Scotland’s animal disease diagnostic facilities should be centralised on one site to offer farmers and vets a better service and deliver long term efficiencies, the boss of one of the UK’s foremost livestock research facilities said yesterday.
Professor Julie Fitzpatrick of Edinburgh’s Moredun Research Institute, delivered her plea just days after the AHVLA animal health and veterinary laboratories agency said it would close half of its post-mortem examination centres in England and Wales.
A report by former NFU Scotland president John Kinnaird two years ago recommended a phased reduction in the eight centres run by rural college SRUC at Aberdeen, Ayr, Dumfries, Edinburgh, Inverness, Perth, St Boswells and Thurso.
A specialist group was set up by the Scottish Government in response to those findings, but 19 months on it has still to deliver its findings.
Moredun’s call could well be seen as attempting to influence the outcome of that long awaited second report.
Prof Fitzpatrick said diagnostics staff from SRUC should move to the Moredun’s site on the Pentlands Science Park, where it has shared facilities for the last 15 years with the AHVLA’s Lasswade national poultry disease centre. Prof Fitzpatrick maintained there was considerable potential to do much more from one already well-invested specialised site that made best use of veterinary and animal science staff and which delivered for the taxpayer and livestock farmers.
SRUC’s facilities at the nearby Bush Estate required investment.
Staff on one site could share resources. It could also secure the service, allow for succession planning and make staff training easier.
“Specialised laboratory facilities are available at the Moredun Research Institute in the same building, including those for pathology, detection of parasites, viruses, bacteria and prions which affect livestock, avian and equine species,” said Prof Fitzpatrick.
“There are also incineration and post-mortem facilities here. We have reception laboratories, laboratories which offer general diagnostics and general laboratories.”
“Reporting could be undertaken by a team approach by the three surveillance organisations to ensure rapid and cost-effective communications with animal keepers, veterinary practitioners, government, and national and international bodies.”
SRUC said with the recommendations of the Kinnaird report still under review any decisions about the future location of a central testing facility would need to made in that context.
A spokesman added: “It is also important that any future direction is established by the Scottish Government’s strategic management board, taking into account associated stakeholders.”