Why keeping the Vet School at Cambridge University from closing is so important for the RSPCA clinic in Pool Way.

The local branch of the RSPCA’s main activities

 The Cambridge branch of the RSPCA is an ‘affiliated local branch’ of the national RSPCA, which means it receives only minimal funding from the National RSPCA, relying mainly on donations from fundraising, income from the RSPCA Charity shops in Cambridge, legacies and bequests to fund its activities. 

The local branch of the RSPCA’s animal welfare activities include: 

• Caring for and rehoming animals in need who are brought to us by our local RSPCA Inspectors
• Providing treatment for sick and injured stray animals who have no owners. 

• Providing a small animal clinic for owners who are unable to afford the full cost of veterinary treatment.

The RSPCA clinics at Mill Rd, and at Pool Way

The RSPCA has been providing medical help to animals in Cambridge from the date when it opened its first clinic in the 1930’s. When Cambridge University opened the Department of Veterinary Medicine in the 1950’s, both organisations started to work together to help improve the health and welfare of pets owned by people in Cambridge who could not afford the cost of private veterinary treatment for their animals. This clinic was the RSPCA Eddington Clinic in Great Eastern Street, just off Mill Road, Cambridge.

Opening of the RSPCA Edington Clinic at Mill Rd in 1953, in partnership with the University of Cambridge.                

 By the end of the century the clinic in Mill Road had become too small to serve the number of clients using it,  and the building unsuitable for modern veterinary practice. The site of the Mill Road clinic was sold to fund a new, purpose-built, modern clinic at Pool Way, Whitehill Rd, Cambridge which opened in 2003, from where it operates today.

     The original RSPCA clinic, opened in 1936             

The RSPCA Clinic at Pool Way, opened 2003

                                               

 The cost of running and maintaining the clinic building is funded by the local branch of the RSPCA from the charitable funds it raises, as is the emergency telephone service for help with stray injured animals, and registered clients of the clinic whose animals need emergency treatment when the clinic is not open for routine treatment.

 Veterinary treatment for the animals that are registered at the RSPCA clinic is provided by the Queen’s Veterinary School Hospital (QVSH), which is part of the department of veterinary medicine. Veterinary staff from the department run the consultations at the clinic, and provide diagnostic, surgical, medical and hospitalisation facilities for registered clients at the QVSH, as the RSPCA clinic does not have these facilities on site. The QVSH also provides ‘out of hours’ emergency cover for registered animals in need of urgent veterinary help when the clinic at Pool Way is closed.

 

Queens Veterinary School Hospital                  

                      

 Nursing  Care at the             QVSH 

     Diagnostics at the QVSH                                                                                                 

Why the potential closure of the Veterinary School by the University is a threat to the RSPCA clinic.

 Clients using the RSPCA clinic pay a consultation fee to the RSPCA, which helps with some of the cost of running the clinic. This fee is about one third of the fee they would have to pay to a private veterinary clinic. Clients also pay for treatments from the QVSH, but again at about a quarter to a third of the private commercial rate.

Clients using the RSPCA clinic can use its services at costs much below the commercial fees for private veterinary care for two main reasons. The charitable funds the RSPCA raises through its shops and through donations subsidises the running costs of the clinic. The second reason is that the QVSH does not charge a commercial market rate to the Cambridge branch of the RSPCA for running the clinic, or the services they provide to RSPCA clients through the hospital itself. This is because the department does not seek to make a profit from the services it provides due to the value the veterinary department gets from letting its students be involved in the care of the animals treated at the RSPCA, and just aims to recover the cost of providing the service.

In the last year a total of 3,807 treatments were provided for dogs, cats, rabbits and smaller animals at the RSPCA clinic, and with nearly another 1,000 surgeries, diagnostic and ‘out of hours’ appointments being seen at the QVSH during this period.

 In the event of the University closing the department of veterinary medicine, with the resulting closure of the QVSH, it is very unlikely that any private veterinary practice would be prepared to provide the clinical services that the QVSH provides to the RSPCA clinic, or if they were, it would be at a cost that would not be sustainable for the charity. This would mean the closure of the clinic, with significant harm to the welfare of the animals the clinic currently treats, and to their owner’s welfare.

What can you do to help fight the closure of the department of veterinary medicine, and the closure of the RSPCA clinic?

The Department of Veterinary medicine is running a campaign to try and persuade the University not to close the QVSH. You can help by saying why the RSPCA clinic is important to you and the animals of Cambridge by either using the QR code below to link to the campaign, or by using the link below the code

    URL link          https://savethevetschool.co.uk/

 You could also write or e-mail your local MP and express your concern about what would happen to the welfare of the animals and people who use the RSPCA clinic because they can not afford the cost of private veterinary treatment. The local MPs e-mails are below and can be cut and pasted into an e-mail to their parliamentary office: any e-mails sent will put pressure on the University to re-think itsit’s decision to close the veterinary school.

 

MP for Cambridge - where the clinic is

Mr Zeichner MP                 Central Cambridge                                    daniel@danielzeichner.co.uk

MPs whose constituencies may contain people who use the clinic and may be affected by its closure.

Constituency   MP’s Name MP’s e-mail

Ely and East Cambridgeshire  Charlotte Cane  charlotte.cane.mp@parliament.uk

Huntingdon Ben Obese-Jecty         ben.obesejecty.mp@parliament.uk

North-East Cambridgeshire Steve Barclay  stephen.barclay.mp@parliament.uk

South Cambridgeshire Pippa Heylings  pippa.heylings.mp@parliament.uk

St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire  Ian Sollom  ian.sollom.mp@parliament.uk

West Suffolk  Nick Timothy nick.timothy.mp@parliament.uk

North-East Hertfordshire Chris Hinchliff chris.hinchliff.mp@parliament.uk

North-West Essex Kemi Badenoch kemi.badenoch.mp@parliament.uk

North Bedfordshire Richard Fuller richard.fuller.mp@parliament.uk

If you think that the closure of the RSPCA clinic would affect your mental health, you could contact your care providers in the local government to express your concerns to them.

Thank you for your help in helping us to save the RSPCA clinic at Pool Way