Which SOPs Does a UK Veterinary Practice Need?

Short answer: A UK veterinary practice needs written procedures wherever law or the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme (PSS) expects them: controlled drugs storage and recording, radiation local rules (IRR17), medicines temperature monitoring, infectious case isolation, health and safety, and complaints. The PSS is voluntary, but its Core Standards mainly reflect legal requirements.

This post was checked on 7 October 2026. It draws on the PSS Small Animal Modules and Awards, version 3.4 (October 2025), the current version on the RCVS website when we checked. Equine and farm animal modules are separate documents and differ in places. Where we say "PSS Core" or "PSS GP", we mean the Core Standards or General Practice level of the small animal modules. Rules on medicines and radiation differ in places in Northern Ireland; check local guidance there.

Are SOPs a legal requirement for vet practices?

Some written documents are required by law, some by the PSS if you're accredited, and the rest are good practice. Few laws use the word "SOP", so it helps to separate the three.

• Law: for example, the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 for controlled drugs, the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 (amended in 2024) for medicines records, the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (IRR17) for X-ray work, and health and safety law. In 2026 a new layer arrived: the Competition and Markets Authority's Veterinary Services Market Investigation Order.
• PSS: the RCVS calls the scheme "a voluntary accreditation for UK veterinary practices", with assessments every four years. Its Core Standards "reflect mainly legal requirements which must be met in running a veterinary practice, together with guidance as set out in the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct." Higher levels (General Practice, Emergency Service Clinic, Veterinary Hospital) add more.
• Good practice: written procedures that reduce errors even where nobody requires them.

Which written procedures does a UK vet practice need?

The table below lists the main ones, with where the requirement comes from. "Required" means required by the source named; it doesn't mean other practices are exempt from the underlying law.

What does a controlled drugs SOP need to cover?

PSS Core Standard 10.1.15 requires "SOPs for storage and recording of Controlled Drugs," and 10.1.14 requires a full audit and reconciliation of all Schedule 2 CDs. The PSS guidance expects running totals to be kept and stock checks "carried out at least weekly."

The PSS guidance says the SOPs should include who has access to controlled drugs, who is responsible for checking stock against the register, and who to alert if there's a discrepancy. It calls it good practice to also cover ordering, receipt, supply and disposal, and changing codes on keypad safes.

The legal background, from the PSS and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD):

• Schedule 2 and certain Schedule 3 CDs must be kept in a secure, lockable, immovable receptacle that only a vet, or someone they authorise, can open (PSS 10.1.12).
• The Schedule 2 register must be kept for at least two years after the date of the last entry (VMD guidance).
• In Great Britain, Schedule 2 stock must be destroyed in the presence of an authorised witness: a VMD inspector, an independent veterinary surgeon, or a person authorised under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations such as a Police CD Liaison Officer. In Northern Ireland, the VMD says only authorised inspectors may witness.
• If you denature CDs before disposal, the PSS says you need a T28 exemption from the Environment Agency.

What does IRR17 require if the practice takes X-rays?

IRR17 requires the employer to register with HSE, carry out a radiation risk assessment, appoint a radiation protection adviser (RPA), and set written local rules with an appointed radiation protection supervisor (RPS). The relevant regulations are 6 (registration), 8 (risk assessment), 14 (RPA), 15 (information, instruction and training) and 18 (local rules and RPS).

The PSS Core Standards (5.1.2–5.1.14) turn that into what assessors will check:

• Evidence of HSE registration.
• A letter appointing an RPA with veterinary experience, and the last RPA report with evidence that recommendations were followed.
• A written appointment of one or more RPSs. The PSS notes HSE requires an RPS to have had relevant radiation protection training within the last five years.
• A risk assessment, reviewed annually or sooner after material changes.
• Written local rules approved by the RPA, displayed in or near each X-ray area, containing at least the name of the RPS, the controlled area, the dose investigation level, the contingency plan, written arrangements, the RPS's duties and how entry to the controlled area is restricted. Clinical staff involved in radiography sign to say they've read and understood them.

What changed for vet practices in 2026?

The CMA's Veterinary Services Market Investigation Order 2026 applies to businesses operating first opinion practices for household pets, with some parts also applying to referral centres, out-of-hours providers and crematoria. GOV.UK says the Order was made in September 2026. Charities providing small animal services are excluded.

Several of its requirements need written procedures or policies. Deadlines run from when the Order is in place and depend on size: "larger" means 15 or more first opinion practices.

These are summaries from the GOV.UK guidance. Read the Order itself for the exact wording before you rewrite your procedures.

What counts as clinical governance in a vet practice?

PSS Core Standard 2.1.1 says "Veterinary surgeons must ensure that clinical governance forms part of their professional activities." The guidance describes it as reflecting on cases, analysing and improving practice, and drawing up "protocols, guidelines and checklists" from the best available evidence, then monitoring them through clinical audit, significant event reviews and benchmarking. At GP level, PSS 2.2.4 expects evidence of at least one of clinical audit, significant event audit or morbidity and mortality meetings.

So clinical protocols themselves, such as how your practice manages a blocked cat or a GDV, are mostly good practice rather than legal requirements. They're also where consistency between vets matters most. At GP level, the PSS expects evidence of practice guidelines and protocols, with copies available for new team members and locum induction (2.2.2–2.2.3). Even at Core level, 2.1.2 expects referral protocols that are regularly reviewed and known to the team.

How should a practice write and keep its SOPs?

1. List what you must have first. Start from the table above and your own PSS level.
2. One SOP per task, one page where possible. Owner, date and review date on each.
3. Write with the people who do the task. The head nurse for isolation, the RPS for local rules, the clinical director for CDs.
4. Name the rule behind it. "Why do we check the CD register weekly?" should have an answer on the page.
5. Train and record it. The PSS asks for evidence of training in several modules.
6. Review on change. New equipment, new drugs, an RPA report, a significant event or a new law, as with the CMA Order in 2026.

How can the team find the right SOP during a shift?

Most SOP failures happen because the right page can't be found at the right moment. With your SOPs, local rules and clinical protocols uploaded to Verika or synced from Google Drive or SharePoint, a nurse can ask "who do I tell about a CD discrepancy?" by voice or text and Verika answers from your controlled drugs SOP, naming it. If your documents don't cover the question, Verika says so instead of guessing and logs it for your clinical director to answer once. Verika answers only from your own documents; it doesn't carry veterinary regulations itself. More on our veterinary page, or try it with your own SOPs.

Sources

1. RCVS, "Practice Standards Scheme" (voluntary accreditation, four-yearly assessment). https://www.rcvs.org.uk/practice-standards-scheme/
2. RCVS, PSS Small Animal Modules and Awards, version 3.4 (October 2025), modules 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 16. https://www.rcvs.org.uk/sites/default/files/2026-05/Small%20Animal%20Modules%20and%20Awards%20v3.4.pdf
3. The Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (SI 2017/1075), regulations 5–8, 14, 15 and 18. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/1075/contents/made
4. Veterinary Medicines Directorate, "Controlled drugs: recording, using, storing and disposal", GOV.UK, updated 5 August 2025. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/controlled-drugs-recording-using-storing-and-disposal
5. The Veterinary Medicines (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/567). https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/567/regulation/1/made
6. Competition and Markets Authority, "What veterinary businesses and vets need to do following the CMA's final vets report", GOV.UK, updated 22 September 2026. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-veterinary-businesses-and-vets-need-to-do-following-the-cmas-final-vets-report