Veterinary Surgeons Under Investigation

Veterinary Surgeons are regulated by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS).

Roles of the RCVS include: overseeing the education of UK veterinary students, the registration of UK and overseas veterinary graduates as well as the fitness to practice of veterinary surgeons.  Veterinary surgeons are regulated in accordance with the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966.

Within its Code of Professional Conduct, the RCVS sets out the professional responsibilities of a veterinary surgeon and the standard that is expected of them. There are five principles of practice which every veterinary surgeon must maintain, a failure to do so, will result in a veterinary surgeon being investigated with a possible sanction of strike off, suspension of up to two years or receiving a final reprimand. The five core principles that a veterinary surgeon must follow are:

1. Professional competence
2. Honesty and integrity
3. Independence and impartiality
4. Client confidentiality and trust
5. Professional accountability

If you are a veterinary surgeon and concerns are raised about your fitness to practise, whether this be from a client, third party or a self-report, there are three possible stages to an investigation.

Stage 1: The matter will be investigated by a Stage 1 Preliminary Investigation Committee. This committee is made up of at least three members, which will include one veterinary surgeon and one lay member. The committee will review the matter and can decide one of the possible outcomes:

1. The matter is closed with no further action
2. The matter is closed with formal advice provided
3. The matter needs to be progressed to stage 2 for further investigation

Stage 2: once the matter has been sent to stage 2, the Stage 2 Preliminary Investigation Committee will seek further information which could include expert reports. Once the review is complete, the committee will then decide if there is a realistic prospect that the veterinary surgeon’s conduct affects their fitness to practice, and it is in the public interest to do so, they will progress the matter to stage 3. However, if they determine that the conduct does not affect the veterinary surgeon’s fitness to practise, they can decide to do one of the following:

1. close the matter with no further action
2. close the matter and issue formal advice
3. refer the case to the Charter Case Committee for a warning

Stage 3: Disciplinary Committee Hearing. This is a hearing in public to determine whether the veterinary surgeon is guilty of serious professional misconduct. If found guilty, the veterinary surgeon will receive one of the following sanctions:

1. A formal reprimand,
2. Suspension for up to two years,
3. Struck off the register.

Recently Veterinary Surgeon Siew Loong Ng was found to have breached RCVS’s standards in more than 50 instances since 2020. Breaches included but were not limited to: Failure to ensure a dog’s wound was adequately cleaned prior to surgery, Failure to provide adequate analgesia, Failure to maintain adequate clinical records, Failure to take adequate steps in relation to a dog’s deteriorating condition following surgery, and Carrying out surgeries without any adequate training assistance. In June 2025, the Disciplinary Committee concluded that Mr Ng’s behaviour was “fundamentally incompatible with being a veterinary surgeon” and directed that Mr Ng be struck off from the Register. Mr Ng has lodged an appeal against the Disciplinary Committee decision with the Privy Council and he remains on the Register pending the outcome of the appeal.

If you are a Veterinary Surgeon and have received a letter from the RCVS, please get in touch with our Professional Regulatory team for an initial discussion on how we can assist.