The Inspection

Today we had an inspection. And one that we paid to have done. Yes, that’s right. As a Senior Charge Nurse, I have had to deal with lots of inspections in the past. And you would think I would avoid them at all costs out with the NHS. For even when you know you have high standards and you are always looking to improve; inspections never fill me with that warm, fuzzy feeling (dust on the other hand, generally does give a warm, fuzzy feeling but any health professional will know that health inspectors are on such a par with dust, they will identify the age of the dust from the colour!). So let’s just leave the dust on the proverbial shelf and walk away as today’s inspection was not a hospital one, but a Quality Meat Scotland (aka QMS) inspection. A system we have in Scotland that “provides reassurance to consumers of provenance, highest standards of production, animal welfare and wellbeing, to deliver a quality eating experience.”

Yep, important enough that I give a direct quote from the website. And to pass means fulfilling a long list of requirements with someone else to cast their eyes over everything (well, farm related, yes). And this is where the NHS background came in useful. I am use to checklists, sign offs and folders full of information. Now, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t see anything about today as being useless paperwork. A lot of the work going into it helped increase our knowledge and therefore improve our practice (I’m not saying we were pants before, but always looking to improve is good). And with the increase in knowledge comes a lot of practical aspects (which, since the cows aren’t up to speed on what risks incoming livestock may have, it helps for us to know to help them).

The inspector didn’t bite, she was friendly and helpful, and it occurred without any major flaws (imagine if a cow has decided to play ‘dead’ on us or a sheep going belly up would not have been helpful). It was a family affair though. Thankfully theMini Crofter wasn’t balancing precariously on tractors or showing his ability to open gates. The Micro Crofter didn’t bawl his head off or require feeding half way through. And so, it was a big sign of relief to find there is just one minor bit of paperwork I need to sort. I’m not saying anything though with the word ‘pass’ until I get confirmation.

If you do want to find out more about QMS, just go to: www.qmscotland.co.uk