Set up in April 2015, Iechyd Da is made up of 40 independent veterinary practices operating across the area of South Wales together with Welsh Lamb and Beef Producers Ltd, an agricultural cooperative with around 8000 Welsh farmer members.

Aims and Objectives

The aims and objectives of the Company is to promote and deliver veterinary related services including in particular the provision of TB testing services to government in England and Wales.

Background

The key aims of the new approach to the supply of Official Veterinary services in Wales to:

• Establish contracts through an open competitive public procurement process;
• Improve the quality of TB testing, and thus better support TB control and eradication;
• Enable the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to better address poor performance by establishing clear sanctions in the contracts;
• Demonstrate value for money for Government funded Official Veterinarian (OV) services;
• Ensure Official Veterinarian charges for TB testing reflect the true market costs of delivery;
• Address the risk of legal challenge inherent on the current approach to purchasing OV services;
• Deliver a flexible package of veterinary services to Government which can adapt to meet current and future needs;
• Require suppliers to work through digital channels with APHA in particular through use of APHA’s core IT system (SAM);
• Strengthen animal health and welfare in Wales by improving outbreak resilience.