Perfect storm for pet owners

[Landcruiser]

My small animal practice recently stopped taking on any new clients as we are so over stretched. We've been unsuccessfully trying to recruit 2 full time vets for well over a year. We are having to close our small branch practice one day a week, and short hours the rest of the time. We are turning away a constant stream of new pet owners since we closed our books - which is horrible for everyone. We are also turning away a stream of people who need Animal Health Certificates for their pets to go abroad. Each one takes an hour to do, and we make a loss charging £130. We are reserving this also for existing clients. People are getting very desperate for these as some vets aren't doing them al all - I guess they have to cancel their travel plans, or at least board or rehome their beloved pets. It's a sh1tshow.
We are on the receiving end of a lot of abuse and frustration from existing clients because our service isn't what it was. Our remaining vets (and nurses) are on their knees, working 12 hour days and bending over backwards for people, but it's never enough. We just can't keep up with the demand, and it only takes an emergency coming in, or someone off sick or even on holiday, and it all goes pear-shaped. There are no locums to be had. This article has recently been released, and we have put it on our facebook page in the hope that people might be a bit more understanding. I have a bad feeling though. I can only see things getting worse. Here's the article.

https://ivcevidensia.co.uk/News/Warning-for-pet-owners-as-vets-face-

 

[TheresaW]

The vets where I take the dogs are not taking on any new clients until at least the end of September. One Vet is on maternity leave, and getting cover for holidays, isolating etc is impossible. They are doing the same as you, early closing some days etc.

 

[Tiddlypom]

My small animal vets are also finding things hard atm, I've been with them for 35 years. I was able to get the new-to-us cat booked in for her 1st and 2nd jabs recently though, I was expecting to have to wait.

Handover is still in the car park, which I fully understand and agree with, but it must slow things down.

 

[Thistle]

My vets aren't taking on new clients either. I'm moving house soon witha multitude of both large and small animals. I've been on the wait list for the preferred vets in my new area, I'm number 46 now, hopefully by the time we move I'll have a new vet. My old dog needs monthly treatment, it's too far to drive 2hr each way back to my existing vet.
Only other alternative will be to pts the old girl which is unthinkable.

 

[windand rain]

Our local vets used to have a stream of newly qualified european vets coming and going I am not sure how Brexit has affected this but have seen a retired former partner a few times doing locum work so would guess it has had an impact

 

[brighteyes]

Good lord above - I had no idea. I am always at my most grateful and polite to my vets and so far have had no trouble getting them seen. I don't holiday abroad so can't say I have much opinion on the time taken to do the small animal health papers other than my pets are too precious to risk leaving behind OR taking off mainland UK!

 

[Clodagh]

It’s a good reminder to me that I need to enrol with a vets at the new place.

 

[Landcruiser]

We used to get locums from Europe. That has entirely stopped now, they are just not coming over - there are too many hoops to jump through, and vet shortages are international so why should they? The customs inspections are going to add to the problem hugely. Anything containing meat or dairy, coming by land, sea or air, is going to need a vet to inspect it and fill in the appropriate paperwork. I think the number of vets required is 2000...from a pool of...below zero. As in, we can't fill the posts for normal vet work, let alone the admin/brexit/customs side of things. This on top of the AHCs we are doing anyway as an extra.
We are told that some people are being turned away at the borders for having incorrectly completed paperwork. This does not surprise me - an Animal Health Certificate (big multi page document) has to be filled out in triplicate, stamped and signed appropriately about 100 times in the correct places by a correctly qualified vet, be in the correct language...they are a total nightmare to do. This is 100% brexit. We have clients who bought pet passports last year which are of course useless now. We have a client with 5 dogs and a house in France. She needs a certificate for each dog at £130, EVERY TIME she travels, and they have to be done within 10 days of travel. Each takes an hour. It absolutely is a perfect storm.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

We used to get locums from Europe. That has entirely stopped now, they are just not coming over - there are too many hoops to jump through, and vet shortages are international so why should they? The customs inspections are going to add to the problem hugely. Anything containing meat or dairy, coming by land, sea or air, is going to need a vet to inspect it and fill in the appropriate paperwork. I think the number of vets required is 2000...from a pool of...below zero. As in, we can't fill the posts for normal vet work, let alone the admin/brexit/customs side of things. This on top of the AHCs we are doing anyway as an extra.
We are told that some people are being turned away at the borders for having incorrectly completed paperwork. This does not surprise me - an Animal Health Certificate (big multi page document) has to be filled out in triplicate, stamped and signed appropriately about 100 times in the correct places by a correctly qualified vet, be in the correct language...they are a total nightmare to do. This is 100% brexit. We have clients who bought pet passports last year which are of course useless now. We have a client with 5 dogs and a house in France. She needs a certificate for each dog at £130, EVERY TIME she travels, and they have to be done within 10 days of travel. Each takes an hour. It absolutely is a perfect storm.

The law of unintended consequences, if, indeed, they were unintended.
If only someone had thought this through. Oh wait! They did, it was Project Fear.
Never mind, I'm sure it will all be sorted out the first time BJ wants to take his dog abroad on holiday.

 

[AdorableAlice]

The explosion in dog breeding and puppy selling fuelled by COVID resulted in 3.2 million companion animals (that is the minimum figure) being registered with UK vet practices. It is hardly surprising the vets cannot cope regardless of their current staffing levels when you add 3.2 million dogs and cats to their existing client base.

 

[Lou27]

My vets aren't taking on new clients either. I'm moving house soon witha multitude of both large and small animals. I've been on the wait list for the preferred vets in my new area, I'm number 46 now, hopefully by the time we move I'll have a new vet. My old dog needs monthly treatment, it's too far to drive 2hr each way back to my existing vet.
Only other alternative will be to pts the old girl which is unthinkable.

What an awful prospect. If it’s meds your dog needs, can’t the current vet give you plenty of supply given the situation? I’ve been really fortunate with my local vets and I had no idea this situation was so bad for others. Really hope you can get something sorted.

 

[Clodagh]

The explosion in dog breeding and puppy selling fuelled by COVID resulted in 3.2 million companion animals (that is the minimum figure) being registered with UK vet practices. It is hardly surprising the vets cannot cope regardless of their current staffing levels when you add 3.2 million dogs and cats to their existing client base.

I do think this is probably the biggest reason. And with isolation/ pingdemic it’s even worse. My niece is a vet nurse and is under so much pressure.

 

[meleeka]

If I was trying to get medical attention for my pet and couldn’t I wouldn’t be very happy either, especially as I’m a loyal customer. I do understand that vets are stretched currently and don’t mind a bit of a wait for routine stuff, but my pets are important and Id expect them to be seen when they need help. I fully support my vets not taking on new clients, but I suppose if I was the person getting turned away I’d be upset.

 

[Clodagh]

I think they would always see emergencies. My niece though does overnight emergency work and was at the only open practice this side of Essex a couple of weeks ago.
They had 2 caesareans, a RTA, a stroke and a couple of other crises in simultaneously. There were 2 vets and 2 nurses in. A woman then turned up with her macaw who hadn’t been eating for a couple of days (11pm on a Saturday night) and they turned her away. She was extreme abusive and made Emma cry. Thankfully there was an older nurse there as well who sorted it but this customer is just one example.

 

[MurphysMinder]

I am registered with 2 different practices and neither are taking on new clients. My original practice have said they can't guarantee all branches will be open on a given day, and their out of hours is now an hour way (hence me registering with a second practice).

A neighbour had an emergency with her dog a couple of weeks ago when it was stung in the mouth which began swelling up , they called the out of hours practice and set off on the hour long journey, but before they had gone far receptionist had called back to say they thought the dog might not survive the journey so suggested they go to a local vets who were still open (just before 6 pm). At first this vets said they weren't taking on new clients but then saw the dog and took her in and treated her, after an overnight stay she was fine, but it is a really worrying situation for both vets and clients and I can't see it improving any time soon.

 

[suebou]

My daughter, vet nurse of ten years, has just left practice for exactly these reasons, not enough staff, poor (profit driven?) management, long hours with overtime expected every day, poor wages, no lunches if you want to be out before 7……… she is sad but has been to three practices, ending up as specialist nurse to a consultant vet and there has been no change at all. COVID was horrible for them and there has been no let up.

 

[windand rain]

My heart goes out to vets they are between a rock and hard place with sometimes little appreciation. I know waiting for a vet is a nuisance but it must be very upsetting for them to be stretched too thin

 

[SOS]

Thankyou land cruiser for sharing this. As a vet nurse myself, who is not currently in practice but working closely with them, I feel the immense pressures my friends and colleagues are under and my heartbreaks for the industry.

It has literally been the perfect storm, with brexit, COVID, the puppy boom, IR35 and the pingdemic. Whole practices are having to shut to self isolate or due to shortness of staff.

I saw a similar post on FB earlier and hadn’t put two and two together. We as an industry celebrated 20,000 RVNs on the register recently. There were 3.2 million pets gained in lockdown. That means 160 new pets to each RVN. Excluding any old pets. A scary number.

 

[GSD Woman]

It isn't quite as bad here, central Virginia, USA. But many practices aren't taking new clients and are turning their regular clients away. Their regular vets tell the to come to our place because we'll see them. It's getting ridiculous. I'm often working 12 hour shifts, our doctors are double booked and the receptionists are still telling regular clients that they can drop off their pets to be seen. And then we have a dr who gives clients incorrect estimates and then I have to explain to these people why their bills are so much larger than what that effing dr told them it would be. I spoke to our office manager about this issue and she's supposed to speak to the dr in question.

Any wonder I'm going to be taking a virtual class for medical coding starting next months? I've also applied for a job with the state tracking the health of research animals.

stick a fork in me, I'm done.

 

[ycbm]

Anything containing meat or dairy, coming by land, sea or air, is going to need a vet to inspect it

This is utterly stupid. So is the use of fully qualified vets at abattoirs. It doesn't take 5 years training in treating sick animals to know whether a cow is fit to slaughter or milk is fit to drink.

I know it's the law. It needs changing. We used to have meat inspectors in abattoirs, not vets. We need to go back to that.
.

 

[Thistle]

What an awful prospect. If it’s meds your dog needs, can’t the current vet give you plenty of supply given the situation? I’ve been really fortunate with my local vets and I had no idea this situation was so bad for others. Really hope you can get something sorted.

The med is injected, every 4 weeks, needs to be done by vet or vet nurse. I'm more than capable of doing it if it can be supplied.

 

[Thistle]

I have a plan B, I've already registered the horses at my new equine vets (just a mile away from new house, reduced call out fee yipee) This vet will treat small animals but isn't my preferred practice for the dogs as no real small animal facilities. I hope to get her to order the drug in for me (if of course she deals with that manufacturer, new drug, no generics available) and take the dog to her monthly. Meanwhile I keep my fingers crossed that I get up the list by the time I move. I've moved 100 places since a registered on the wait list over 2 months ago.

Some lucky person will get the place I free up at my current vets, I'll be very sad to leave them as I have a very good relationship with them.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Didn't people know what they were voting for?

 

[Lou27]

It’s really tough moving from a vets you trust and have a good relationship with. I still miss my old vets a decade later! Really hope your equine vet can get the medication in and you move up your preferred list quickly. 100 places in 2 months sounds very promising.

 

[SAujla]

Didn't people know what they were voting for?

Either they didn't know or believed some the stuff that was said without thinking. The £350 million for the NHS for example. There is the problem with a lack of lorry drivers and nurses, now vets as well (although its obvious the vets have been overstretched for years).

Its not just the amount of new pets, it's the percentage of these new pets that have health problems due to bad breeding that just tops it all off. When I started looking for a puppy certain health tests I felt were imperative, now I feel like people don't even need to see the mother, just see a puppy get a puppy

 

[bonny]

It’s not just vets being affected although with 3 million extra pets it’s not hard to see that’s a lot of extra customers. There are a lot of businesses struggling with staff absences, maybe after today with no need to isolate things will gradually start to improve.

 

[rabatsa]

We are so lucky with the local vets. An independant set up that has recently moved the main premises, which has become a small animal hospital. They have gone from 7 vets to 16 and hope to increase that number to 18 shortly. They also treat large animals and have not farmed out the out of hours work.

The equines are also registered at a pure equine practice which is the referral hospital for my local vets.

Some of the problems are also due to the number of new build properties in the area, about 12,000 and more in the pipeline. If only a quarter of the new residents own a pet that is still 3,000 new clients. Both of the other vet practices in the local market towns have sold out to the big players and neither now do out of hours work and send their clients to York.

 

[druid]

Yep, I'm doing huge amounts of passports this side of the Irish sea for UK residents (madness but we have been told it is allowed!!)

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Didn't people know what they were voting for?

They certainly said that they did! There are whole threads on here of them saying those very words nd justifying their opinions/votes.

 

[rara007]

I think they would always see emergencies. My niece though does overnight emergency work and was at the only open practice this side of Essex a couple of weeks ago.
They had 2 caesareans, a RTA, a stroke and a couple of other crises in simultaneously. There were 2 vets and 2 nurses in. A woman then turned up with her macaw who hadn’t been eating for a couple of days (11pm on a Saturday night) and they turned her away. She was extreme abusive and made Emma cry. Thankfully there was an older nurse there as well who sorted it but this customer is just one example.

I know your niece!