VMD relaxes rules on supply of veterinary medicine
9th Apr 2020 / By Alistair Driver
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) has announced a relaxation of the rules to allow vets to delegate the retail supply of veterinary medicines to internet retailers or wholesale dealers for home delivery to the end user.
The VMD said it has relaxed the enforcement of certain provisions of the Veterinary Medicines Regulations (VMR) in light of the social distancing guidance now in place in response to coronavirus.
The change, announced on Monday, will initially last until April 30, when VMD will review it.
The directorate said it will not issue an improvement notice if there are breaches of the relevant provisions of the regulation during this period.
However, it stressed that, while this is a temporary enforcement policy in relation to specific obligations under the VMR, the regulations continue to apply.
"The VMD may continue to take action to enforce those obligations in cases where the procedures described in the statement are not followed," it said. .
These changes do not affect the existing provisions that allow a veterinary surgeon in exceptional circumstances, for example for animal welfare reasons, to instruct a Wholesale Dealer Authorisation holder to deliver medicines to the client’s premises.