Animal health professionals demand universal register to fight threat of unqualified therapists

An organisation has highlighted the importance of all qualified animal health practitioners belonging to a register following an increase in unqualified therapists offering treatment

The Animal Health Professions’ Register (AHPR) is urging the industry to devise a universal register that all qualified animal health practitioners must belong to in order to practise. This issue was raised by qualified animal health paraprofessionals after becoming aware of therapy centres and individuals prescribing treatments/remedial exercise programmes for animals without holding appropriate qualifications, nor having a veterinary referral to carry out such treatments.

The musculoskeletal therapy disciplines covered include animal or veterinary physiotherapy, chiropractic and manipulation, animal sports therapy and massage, and animal hydrotherapy.  Any treatment should be carried out by a qualified professional, following a veterinary referral, and with veterinary permission or the knowledge of the consulting vet.

Qualified practitioners and vets share the same worries about the impact of unqualified treatments on patient safety and welfare as well as that of the owners who are paying for treatment by an unqualified person. At the very least these treatments may be ineffective and therefore a waste of money. At worst, they may be detrimental to health, wellbeing and welfare.

Sarah Keith is an AHPR board member and herself holds an MSc in veterinary physiotherapy from Harper Adams University. Sarah said: “There are examples of practitioners in both small animal and equine therapy, performing veterinary physiotherapy treatments or prescribing remedial exercise programmes without holding the appropriate qualifications nor having a veterinary referral.  We feel it is not appropriate for someone to offer any kind of remedial exercise unless they have the appropriate qualifications.

“Anyone offering any electrophysical agent treatment should be appropriately qualified and trained to do so. For example, in veterinary physiotherapy, students of AHPR accredited-courses all undergo specific training on the calculation of dosage, and contraindications of such modalities, but also have a fundamental understanding of the disease and tissue healing process, and so are able to accurately prescribe treatments”.

Sarah adds that at present, the title “veterinary physiotherapist” isn’t protected in law, and so anyone is able to use this, or a variation of it, to refer to themselves regardless of their qualifications.

She continued: “I personally [see] a lot of horses for ongoing issues that haven’t been resolved nor referred on to a vet by the previous inappropriately qualified therapist, either because they don’t understand their scope of practice, and/or don’t have the relevant training to be able to recognise the requirement for onward referral”.

At present there is no legal requirement for a person to be on one of the two voluntary registers, be this AHPR or Register of Animal Musculoskeletal Practitioners (RAMP), and it’s believed across the industry that belonging to either shows a great deal of accountability from registrants who want to see industry standards raised.

For more information about the Animal Health Professions’ Register visit: www.ahpr.org.uk