Hi all Can ayone provide hazard listing and brief controls for a vetinary practice Thanks

Ashton, I think you need to be more specific about the type of practice. In the local vet establishment they have operated on a bengal tiger (most important person in the operating theatre was the man with the rifle) and X-rayed an elephant (relatively easy, but elephants like to explore things and like to have their sisters around them, so you actually have three elephants in the paddock with your x-ray equipment). Hamsters and pet cats are rather less of a problem.

I deal with agricultural activities & especially farmers & contractors. I suspect you will find very little help & assistance on veterinary hazards. Your approach will vary greatly depending on whether the practice deals with large animals (farm etc.), domestic pets or specialised in exotic animals, you may need to take a generic approach towards some activities and will just have to add specific hazards – location issues, breed/animal type & equipment, this includes the vets equipment and animal control equipment – such as gates, crush, nose/mouth strap etc. I would also suggest you use a landscape RA otherwise you will have hundreds. It’s going to take a while, like climbing a mountain, remember the Vets medical knowledge is key & build on that. Vets activities are just the same as farming activities, in that, every day could be totally different! There are currently far too many Vets becoming injured at present, we know the risks are very high but it’s all about the control measures.

Imagine you are in a hospital: Sharps, bloods, chemicals, x-rays etc............ ............but add in unpredictable animals with claws and teeth, plus upset owners. ..........then locations, out of hours in dark farmers fields, wet, muddy, cold..........

Have a look at this from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons https://www.rcvs.org.uk/...rds-scheme-draft-manual/

or getting your foot stood on by a cow / horse. As others have said, depends on what type of practice they are and the sort of clients they deal with [small animal practice in the centre of town that might have the occasional wild animal such as a fox, hedgehog or bird of prey] vs rural practice with larger animals [horses, cows, sheep and all the lovely parasites that infest them]. Then there will be the practice that specialises in exotics - snakes, creepy crawlies such as spiders and bees or larger critters found in zoo's and wildlife parks / sanctuaries. With the former, most of the work will be at the practice rather than out in the field so x-ray, sharps, medicine, bites, animal passport applications etc. In the field - add temperature fluctuations, mud, unpredictable LARGE animals (intent in either getting away or trampling you!), large scale vaccinations (100 sheep etc), difficult birthing situations, remote locations, difficult to understand farmers with strong local accents and jargon only they seem to know about! Would suggest you approach whatever type of practice you are focusing on and ask if they wouldn't mind chatting about the risk assessments they have and any issues they face that make these difficult to manage in practice. All they can say is "no, sorry we can't help you" but if it's for research and you say you will cite them in the report (in the acknowledgements) then they might be more forthcoming with information - that and offering to provide them with a final copy of the report with your findings. If it's for consultancy purposes then ask to see what they have at present and see if there are any gaps or failings (ask to see their accident records for the past few years etc and what they have done following these). You could also ask to shadow one of their vets on a call out so you can see yourself what sort of challenges they face or contact the local vetinary teaching centre (the Dick Vets in Edinburgh springs to mind for Scotland but not sure about anywhere else).

Don't forget your duty to evacuate the animals during an emergency. Animals in overnight need to be considered here. If above ground floor how will you evacuate to the ground floor, Evac chair for example?