TT,
Of course the bit at the end is the key
'Columns headed in italics relate to information which is NOT a statutory requirement ' and ‘These are general guidance notes only, and cannot be taken as an authoritative view of the law’.
So five of the columns are not needed even on their interpretation.
Much of the other info is either not required by law, or not required to be kept in this form. For instance there is no requirement for telephone numbers, email addresses, holding no.’s etc. to be in medical records. Nor do purchases of medicines have to be put in books, you merely need to keep proof of purchase eg receipts, or note how disposed of so apart from disposals page 1 is not a legal requirement at all!
Whilst I would not want to put people off keeping these records, and indeed it will help on an inspection to have a page which records all your purchases, as usual officialdom likes to frighten people rather than take a sensible approach.
For the anal among you, the relevant bits of legislation are below:
The Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013
Para 17
17. The keeper of a food-producing animal must keep proof of purchase of all veterinary medicinal products acquired for the animal (or, if they were not bought, documentary evidence of how they were acquired).
18. A veterinary surgeon who administers a veterinary medicinal product to a food-producing animal must either enter the following information personally in the keeper’s records or give it to the keeper in writing (in which case the keeper must enter the following into those records)—
(a)the name of the veterinary surgeon;
(b)the name of the product and the batch number;
(c)the date of administration of the product;
(d)the amount of product administered;
(e)the identification of the animals treated; and
(f)the withdrawal period.
19. (1) When a veterinary medicinal product is bought or otherwise acquired for a food-producing animal the keeper must, at the time, record—
(a)the name of the product and the batch number;
(b)the date of acquisition;
(c)the quantity acquired; and
(d)the name and address of the supplier.
(2) At the time of administration (unless the administration is by a veterinary surgeon in which case the record must be in accordance with regulation 18) the keeper must record—
(a)the name of the product;
(b)the date of administration;
(c)the quantity administered;
(d)the withdrawal period; and
(e)the identification of the animals treated.
(3) A keeper who disposes of any or all of the veterinary medicinal product other than by treating an animal must record—
(a)the date of disposal;
(b)the quantity of product involved; and
(c)how and where it was disposed of.
20. The keeper of a food-producing animal must keep the documentation on the acquisition of a veterinary medicinal product and the records relating to the product for at least five years following the administration or other disposal of the product, irrespective of whether or not the animal concerned is no longer in that keeper’s possession or has been slaughtered or has died during that period.
The method of keeping of records comes under The Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) Regulations 1997 under section 32 which states
(7) The requirement in paragraph (4) above to keep records in a legible form is not to be taken to prevent their being kept by means of computer.
(8 Where a record is so kept, the duty under paragraph (5) above to produce it for inspection, is a duty to produce it in a form in which it can be taken away.