SQPs, AMTRA and What You Can Buy Over the Counter
Every one of our eight field representatives is a qualified SQP, and there is a qualified SQP in every McCaskie store — our counter staff are either qualified or working towards it. That is what lets you walk in for a wormer, a fluke drench or most vaccines and walk out with them, without a vet visit first.
What an SQP Can Do
An SQP — Suitably Qualified Person — is someone qualified and registered to prescribe and supply certain veterinary medicines without being a vet or a pharmacist. AMTRA, who hold the register, prefer the term Registered Animal Medicines Advisor, or RAMA, because it describes the job better. The two mean the same thing, and SQP is still the term in the Regulations, so you will see both.
In practice it means three things at a McCaskie counter.
You Can Buy Without a Vet Visit
Most farm and equine wormers, fluke drenches and a number of vaccines are POM-VPS, which an SQP is entitled to prescribe. No appointment, no prescription charge, no waiting.
You Get Advice With It
That entitlement comes with an obligation. An SQP has to advise on the choice of medicine and on using it safely and effectively — which is the part that stops the wrong product going out of the door.
You Get the Same Person Twice
There is an SQP in every store and all eight representatives are SQPs — and the staff behind the counter are either qualified already or working towards it — so the person who sold you the last one can look at what happened before selling you the next.
What an SQP cannot do. Anything marked POM-V. That category is the vet’s, and no SQP qualification extends to it — antibiotics being the obvious example. If what you need is POM-V, we will tell you so rather than sell you something else.
The Four Letters on Every Box
Every authorised veterinary medicine in the UK carries a distribution category, and it is the only reliable way to know who is allowed to sell you it. It is printed on the packaging.
| POM-V | Prescription Only Medicine – Veterinarian Your vet prescribes and supplies it. An SQP cannot, whatever the animal. |
|---|---|
| POM-VPS | Prescription Only Medicine – Veterinarian, Pharmacist, SQP An SQP can prescribe and supply. Most farm and equine wormers, fluke drenches and a number of vaccines sit here. |
| NFA-VPS | Non-Food Animal – Veterinarian, Pharmacist, SQP Non-food animals only, and no prescription needed — but it still has to be supplied by a vet, a pharmacist or an SQP. |
| AVM-GSL | Authorised Veterinary Medicine – General Sales List No restriction. These are the ones anybody may sell. |
Which category a specific product falls into is a matter of record rather than opinion — it is in the VMD’s Product Information Database and in the NOAH Compendium, and it is on the box in your hand.
Why We Ask You Questions First
If it feels as though there are more questions at the counter than there used to be, there are, and it is not us being awkward.
The Veterinary Medicines (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2024 came into force on 17 May 2024, with some parts following on 17 November. The change that shows up at a trade counter is this: where a POM-VPS medicine is prescribed verbally rather than against a written prescription — which is the great majority of what an SQP does — the SQP now has to record the reason for prescribing it. Not just what was sold and to whom. Why.
So the questions about which stock, what weight, what you used last time and what you saw are the record being made properly. Those records are kept for five years and have to be available for inspection. The same Regulations also created a new offence for anyone trying to have a single-use prescription filled more than once.
It is worth coming prepared. Stock numbers, approximate weights, what you treated with last and when, and anything you have had tested. Five minutes of that at the counter is what turns a sale into advice, and it is the difference between a product that works and a product that was in stock.
Who AMTRA Are, and Why It Matters
AMTRA is the not-for-profit body that has held the register of animal medicines advisors since 1986. It is appointed by the Secretary of State to keep that register, which carries the obligations that go with it: a Code of Practice, a mandatory system of continuing professional development, and a disciplinary process with sanctions that run from a letter of guidance to permanent removal from the register. There are about 6,000 SQPs on it.
The practical point for a customer is that an SQP’s qualification is not a one-off certificate. It has to be kept current, it is auditable, and it can be taken away. AMTRA publish the register, and the VMD publish it alongside the list of approved SQP retailer premises, so it can be checked.
The Qualification Categories
An SQP qualifies at Higher Education Level 4 or above by passing a Base module and then between one and three species modules — farm animal (FAM), equine (EQM), companion animal (CAM) and avian (AVM). Which modules they hold decides what they are entitled to prescribe, and that is what the category letter on the register means.
| Category | Modules passed | May prescribe for |
|---|---|---|
| R | FAM + EQM + CAM | All VPS medicines |
| G | FAM + EQM | Farm animals and equines only |
| K | FAM + CAM | Farm and companion animals |
| E | EQM + CAM | Equine and companion animals only |
| L | FAM | Farm animals only |
| J | EQM | Equine animals only |
| C | CAM | Companion animals |
| A | AVM | Avian animals only |
| CA | CAM + AVM | Companion and avian only |
| JA | EQM + AVM | Equine and avian only |
| EA | CAM + EQM + AVM | Companion, equine and avian only |
Why this table is here. Farm animal cover is not the same as equine cover, and neither covers the dog. If you keep more than one kind of stock it is a fair question to ask which modules the person serving you holds — and a reasonable answer is the mark of someone doing the job properly.
Questions About SQPs and Animal Medicines
Can I buy wormer without a prescription from a vet?
For most farm and equine wormers, yes. They are classified POM-VPS, which means an SQP can prescribe and supply them. There is a qualified SQP in every McCaskie store and all eight of our field representatives are SQPs — and our counter staff are either qualified or working towards it — so no vet appointment is needed. Anything classified POM-V is your vet's, and an SQP cannot supply it.
What is the difference between an SQP and a RAMA?
Nothing. SQP, or Suitably Qualified Person, is the term used in the Veterinary Medicines Regulations. RAMA, or Registered Animal Medicines Advisor, is the term AMTRA prefer because it describes the role better. You will see both, and they mean the same person.
What do POM-V, POM-VPS, NFA-VPS and AVM-GSL mean?
They are the four distribution categories printed on UK veterinary medicine packaging. POM-V can only be prescribed and supplied by a vet. POM-VPS can be prescribed and supplied by a vet, a pharmacist or an SQP. NFA-VPS is for non-food animals and needs no prescription but still has to be supplied by one of those three. AVM-GSL has no restriction.
Why does the shop ask so many questions before selling me a medicine?
Because since 17 May 2024 it has had to. Under the Veterinary Medicines (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2024, where a POM-VPS medicine is prescribed verbally rather than against a written prescription, the SQP must record the reason for prescribing it, not only what was supplied. Those records are kept for five years and must be available for inspection.
Does an SQP have to keep their qualification up to date?
Yes. AMTRA operate a mandatory system of continuing professional development and a Code of Practice, backed by a disciplinary process that can remove someone from the register. The register is published by AMTRA and by the VMD, alongside the list of approved SQP retailer premises, so it can be checked.
Can one SQP advise on cattle, horses and dogs?
Only if they hold the modules for all three. An SQP passes a Base module plus between one and three species modules — farm animal, equine, companion animal and avian — and the combination decides what they may prescribe for. It is a fair question to ask at the counter.
How do I become an SQP?
Through training and examination approved by the AMTRA Board at Higher Education Level 4 or above — the Base module plus one to three species modules. Qualified veterinary nurses can take a top-up route that recognises the qualification they already hold. AMTRA's own site sets out the syllabus and the process, and it is the place to start.
Is there an SQP at my nearest McCaskie store?
Yes — at Ayr, Kinross, Lanark & Stirling. Every store has a qualified SQP, every one of our eight field representatives is an SQP as well, and the rest of the counter staff are working towards it. Ring 01786 474 481 if you want to know who is on that day.
Bring your stock numbers, weights and what you used last time to any of the four stores, or ring 01786 474 481. For a whole-farm health plan rather than a single product, ask for your representative.
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