Page 5 - RVC4Life - May 2020

RVC & COVID-19: SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES IN A TIME OF CRISIS
Like many universities around the world, the RVC has been adapting and changing in order to meet the needs of our clients, students, staff and more as we come to terms with this new reality imposed by COVID-19.
SUPPORTING THE NHS AND CARE HOMES
Vital PPE has been donated to the NHS and to local hospices, such as St Joseph’s Hospice and Isabel Hospice.
The RVC has also freed up its supply chain to enable more PPE to reach the NHS.
Ventilators from RVC hospitals have also been donated to the NHS. These ventilators are contributing the huge demand for respiratory-supporting equipment needed when treating the most serious and critical cases.
SUPPORTING COVID-19 TESTING
RVC scientists are helping in the
“This has been an incredible year to be President of the RVC Students’ Union. I have seen first-hand the determination, resilience and comradery of RVC students; especially given the global situation we are all facing. These are difficult times for all and studying given these circumstances can be a challenge.
fight with technological expertise, volunteering to aid testing with the inactivation of sputum and nasal swab samples in the high containment laboratories at The Francis Crick Institute. RVC scientists that are experienced and qualified in mask fitting are also being drafted to help in North London hospitals.
SUPPORTING RESEARCH
Research staff, particularly members of the One Health Poultry Hub, are contributing to global research and understanding of COVID-19.
Dirk Pfeiffer (Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology) and Dr Guillaume Fournié (Senior Research Fellow) are working on a version of their open-access Epidemix App, allowing visual exploration of trends relating to the disease’s transmission.
Professor Pfeiffer is a member of a World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Advisory Group on COVID-19,
which produced a document presenting current knowledge on the role of animals in the emergence of the coronavirus and identifies research priorities at the human-animal interface.
Oliver Pybus (Professor of Infectious Diseases) of the RVC and the University of Oxford is part of the UK rapid-response team for coronavirus genomics. The group are supporting teams in Beijing and Guandong province, China, to understand the impact of the interventions undertaken there, and they have also led the establishment of a global epidemiological database.
SUPPORTING PET OWNERS
Our clinical facilities have had to scale back their work but are providing essential emergency cover to other local practices. To maintain social distancing, pet owners are not currently able visit hospitalised patients. We are reacting to new guidance as we receive it, and are publishing the latest guidance on our website for pet owners and clients to follow.
SUPPORTING THE FUTURE
To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, lecturers have taken the classroom online, where students are studying at home through re-imagined teaching methods ensuring that they continue to receive the best education possible and can be certified by accrediting bodies after graduating (more on pages 3-4).
This has drastically reduced the number of people on our campuses., but these important measures have been set up aiming to reduce the impact on the whole of the RVC community. We are remaining flexible as the guidance changes, and hope to welcome students, staff, clients and the rest of the community back to our campuses when it is safe to do so.
“The ways we study have changed; and
how we interact as a community has
changed too. It makes me proud to see
how the students have come together to support each other; sports clubs sharing virtual exercise classes, societies welcoming everyone to their virtual seminars and activities, students sharing their positivity amongst each other and coming together when it means the most.
“RVCSU will continue to be here for RVC students, whatever the weather.”
Jade Urquhart-Gilmore, President, RVC SU
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