Supply veterinary medicines

This standard is about supplying veterinary medicines to meet veterinary patient and veterinary practice requirements.

This will include calculating the correct dosage and dispensing of the medication with instruction and advice to the owner/owner's representative.

This standard is suitable for a Suitably Qualified Person (SQP). Different categories of SQP registration are available and affect the types of animals for which medication can be supplied. The modules available are:

• FAM  – Farm (food producing) animals
• EQM – Equine
• CAM – Companion animals.

An SQP may hold any combination of these.

An SQP can prescribe and/or supply specific categories of product within the scope of their registration, which fall within the following classifications:

• POM-VPS (Prescription Only Medicine - Veterinarian, Pharmacist, SQP)
• NFA-VPS (Non-Food Animal - Veterinarian, Pharmacist, SQP)
• AVM-GSL (Authorised Veterinary Medicine - General Sales List)

1. assess the risks to the health and safety of yourself and colleagues when supplying veterinary medicines
2. obtain information from the owner/owner's representative to allow the required choice of veterinary medication to be made
3. select veterinary medicine to meet the required needs of the veterinary patient
4. supply veterinary medicine according to a written prescription from another Registered Qualified Person (RQP)
5. calculate and dispense the required quantity of veterinary medication, giving advice to clients and customers on dosage and frequency of administration
6. provide labelling according to relevant legislation and the veterinary practice's procedures
7. comply with relevant regulations and legislation relating to the provision of veterinary medication
8. advise the owner/owner's representative on the correct route of administration, as well as the required handling, storage and disposal of veterinary medication
9. store and dispose of veterinary medicines in accordance with relevant legislation and veterinary practice procedures
10. complete and store records of the supply of veterinary medication according to relevant legislation and the veterinary practice's procedures
11. refer owner/owner's representative to a veterinary surgeon when there is any doubt about the diagnosis or where Prescription Only Medicine (POM) may be required
12. carry out your work in accordance with the relevant environmental and health and safety legislations, risk assessment requirements, codes of practice and business policies

1. how to assess the risks to the health and safety of yourself and colleagues when supplying veterinary medicines
2. the information required to enable the appropriate choice of veterinary medication to be made
3. how to calculate dosages, quantities and frequency of administering veterinary medicines
4. how to interpret and verify a written veterinary medicine prescription
5. the importance of confirming the prescribed dosage and the implications of not doing so when supplying the veterinary medication
6. the different presentations of veterinary medication, including the use of proprietary and generic names
7. the relevant legal categories for veterinary medicines and who can dispense them
8. the relevant legal and veterinary practice requirements for the labelling of veterinary medication
9. the different classifications for veterinary pharmacy dispensed medicines
10. the relevant legal requirements and the organisation's procedures for maintaining veterinary practice records
11. the provision and supply of a veterinary prescription for use by another Registered Qualified Person (RQP)
12. the veterinary pharmacy management procedures in relation to access by authorised personnel, stock control, storage and disposal
13. the identification of contraindications, drug reactions, over dosage and how to report suspected adverse reactions in veterinary pateints
14. when to refer the owner/owner's representative to a veterinary surgeon
15. your responsibility under relevant environmental and health and safety legislations, codes of practice and business policies

​RQP – Registered Qualified Person – a veterinary surgeon, a pharmacist or a Suitably Qualified Person (SQP).