27 Jul 2023
A vet who was struck off two years ago has lost his bid to return to the RCVS register after a disciplinary panel decided to adjudicate on the case in his absence.
Allister Webb
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Image © stadtratte / Fotolia
A former vet has lost his bid to return to the RCVS register after a disciplinary panel concluded there was “no basis” for the request to be granted.
A hearing to consider the application by Andrew Michael Dobson went ahead in his absence after he failed to attend, without giving an explanation.
A report of the case, which has been published on the college’s website, said the committee accepted legal advice that it could proceed to adjudicate on the application.
The panel also argued that a postponement “was unlikely to secure his attendance in the future”.
Mr Dobson was struck off two years ago after a disciplinary panel concluded he had carried out an act of veterinary certification at a practice in Essex while off the register. He had previously been removed for non-payment of his annual retention fee.
He was also deemed to have failed to have adequate professional indemnity insurance in place, as well as not properly responding to requests for information from the college.
The committee was told that the last contact between Mr Dobson and the college was in an email in early June, which appeared to show he had accepted the findings of the original disciplinary process.
But they concluded there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate either remorse or insight into his failings, attempts to keep his CPD up to date or that he would not pose a risk to animal welfare.
Speaking after the hearing, committee chairperson Paul Morris said he and his colleagues had no evidence “of any value or substance” to support the application.
He added: “There is no basis on which the committee could conclude that the applicant is fit to return to unrestricted practice.
“In turn, there is no basis on which the committee could conclude that it is in the public interest that this applicant’s name be restored to the register.
“It is of importance to the profession and to members of the public that restorations to the register should only occur when the applicant has established by clear evidence that the criteria which are set out in the public documents produce by the college have been satisfied.”
