and we trust this decision to increase the fees by only 3% will provide some form of relief. We wish you well in your relentless effort to serve this profession with commitment and passion.

The maintenance invoices were sent during the first week of April 2021. You can also view and download your invoice under “Account” inside the Registree Portal.

Contact Ms Nombulelo Vetezo at debtorclerk@savc.org.za for any finance related queries.

Contact Ms Ronel Mayhew at systems@savc.org.za for any technical queries regarding the Registree Portal.

7

Birds of a feather – Our good stories

SAVC extending a helping hand

within the continent

More than a billion people are totally or partly reliant on livestock for their livelihoods and compared to previous years, meat and milk are now produced in developing countries more than in developed countries. As the demand for animal products has grown, it has become a vastly important responsibility for countries to now ensure that the trade of these products is monitored, rules are carefully adhered to and that global demands are met in a stable way with regulations being strictly followed.

As a result of the speed and volume of the international movement of animals and products of animal origin having increased substantially, the risks of the spread of infectious diseases have become a vital issue that needs to be actively monitored and controlled.

Diseases, including zoonoses, have already had a considerable and negative impact on animal health, food security, food safety, public health, and economies throughout the world.

Collectively, as Members of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the South African Veterinary Council (SAVC) committed to a Twinning Project with the Veterinary Council of Tanzania and joined hands with the OIE in its approach to address the shortfall and reinforce the capacities of Veterinary Statutory Bodies globally to comply with international standards in a better and more effective manner. “The OIE develops common standards, enabling its Members to work together to reduce the threats posed by animal diseases and encourage the development of the technical and scientific capacities necessary for the proper functioning of Veterinary Services.

The aim of the OIE Veterinary Statutory Body Twinning Programme is to encourage the creation or strengthening of national Veterinary Statutory Bodies and to ensure that they fulfill their responsibilities, whilst complying with international standards. South Africa and Tanzania are amongst one hundred and eighty-two members of the OIE supporting the objectives of international cooperation in fighting animal diseases globally. During the past twenty months [April 2018 to January 2020], the Veterinary Council Tanzania [VCT] and the South African Veterinary Council [SAVC] undertook an OIE-funded Twinning Programme to improve the effectiveness of the execution of regulatory tasks performed by the VCT and the SAVC. The Twinning Programme that was conducted between VCT and SAVC emphasised improving the capacity and resources of VSBs to enable them to improve national veterinary services to ensure that scientific information is generated, diseases are reported and controlled, animal and human health-, and food security and safety, are improved. VCT and the SAVC agreed to continue the assessment of the achievements of the Twinning Programme on an annual basis for the next five years. The reason being that achievements need to be assessed as implemented over time. The SAVC feels strongly that, freedom from certain animal diseases creates trade opportunities, and access to international markets will bring significant economic benefits to our country’s livestock sector.

8

Birds of a feather – Our good stories

The significance of celebrating

World Veterinary Day 2021

As we celebrated World Veterinary Day, we acknowledged and honored the immense contribution of veterinary professionals in providing veterinary healthcare and improving public health across the globe.

The day seeks to highlight and promote the sterling, selfless and live-saving work performed by veterinary professionals.

Animals play an important role in society and therefore their wellbeing has a direct bearing on societal wholeness. Wherever you go in the world, whatever ecosystem, whatever culture, it has been shown that people live directly or indirectly with animals.

As humans, we are one of the few species that adopt and care for animals. Our cross-species connections might be older and more important than we ever imagined, running throughout human history, driving human evolution for millions of years, and even helping us invent language and other tools of civilisation. The effect that this has had on human psychology, territoriality, and social behaviour has been profound.

Throughout the world, animals play an important role in lives of humans, for example in their role as workers (guide dogs, carthorse, etc.), as companions and protectors, as a source of food (meat, eggs, etc.), and as ecological balancers (bees that pollinate). We also see animals in arts and culture, presented in films and animals are even significant for some religions. It is therefore of paramount importance that highly skilled professionals are able to attend to animals and provide them with the best healthcare service they deserve.

The intricate and crucial relationship between humans and animals needs an intentional and regulated approach to ensure its sustainability and its valuable contribution to life as we know it.

Veterinarians play a pivotal role in ensuring that the health of animals is prioritised, and they do everything in their power and expertise to provide veterinary care and love to animals.

The South African Veterinary Council (SAVC), as a statutory veterinary body acting in the interest of the public and animals, ensures that high standards of quality and professionalism are adhered to when veterinary care is provided. Therefore, the SAVC extends its warm heart of appreciation to celebrate the men and women who have dedicated their career life (often family life too) to serving the animal world.

On this day, the SAVC focuses on celebrating the crucial role that veterinary professionals play in society. Veterinary professionals provide a valuable service of diagnosing, treating and controlling animal diseases that could have a devastating impact on humans, animals and global food production.

Building a better, healthier world, one animal at a time!

9

Birds of a feather – Our good stories

Veterinary professionals can play an important role in the national Covid-19 response The Covid-19 pandemic has continued to wreak havoc to lives and livelihoods across the country, and globally. Despite this reality, there is some positive indication that things may improve as the year progresses, given the advent of vaccine intermediation.

There is a compelling argument that veterinary professionals should purposely be included in the current Covid-19 response teams in the country.

Veterinary professionals, due to the specific nature of their work of dealing often with large-scale epidemics, can play a key role in Covid-19 response technical advice. The SAVC, as a custodian of veterinary professional standards, has together, with other veterinary stakeholders, embarked on engagements with the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) on the need for veterinary involvement in Covid-19 response. We trust that these engagements will enable the profession to add its voice on how the country needs to deal with the pandemic.

Furthermore, the SAVC has recently been in engagement with relevant authorities to ensure inclusion of veterinary professionals and animal healthcare workers in Phase 1b Covid-19 vaccine roll-out. Veterinary service was classified as an essential service during the inception of Covid-19 regulations last year, and therefore we do not see any reasons why persons providing animal healthcare services should not be included in the early phases of Covid-19 vaccine roll-out. We will keep you posted on developments in that space.

We trust that you will continue with your splendid work of providing quality and professional service to our society and animals.

Download the app to view confirmation of registration.

Corporate Career Opportunity Doctor of Veterinary

Medicine Veterinary Analyst

Our client, a US Company, with offices based in Sandton, has an opportunity for Veterinarians who are interested in advancing their profession, with a passion and interest in companion Animal Radiology. Full Training provided.

Day Shifts and Night Shift vacancies available with the opportunity to locum in your off time.

Must be a Qualified Veterinarian with a BVSc/BVMCh Degree and be SAVC Registered.

To apply, email your updated word CV to: cv@asie.co.za.

11

Subject Line: Veterinarian

Birds of a feather – Our good stories

Covid-19 Watch

The recent resurgence of Covid-19 cases in other parts of the world, indicates that the world hasn’t weathered the storm of Covid-19 pandemic yet.

We therefore have to remain vigilant and not let our guard down. The SAVC remains on high alert and continues to do everything in its powers to observe the Covid-19 protocols. Please note that no unplanned walks-in are allowed at our offices unless through an appointment. We hope you will understand this important safety precaution.

Please help us to keep our staff members safe. No walk-ins are allowed, we can only accommodate you if you schedule a meeting.

Also keep yourself, your colleagues and your family safe by following the steps below:

Wear a mask over your face and mouth, not above your chin

Wash your hands regularly with soap

Eat healthy and consider drinking an immune booster daily

Sanitise your hands on a regular basis

Only sneeze and cough into your elbow

Always maintain social distancing and avoid giving hugs and handshakes

Disinfect appliances, surfaces, and tables daily

Stay away from crowded areas

If you feel sick or show any symptoms, work from home, isolate and limit physical access to colleagues,

12

The Lion’s Share The - Celebrating Lion’s Share our professionals

What does a day look like for a Veterinary Technologist?

“It is Monday morning, 1st day of the work, the second day of the week on the calendar. The cell phone alarm went off.

Oops! It’s 03H30 in the morning. Something clicks in my mind telling me that: A healthy body needs a healthy mind; A 5 km run is adequate to achieve that. Off I run 5km for 45 min, come back energised and ready to face Allerton’s hectic Monday work head-on. I usually arrive at work earlier than the rest of the staff. 1st things 1st before I even go the lab, the serology section, to be precise, I open the main Allerton Provincial Lab door, prepare the station for Covid-19 screening, disinfecting the area around the station then I wait for Occupational Health and Safety Officer to carry on with the screening henceforth off to my working station. On my arrival, my conscience speaks to me and says: ‘Now you are entering Serology- don’t forget Good Laboratory practices (GLP) protocol’. I wear my Personal Protective cloths- gloves, a white Lab coat and disinfect the bench print the Room (monitored online) and Equipment temperatures, take out the serum and reagents from the freezer to stabilise at room temperature for ±30oC thereof Laboratory diagnostic test can be performed. Let me not put the cart before the horses. I should have started by saying, my apologies: I am Thabo Motloung, a Veterinary Technologist, designated in Serology section, in fact, we are 4 Veterinary Technologists in the section and a State Veterinarian as a supervisor. The minimum samples for Brucellosis testing we received daily is 1500 serum samples hence the number of Vet Techs in the section. The responsibilities are shared among us accordingly. ‘Now you are entering Serology- don’t forget Good Laboratory practices (GLP) protocol’. I wear my Personal Protective cloths- gloves, a white Lab coat and disinfect the bench print the Room (monitored online) and Equipment temperatures, take out the serum and reagents from the freezer to stabilise at room temperature for ±30oC thereof Laboratory diagnostic test can be performed. Let me not put the cart before the horses. I should have started by saying, my apologies: I am Thabo Motloung, a Veterinary Technologist, designated in Serology section, in fact, we are 4 Veterinary Technologists in the section and a State Veterinarian as a supervisor. The minimum samples for Brucellosis testing we received daily is 1500 serum samples hence the number of Vet Techs in the section. The responsibilities are shared among us accordingly. Some days we do Milk Ring Tests (MRT) once done with MRT, it is off to the post-mortem room.

With the post-mortem done and the samples sent to the relevant section to verify what we were suspecting might be the causes of the animal’s death. Two hours left before I and the rest of my colleagues go home.

The samples for Brucellosis, Leptospirosis, Chlamydia, and Liver fluke are coming in. We collect, register, and

13

check if the submission forms the owner used are correct, filled out correctly, and signed and pack the samples away in the fridge for tomorrow to be tested. Veterinary Technologists are scientific-minded oriented, handson, passionate, and self-confident about what they are doing. Being able to perform laboratory diagnostic work in the laboratory environment and doing fieldwork where one is collecting the samples for testing is very exciting.

Some of us are more like a jack of all grades in the veterinary profession. That’s what I like most about being a veterinary technologist. Doing the community outreach and inform the Farmers about the pathogenicity and laboratory diagnosis of the pathogen is more of bringing excitement and self-fulfilments in me. At times I feel like I am doing the right job and I am doing the job right.

One has to have the following attributes in order to enjoy the journey as a Veterinary Technologist are as follows: hands-on, hard worker, scientifically minded, decision-making, compassionate, and selfmotivated.

Oops! It’s almost time to go home. It’s been and long hectic day, let me rest awhile, recall what I have done for the day. The road is bumpy ahead of us, but the journey continues. Our courage is not determined by any tangible materials.

Time to go home You are a wonderful audience and thank you for lending your ear!”

Important notice As part of the SAVC’s goals for the year 2021, we invited all the associations to suggest a date on which we can celebrate and shine the light on their profession. The celebrations consist of a collaborative campaign with the association where we share more information about the profession and provide some space in the Newsletter of the quarter that we celebrate them in for a brief overview and feedback. We celebrated SA Veterinary Technologist Day on 23 April 2021. Keep an eye on the SAVC Facebook page and your email for information on celebration days. *If you are interested in sharing what a day in your profession looks like, please reach out to systems@savc.org.za

The Lion’s Share - Celebrating our professionals

A Day in the Life of a Laboratory Animal Technologist

“I feel that Laboratory Animal Technologists (LATs) are a special breed of people. We are scientifically minded, technically skilled, compassionate about animals and a bit of a Jack-of-all-trades. Does that sound impossible? Let me show you what I mean…

I arrive at work earlier than most. Needless to say, coffee is drunk in the car en route to work. I enjoy walking through the quiet corridors like a ghost on squeaky shoes. My first stop is to check on the animal rooms.

Depending on the area I’m working in, I may need to dress in specific personal protective equipment (PPE) to access the animal rooms. Some areas even require me to shower inside. The mice I care for are settling in from their night of running, chewing and playing in their cages. I use all my senses. I listen for unusual noises, smell for wet cages, and look around the dimly lit room for anything out of place - such as a water bottle that may have leaked. I check the room conditions like temperature and humidity, and I check if the essential equipment like the air handling unit (which supplies air to the animals) is working properly. It’s time to get going. I turn up the lights and greet the room – Yes, I talk to the animals.

Cage maintenance takes up a large part of the day. This involves everything from removing a cage, transferring the animals to a new cage, checking each one as I go, adding food, water and enrichment, and then updating the cage cards. In the breeding rooms, we have litter check days. It’s always fun to move the pile of nesting material and find a handful of pink squirming bodies grouped together underneath. Some mice, like the nudes, never change from that look. They just grow up to all look like little, wrinkled, old men.

Next, I prepare the animals that are to be issued out for research protocols. I check the forms, group the animals as requested and send them out in a cage covered by a brown paper bag. This is so that they can travel in the dark and not get too stressed with bright lighting.

Some days we have procedures, like embryo transfers. On those days, it’s my responsibility to prepare the procedure room and then lay out the sterile drapes and equipment. I prepare the animals by weighing them and clipping their ears for permanent identification. I am responsible for calculating the anaesthetic dose and giving the injection to put them to sleep. I keep a record of everything I do on a welfare monitoring sheet. I prepare the animal for the procedure by shaving the fur and cleaning the surgical site, all the while monitoring the breathing of the animal and depth of anaesthesia.

After the procedure, I give the anaesthetic reversal drug and continue to monitor the animal as it wakes. They need a little extra heat, so the red heating lamp is usually on. When they return to their cage, I wet a few pellets of food so that the animal does not need to strain to reach sustenance. I check that the animal is moving and fully awake before placing it back in the room it came from.

I’ll check on that animal again in the afternoon and for as long as it needs additional monitoring to make sure they are healthy and recover well. On top of all this, I also clean the procedure room and the surgical instruments used and prepare them to be autoclaved again.

14

The Lion’s Share - Celebrating our professionals Afternoons are usually taken up with meetings or admin. It is important to regularly meet with my team to share information, get updates and arrange tasks. Admin duties include writing of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for new processes, logging maintenance calls for faulty equipment, placing orders for stock, or writing and responding to emails. I have a responsibility to make sure the facility I am working in is maintained correctly, and all these admin jobs help to do that. In between, I may need to load an autoclave cycle or make another cup of coffee. At the end of the day, we all chip in to clean up the facility for the new day. Floors are mopped, PPE is washed, and waste is disposed of correctly. It is our policy to leave the unit in a clean state at the end of each day.

Finally, it’s time to go home. As I leave, I check that all the relevant lights are off, the day/night light timers are set correctly and that all the doors are securely locked when I leave.

It’s been a good day, just like any other day in the life of a Laboratory Animal Technologist.”

Important notice As part of the SAVC’s goals for the year 2021, we invited all the associations to suggest a date on which we can celebrate and shine the light on their profession. The celebrations consist of a collaborative campaign with the association where we share more information about the profession and provide some space in the Newsletter of the quarter that we celebrate them in for a brief overview and feedback. We celebrated SA Laboratory Technologist Day on 12 March 2021 (please note that we will celebrate Veterinary Technologist Day on 1 February 2022).

Keep an eye on the SAVC Facebook page and your email for information on celebration days. *If you are interested in sharing what a day in your profession looks like, please reach out to systems@savc.org.za

15

The Lion’s Share - Empowering our professionals

SAVC

empowers YOU with our Legal Webinars Dinamarie Stoltz (Director Legal Affairs), shared insights on legal affairs and answered the questions from registrees during this session.

Webinar results • 715 registrees (575 registered and 140 students that viewed the webinar in a classroom) • 564 people signed in to watch the live webinar (taking both sessions into calculation) • We had viewers from the Netherlands and the UK joining our session • 32 people engaged and provided feedback to the SAVC after completion of the webinar Webinar feedback from registrees • “Good to have the opportunity to learn about the Council online.”

• “Well presented and informative” • “I am in a better position to lodge a complaint. Thank you Legal, thank you President.”

• Well done. Thank you very much for such a well-presented webinar. Everything was easily understood and presented in a nice sequential manner. I was very impressed how the whole approach of the SAVC is notably transparent, very professional and fair for all parties.

• Thank you and look forward to your next presentation. *These are just a few of the compliments received from the webinar.

The next webinar in the Webinar Series is: • CPD Provider Portal on – by Ronel Mayhew.

Keep an eye on our Social Media and our MailChimp messages to receive the latest news and information about the webinars.

To watch the replay of webinars and answers to the questions raised, visit the SAVC website at www.savc.org.za

16

The Lion’s Share - Empowering our professionals

Feedback: Industry’s Voice Women in Animal Healthcare

The conversation continues...

We invited all registrees to join our Livestream where we continued the conversation on the women in animal healthcare.

mothers and wives.

Their conviction and tenacity to achieve that which is deemed to be impossible.

The conversation points focused on the industry and how women are changing it, the future of the industry and a look at 2020 and how we adapted.

Thank you to everyone that joined the session, registrees can find the replay on the SAVC Facebook page or on the SAVC website.

Our speakers for the webinar were: • Dr Alison Lubisi, a veterinarian with over 20 years’ experience in the field of veterinary laboratory diagnostics • Ms Lethlogonolo Khunou-Phume, who is currently employed in the North West Department of Agriculture • Sr Jana Stander, a veterinary supervising nurse in the theatre at Onderstepoort with 25 years’ experience The conversation was facilitated by Dr Nomsa Mnisi, the Vice-President of the SAVC. The session was a celebration of women and we are grateful for the support.

Webinar result • 174 registrees for the webinar • 803 people reached (people that watched the webinar) • 156 engagement (reactions, comments, likes on the webinar live stream) • We had 68 views on Facebook • The watch time for the webinar calculates to an estimate of 22.1 hours The discussions around these topics illustrated the versatility of women and how women can manage in a changing environment, yet not forgetting their roles as Image: Example of the content used to invite registrees to the webinar.

17

In Remembrance

In Memoriam 1. Dr Pieter Neethling Human 2. Dr Darren Edward Glanville 3. Dr David John Thornton 4. Dr Johannes Ferreira du Plessis 5. Dr Martin Ferreira 6. Dr Gavin Thompson

18

Our ducks in a row…

Will your practice be POPI compliant by 30 June 2021?

You must get your processes in place Almost all organisations are faced with the challenge of achieving and maintaining compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act No. 4 of 2013 (POPI Act).

Council is putting processes in place to ensure that our data is safe and that we are POPI compliant.

Have you reviewed your existing policies and implemented POPI Act compliance policies?

The following are just a few of the aspects of what must be considered to become POPI compliant: • Do you know that you must appoint an Information Officer?

• Whose information needs to be protected?

• Do you have policies to address special personal information access (e.g., who, what, where, how) and are you monitoring it?

• Who has/can gain access to your clients’ personal information?

Maintenance staff, cleaners, accountants, temp staff, unescorted visitors, staff’s family members, social media?

• Where is your confidential information stored? Laptops, server, SmartPhones, USBs, printers or scanners with internal memory, paper, X-ray film?

• Do you analyse what and how Personal Information is processed, e.g. by an unsecured third party for payments?

• Have you identified your relevant stakeholders and trained them about their roles in POPI Act compliance, e.g. outside billing services, laboratory services?

• Have you performed a gap analysis vis a vis the POPI Act, do you have back-ups of your information, are you securely destroying records, are you protected against fire, are the premises locked during and after hours, do you have an action plan for each emergency?

• Do you conduct regular risk assessments, e.g. the process of identifying, analysing, and evaluating threats and vulnerabilities?

In an information security context, risk assessments are crucial for working out the ways that cyber criminals and employees might compromise sensitive information. Are staff acquainted with the risk of “Phishing” scams and impersonation risks, are they sufficiently trained, is there a delay of diagnosis or treatment by a staff member, a wrong dose administered, or is there too much power in one person?

Be pro-active, engage with a service provider to assist you with the POPI Act requirements, time is running out... 30 June 2021

19

Our ducks in a row…

Save the dates!

Days to be celebrated and/or commemorated by the veterinary team and fraternity for 2021: • Veterinary Technologist Day • World Veterinary Day • Animal Health Technician Day • World Rabies Day • World Animal Welfare Day • Veterinary Nurse Day • World One Health Day • Veterinary Physiotherapist Day • World Antimicrobial Awareness week

- Friday, 23 April 2021 - Saturday, 24 April 2021 - Wednesday, 15 September 2021 - Tuesday, 28 September 2021 - Monday, 4 October 2021 - Friday, 8 October 2021 - Wednesday, 3 November 2021 - Thursday, 4 November 2021 -18-24 November 2021

2022 • Laboratory Animal Technologist Day - Tuesday, 1 February 2022

New Website

COMING SOON

We are in the final stages of our new and improved website development. The new website will include the updated SAVC Corporate Identity, SAVC news stories and more information regarding who to contact for what information at the SAVC. The website promise to be a vibrant destination for all, with the empowering webinars and the SAVC corporate video added to the new layout.

Please note that when we move from our old website to our new website, some of the information might move to another tab and others might still be in the process of development.

We look forward to sharing it with you.

20

Our ducks in a row…

Have a Say in the Future of the Professions!

• Are the professions relevant to meet the needs of the Future?

• Are we on a sustainable path as a profession?

• How can we service rural communities better?

• What transformation path must we follow?

The SAVC annual Indaba will take place on 25 June 2021.

This will be a hybrid event and the theme for 2021 will focus on the future of the Veterinary Professions and the Transformation required to Sustain the professions. Keep an eye on our Social Media and your email for your MailChimp invitation.

DO NOT FORGET TO DO YOUR ANNUAL DECLARATION! All veterinary and para-veterinary professionals must make an Annual Declaration on the Registree Portal

(https://portal.savc.org.za) By making the Annual Declaration you confirm the following main points: • payment of the annual maintenance fee, • compliance with CPD, • rendering services from a registered facility (where applicable), and • mental and physical health status.

Customised veterinary medicines to effectively address your patient’s requirements

Service Centre: 0860 109 779 or pharmacist@v-tech.co.za

ISO 9001:2015 Accredited

21

Our ducks in a row…

Do you feel stressed and overwhelmed?

Do you suffer from stress or do you have colleagues who do?

As an industry, we are expected to process and work through a lot of stress and traumatic events. It is important to process your stress or, support a colleague that is experiencing stress, to maintain good mental health.

We are responsible for our mental health, that is why there is help available to support you and guide you. You are not alone, access and follow the TALK technique.

TALK to someone: sorrow shared is sorrow halved Get HELP sooner rather than later Get to know the RAIN technique: • Recognise what you are feeling: Sometimes we just need to stop and say to ourselves, “What am I feeling in this moment?” - just naming it can bring a sense of relief.

• Allow, accept & acknowledge: The feeling won’t go away until you feel it, so why not just do it now? You can handle it.

• Investigate: “What am I making this mean?” When we can be curious without judging, we can see that our thinking is often misconstrued.

• Non-identification: Realise the thoughts and feelings are not YOU. You can literally step back and watch them from afar. Don’t believe everything that you think.

• INDULGE yourself: Read the anonymous client letter posted by Dr Andy Roark: “At any given moment, some pet is frolicking around because of you. Because you gave them their early vaccination. Because you saved them after an accident. Because you caught their kidney failure in time. Maybe being a vet is a little bit like being a mom, in that your work is so crucial it can be taken for granted that you’ll just give and give of yourself, always. That’s not fair.”

Please feel free to contact any of the below individuals for assistance.

Dr Charlotte Nkuna 082 884 4492 nkunaster@gmail.com

Dr John Adam 083 412 7209 jadamvet@outlook.com

Dr Fhumulani Rachel Munyai 083 260 4460 Rachel.munyai@gmail.com

22

SOUTH AFRICAN VETERINARY COUNCIL

Vision The custodian of quality veterinary standards.

Mission Through the Act, our mission is to serve the interest of the people and protect the animals and environment of South Africa through setting and monitoring veterinary standard.

Disclaimer The South African Veterinary Council (SAVC) shall not be liable for any loss due to advertisements published in its Newsletters. The advertisements represent the products of the advertisers only. The SAVC does not accept liability for the information or advice contained in the advertisements or for any loss arising from the use of the products advertised. By placing the advertisements, the SAVC does in no way endorse the product or content of the advertisement.

www.savc.org.za PO BOX PO Box 60114, Pierre van Ryneveld, Centurion, Gauteng 0045 26 Victoria Link Street, Route 21 Corporate Park, Nellmapius Drive, Irene, Gauteng, South Africa Tel: 0027 (0)12 345 6360 Fax: 0027 (0)12 345 6369