An award-winning specialist Welsh veterinary network established to tackle antibiotic resistance has reached a milestone and is nearing complete Wales-wide veterinary livestock practice coverage.

The Veterinary Prescribing Champion (VPC) network has welcomed an additional 12 vets and four new practices in the last year. The network now has 72 members, covering almost 90 per cent of eligible veterinary livestock practices in Wales and reinforcing its role in promoting responsible antimicrobial use.

The VPC network is part of the Welsh Government funded Arwain DGC programme, led by Mentera, helping vets, farmers, and horse owners in Wales to reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by promoting animal health and productivity, training, the application of new technology, data gathering and analysis, and research.

As antibiotic resistance threatens the health of humans and animals, the World Health Organisation has warned: “without urgent action, we are heading for a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries can once again kill.”

The VPC network is led by Dr Gwen Rees from Aberystwyth University and aims to support vets to prescribe antibiotics responsibly in Welsh farm veterinary practices.

Participating vets receive ongoing training, regular workshops and discussion groups to maintain a unified approach to prudent antimicrobial dispensing within and between veterinary practices – which they then disseminate to their practices. Topics include disease control, health management systems, and behavioural change strategies to drive responsible prescribing.

A significant success of the VPC network has been the participatory development of a voluntary code of conduct and series of clinical guidelines to support practices in their prescribing.

Ruben Vines of Pembrokeshire Farm Vets, one of the network’s newest members, sees the network as “an exciting opportunity to collaborate with other vets and health professionals and drive meaningful change in reducing antimicrobial use.”