02/05/2012Posted : May 02, 2012
RCVS announces elections results

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has announced that all votes for the 2012 RCVS council and veterinary nurse (VN) council elections have been counted and the results are now in.

Those elected will begin their four-year terms on RCVS Day in July, attending council meetings, working parties and subcommittees to help ensure the veterinary profession is well-governed, its standards are upheld and the interests of animals and the public are protected.

RCVS COUNCIL
There was a record number of candidates standing in the RCVS council election this year, and the results were much closer than usual, although the turnouts were low once again.

Two candidates entirely new to the council have been elected, one of whom (Amanda Boag, pictured) received the highest number of votes. The other (Chris Barker) also did well, coming in third place overall.

Three existing RCVS council members have been re-elected for a further four years, and Stephen May (formerly an appointed council member from the Royal Veterinary College) was also voted onto council for the first time.

Turnouts for the election were described by the RCVS as "disappointing", with just 3,625 veterinary surgeons (15.1% of the profession) choosing to exercise their right to vote – down from 3,887 (15.9%) in 2011.

VN COUNCIL
Of the three candidates standing for election to VN council, existing member Kathy Kissick has been returned and new member Elizabeth Figg has been elected.

Turnout for VN council elections was also low, with only 743 veterinary nurses (7.5% of the profession) choosing to cast their vote – down from 7.6% in 2011. In actuality, 20 more VNs voted this year although, in real terms, this represented a very slight drop in turnout.

Interestingly, veterinary surgeons' and veterinary nurses' use of online and text voting increased again this year from 25% to 30.6%, and 12.9% to 20%, respectively.

• All successful candidates will take up or resume their seats at RCVS Day on July 6, 2012.