The Moredun Research Institute has made a strong pitch to become the home of Scotland’s new central veterinary surveillance laboratory.
Speaking to the agricultural press ahead of the release of the institute’s annual report, chief executive Julie Fitzpatrick took the chance to point out the benefits of using facilities which already exist at the Moredun site.
Professor Fitzpatrick has been widely admired over the years for her tenacity and determination to keep the Moredun as a pre-eminent force in the science of animal health.
Her point has always been that although the institute may be small in global terms, it has the ability to deliver top-class services.
The need for a centralised veterinary surveillance laboratory was identified in the Kinnaird Report of 2011.
Compiled under the chairmanship of former NFU Scotland president John Kinnaird and presented to Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochead, the report made a number of fundamental recommendations aimed at improving veterinary surveillance, one of the most critical being the need for a central laboratory to eventually replace the eight currently in operation around the country.
Prof Fitzpatrick, who clearly has the backing of Moredun Foundation chairman Ian Duncan Millar, made a strong case for the new laboratory to be sited at Moredun.
A large, secure laboratory space previously used for BSE testing is available, and infrastructure modifications would be minimal compared to building a new laboratory on a greenfield site.
Moredun also has scientific staff available with the skills required for diagnostic work.
The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratory Agency (AHLVA) already uses the diagnostic facilities at Moredun.
“We suggest that Scottish Rural College (SRUC) staff should also use this existing facility for centralised diagnostics so that staff may share resources to the benefit of both the tax payer and the livestock-owning communities,” said Prof Fitzpatrick.
“This initiative would bring significant cost savings as there would be no requirement for funding of new specialised infrastructure that would replicate existing facilities.
“The number of administrative, support and laboratory staff could be optimised over time for all three surveillance organisations SRUC, AHVLA and MRI with a reduction in recurrent costs,” she said.
“Another benefit would be that specialised veterinary and animal science staff involved in diagnostics would be located on a single site, which will produce savings in the longer term.
“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.
“Succession planning and training of specialised staff would therefore be easier, and the sustainability of surveillance underpinned.
“Specialised laboratory facilities are available at the Moredun Research Institute in the same building, including those for pathology, detection of parasites, viruses, bacteria, prions, affecting livestock, avian, and equine species.”
It is no doubt a strong case but there is sure to be competition, and some of it from just a stone’s throw away from the Moredun’s home at the Pentland Science Centre at Bush south of Edinburgh.
The Kinnaird Report certainly mentioned Moredun as the home for the new laboratory, but it also suggested the Edinburgh (Royal Dick) Veterinary School which is also at Bush.
The Roslin Institute is only a mile away, as is Edinburgh University bioscience centre.
Glasgow Vet School may also be interested, and of course SRUC and its SAC Veterinary Consulting division already have an interest as operators of the present regional veterinary laboratories.
The Kinnaird Report suggested that these laboratories, including one at Perth, should not be closed immediately and that they should continue to offer post-mortem facilities, with samples then being sent to the central laboratory for diagnosis.
The two-year time lag since the presentation of the Kinnaird Report may have suggested to the casual onlooker that it had been shelved, but it appears that is not the case.
Mr Lochhead has decisions to make quite soon.
The MRI team clearly want to be part of the solution when it comes to improved veterinary surveillance.