Veterinary Medicines Directorate For animal health products

Veterinary Medicines Directorate
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate gives information on the responsibilities and safe and effective use of veterinary medicines. If you have had or the animal has had a adverse reaction to the licensed product used you can report a suspected adverse reaction or a side effect involving a veterinary medicine by using a form through the website to do so. The VMD adverse reaction reporting scheme is used to collect information from veterinary professionals and the general public on suspected adverse reactions to veterinary medicines. The VMD collect both licensed and unlicensed veterinary medicines and human medicines used to treat animals. The information that is provided through the form can help to improve the safe and effective use of veterinary medicines.
You can also get Animal Health Product information from the information database.
A copy of the code of practice is available on the VMD website for all rules and regulations which need to be complied with.

Adverse Reaction Form
If you need to report an adverse reaction that you have seen please click on the following link to the form.

Link to the Adverse Reaction Reporting Form

Product Infomation Database
Please find a link below to view infomation about products that we have listed on our website, on this link you will find details of all veterinary medicinal products currently authorised in the UK together with a list of suspended and recently expired products. Homeopathic products and Specified Feed Additives are also listed.

Link to the Product Information Database

Sale of Animal Medicines

Rules Governing the Sale of Animal Medicines
Veterinary Medicinal Products in the UK can only be supplied and prescribed by a Registered Qualified Person (RQP) - Veterinarian, Pharmacist or Suitably Qualified Person (SQP) and from premises approved by the Secretary of State can only supply them. Prescription Only Animal Medicines available from Wessex Animal health are prescribed and supplied to you by a Suitably Qualified Person (SQP).

To be able to supply a product to a customer a Suitably Qualified Person must first prescribe the product, the act of prescription is taken to be the decision made by the Suitably Qualified Person as to which product should be supplied taking the following into consideration:

The available veterinary medicinal products that are authorised
The competence of the person who will by administering the product to the animal
The circumstances of the holding and the animals being treated
The requirement for the person receiving the product to use it for an authorised use according to the marketing authorisation
The responsible use of the medicines and the requirement to prescribe the minimum amount of product necessary (subject to the minimum pack size manufactured and any authority to break bulk in the regulations)
Any available animal health plans

Prescribing a Regulated Product

When prescribing a regulated product the SQP must always:

Be satisfied that the person who will use the product is competent to use it safely and that they are using the product for an authorised use
Give advice on any warnings or contra-indications on the label or package leaflet
Provide advice on the safe administration of the product
The SQP may only supply the product specified in that prescription and must take all reasonable steps to ensure that it is supplied to the person named in the prescription

In the case of a sheep dip product, be satisfied that the product is supplied only to a person (or person acting on his behalf) who holds a certificate of competence in the Safe Use of Sheep Dips issued in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by the National Proficiency Tests Council or the NPTC part of the City and Guilds Group or in Scotland by one of these organisations or the Scottish Skills Testing Service. The supply of sheep dip must be made in accordance with the legislative requirements, including, for OP dips, the supply of protective gloves and the laminated notice contained within the regulations.

When supplying sheep dip products it is considered to be good practice for the SQP to recommend that the purchaser refer to the leaflet Sheep Dipping (AS29.rev3) which is available on the Health & Safety Executive Website (www.hse.gov.uk). This describes safe working practice and safe disposal.

It is a legal requirement that all SQPs who prescribe a product record the following information relating to all customer transactions. These records must be kept at the approved premises and made available on request by an inspector authorised under the Animal Medicines regulations.

The date
The name of the product
The batch number
The quantity
The name and address of the recipient