27 Sept 2024
University of Glasgow senior lecturer David Reader argued the competition regulator’s current review may not be sufficient to examine all of its problems.
Allister Webb
Job Title
A law academic has warned that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation of veterinary service provision may not be sufficient to fully examine the sector’s present problems.
The CMA is expected to deliver its final report on companion animal services late next year, following an 18-month market investigation.
But, although he praised some aspects of its approach to the sector, University of Glasgow senior lecturer David Reader argued the case for even more detailed work during a discussion in Aberystwyth of the current veterinary “crisis”.
He told the 20 September event: “It’s very clear to me just how much a holistic examination of this profession is needed.”
Dr Reader, who specialises in competition law, is working with University of East Anglia lecturer Scott Summers on a research project examining the impact of corporate and private equity-supported practice acquisitions.
He suggested the latter may become an area of interest for the CMA, the scope of whose investigation he and Dr Summers have previously praised as “ambitious and to be commended”.
Their published response to the CMA’s issues statement acknowledged the potential for “certain types of corporate influence” to benefit consumers.
But it warned that “documentary and anecdotal evidence we have encountered points towards a practice of corporate owners exerting more direct influence over how veterinary practitioners approach interactions with pet owners.
“The prevalence of this is unclear, but we anticipate that the market investigation will be well-placed to shed light on the nature of influence, and whether it has the potential to result in adverse outcomes for pet owners.”
The submission opposed what it described as the CMA’s current “owner agnostic” stance, arguing that an alternative approach would put the inquiry in “a stronger position” to consider the extent of private equity impact.
The pair also revealed they are investigating the evidence base for claims that corporate staff are encouraged to promote “more profitable courses of diagnosis and treatment” to clients, and warned of major consequences if that was the case.
They wrote: “If this form of overt and direct influence has any prevalence in the sector, professional autonomy is potentially compromised, along with the confidence of veterinary practitioners to exercise free and independent judgement when offering recommendations, advice and guidance to pet owners.”
The document further warned that while all pet owners may be vulnerable to market forces within the sector, some specific groups may “struggle to engage with the market effectively and, in extreme cases, are unable to access veterinary services at all”.
Dr Summers told the Aberystwyth session: “There are things here that don’t seem right with the market.”
Dr Reader also highlighted the finding of the PDSA’s Paw Report that a third of pet owners had made personal cost savings to prioritise their animals as a sign of the market’s challenges, although he argued there was little sign of a delay in owners seeking care.
He went on to suggest that having climbed to an estimated 60% of all UK practices by last year, the impact of corporate ownership may have reached a peak.
However, he then cautioned: “It may not be easy to undo the harm that has already been done.”
He further praised the CMA’s “innovative” approach of investigating multiple practice acquisitions by the same prospective corporate buyer at the same time, rather than individual purchases, in the years immediately prior to the launch of the review process last September.
