Although the past year has been a tricky one for many, let's start with a big positive - there remains plenty of great tax-saving opportunities for the veterinary profession as we move through the Covid-19 pandemic. In this article, I give a flavour of some of the tax changes that have been announced so far in 2021, and what they mean for the profession going forward.

The Covid-19 pandemic created the most urgent platform for change that the veterinary profession has ever seen. Every business in every sector throughout the world was forced to simultaneously redesign itself from the ground up against a singular overriding imperative - social distancing. As human safety became the priority, established systems, processes and operating models were torn apart and hastily replaced. This article illustrates how using efficiency models can help practices recover and redefine their working models following the pandemic.

In 2020, we were introduced to a new reality. Nobody could have predicted the scale of the global Covid-19 pandemic, with all the changes it entailed and the upheavals to not only the way we work, but the way in which we interact with each other. The pandemic has highlighted some key learning points about how to function as a team, not just in an increasingly virtual world, but in an ever-changing work environment. A year on from when the pandemic first hit, let's look at how we can apply these to our future ways of working, focusing on the aspects of the past year that have been good, bad and ugly.

The role of personal resilience in maintaining psychological wellbeing is now more important than ever. No matter what your role is in practice, you are still susceptible to making that unfortunate transition from feeling pressure (which comes with the job) to feeling stressed. The Covid-19 pandemic has made these issues more acute, so it's worth taking time out to think about how you can preserve and enhance your mental health going forward.

Paresis and paralysis are uncommon problems in sheep but are likely to prompt farmers to seek veterinary advice. A thorough and logical approach can aid in determining the cause of the problem and highlighting the benefit of veterinary involvement. While this may not necessarily alter the prognosis for an individual animal, it can help in formulating preventive measures and avoid the costs - both in economic and in welfare terms - of misdirected treatment. Distinguishing between central and peripheral lesions is most important, as the relative prognoses are markedly different, and this can often be achieved with minimal equipment. This article describes an approach to performing a neurological examination of the ovine trunk and limbs, the ancillary tests available and the common and important causes of paresis and paralysis in sheep.

Veterinary surgeons provide an important service to blind and partially sighted guide dog owners. By adopting basic disability awareness and visual impairment training, practices can ensure that the assistance needs of those clients are met, facilitating access to veterinary care.