The Disciplinary Committee of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has directed that the name of a Grimsby veterinary surgeon should be removed from the RCVS Register.

Mr Joseph Lennox Holmes, of Waltham Veterinary Clinic, Grimsby, faced nine charges relating to two separate complaints, at a two- hearing which commenced in October and resumed in January 2011.

These complaints concerned four consecutive staphylectomies and a tracheostomy that Mr Holmes performed on a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and the dental treatment he gave to three Persian cats.

He was found him guilty of serious professional misconduct for advising and undertaking surgical procedures without sufficient clinical grounds or considering alternative treatments, failing to obtain the informed consent of his clients, undertaking procedures outside his area of competence, failing to refer or discuss the option of referral to a specialist and, failing to provide his patients with adequate pain relief.

Mr Holmes performed a staphylectomy on the Spaniel during dental surgery. He gave the Committee various reasons why he thought the procedure was necessary. However, the Committee accepted the opinion of two expert witnesses Professor Dan Brockman, a specialist in soft tissue surgery at the Royal Veterinary College, and Mr Andrew Ash, a senior veterinary surgeon. The experts stated that there were insufficient clinical grounds for such surgical procedures to be undertaken. The Committee also found Mr Holmes had not adequately considered other treatments, or obtained fully informed consent from the dogs owner for the procedures.