Policies for Veterinary Practices

This page is for veterinary practices that need their documentation in order, whether for Practice Standards Scheme accreditation, a VMD inspection or the consumer-facing changes now arriving from the CMA. Policy Pros writes bespoke clinical governance, medicines, complaints and health and safety documentation for UK practices.

Bespoke, audit-ready policies from £65 + VAT per document. Get a quote or call 020 3951 2875 for a free scoping conversation.

Policies Veterinary Practices Need

Legally Required

• Veterinary Medicines Records - the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 require receipt and supply records kept for at least five years, plus an annual audited stock check for prescription medicines
• Controlled Drugs Procedures - a controlled drugs register, safe custody arrangements and recorded denaturing and destruction
• Premises Registration - practice premises must be registered with the RCVS, with VMD inspection on a risk basis
• X-Ray Compliance - registration with the HSE under the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017, with written local rules approved by your radiation protection adviser and displayed at each X-ray area
• Health and Safety Policy Statement - required in writing with 5 or more employees, with COSHH assessments covering anaesthetic gases, cleaning chemicals and zoonoses

Expected by the Practice Standards Scheme and Clients

• Written Complaints Policy - Core Standards require a written policy plus a record of complaints and responses
• Infection Control and Biosecurity Policy - with cleaning and disinfection schedules for every clinical area
• Medicines SOPs - storage, dispensing, reconciliation and disposal procedures behind the legal records
• Clinical Governance Procedures - referral protocols, case review meetings and a system for briefing the team on new equipment and medicines
• Sharps and Clinical Waste Procedures - safe disposal facilities in every clinical area, managed under COSHH and the general safety duties
• Consumer Transparency Documents - price lists, estimates and prescription information as the CMA remedies land

The Practice Standards Scheme Runs on Documents

The RCVS Practice Standards Scheme is voluntary, but accreditation is assessed every four years as a full clinical and regulatory compliance audit, and the module documents are explicit about what must be written down. Core Standards require a health and safety policy known to the whole team, a written complaints policy with records, a biosecurity policy and running reconciliation of controlled drugs.

The scheme's module documents were updated in October 2025, including a new environmental sustainability module, so practices accredited on older paperwork have a gap to close before their next assessment. Accreditation also has a practical perk: the VMD does not routinely inspect premises assessed under the scheme.

Medicines Records the VMD Can Ask For

The VMD's premises registration and inspection regime sits on the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013: receipt and supply records for prescription medicines kept at least five years, an annual detailed stock audit with discrepancies recorded, and storage in line with the label and summary of product characteristics.

Controlled drugs add the register, safe custody and recorded destruction. These are the documents an inspector reads first, and the ones where informal practice diverges from written procedure most often.

The CMA Reforms Arriving From Late 2026

The CMA's market investigation into veterinary services concluded in March 2026 with a remedies package now being turned into legally binding orders. Practices will need to publish comprehensive price lists, give written estimates for treatment over £500, itemise bills, cap written prescription fees at £21 for the first medicine, and tell owners a written prescription could save them money.

Larger groups must also display common ownership, and further measures cover complaints procedures and out-of-hours terms. The remedies take effect in stages once the orders are made, with smaller businesses given extra time, so the practices that fold the requirements into their client-facing documents now will meet the deadlines without a scramble.

Clinic Health and Safety

Veterinary work concentrates an unusual mix of risks: ionising radiation, anaesthetic gases with legally binding exposure limits, sharps, manual handling of animals and zoonoses. Each maps to a document, from HSE registration and local rules for X-ray work to COSHH assessments for gases and chemicals and a zoonoses risk assessment for the whole team.

Our health and safety policies service covers the framework, written around how your practice actually runs rather than a generic clinic template.

What Policy Pros Delivers

Every document is written around your practice: your species mix, your premises, your team structure and the accreditation level you hold or want. You get plain-English documents on professionally branded templates, consistent with each other and ready for an assessor or inspector to read.

• Practice Standards Scheme documentation, from complaints and biosecurity policies to clinical governance procedures
• Medicines SOPs, controlled drugs procedures and record-keeping frameworks
• Health and safety policies, COSHH and radiation documentation
• Client-facing documents ready for the CMA transparency requirements

How to Get Started

Tell us your practice type, your accreditation position and which documents already exist. We will come back with a fixed-price quote and a realistic timescale, usually the same working day.

Get a quote or call 020 3951 2875. If your documents have built up over years, our policy reviewing service can audit the set before anything is rewritten.