Vets welcome scrutiny as industry grapples with shortages

Figures highlighted by the Australian Veterinary Association show that in 55 per cent of cases in regional practice, job vacancies take more than 12 months to fill, leaving existing staff to carry the extra load, including late night call-outs and time away from family and friends.

In its report the legislative council highlighted a "chronic' under-investment in the labour component of vet practice".

"Other concerns identified by stakeholders included increased working hours, difficulties attracting and retaining vets, and increased expectations regarding the provision of care and service delivery," the report stated.

At Inverell the issue of staff shortages remains very real for Dr Gundula Rhoades, Gowrie Veterinary Clinic, who has coped with 10 pregnancies over two years with that number of female staff rotating through the business.

Women leaving work to raise a family is an issue particularly pertinent to veterinary practice with 70pc of vets under the age of 40 being female, while most male vets are older than 55.

Paying for staff and pharmaceuticals accounts for 80-85pc of vet practice turnover while the equipment required to make the business viable gobbles up hundreds of thousands of dollars paid for by the owner.

A lack of regular staff and that gaping hole in the roster means more time after hours.

"You can't do this on your own," Dr Rhoades says. "Sometimes it takes three people just to get blood from a cat."

There have been calls for lay-people to carry out certain jobs, like pregnancy testing or semen testing, even handling pet vaccinations, but Dr Rhoades says those jobs pay the bills while the more technical operations deliver very thin margins.

"I might be able to fix a cruciate ligament rupture for $4000 but that same operation in a human in hospital might cost ten times that," she says.

Dealing with red tape and paperwork to minimise the threat of litigation steals time away from primary care, a common complaint among all health professionals.

"The public accuses us of being too dear," she says. "And that really hurts us as veterinarians."

Dr Rhodes praised the parliamentary inquiry process, saying it was the first time she had been listened to properly.

"They even picked up on the nuances really well," she said.

Dr Jo Hoad at Uralla Veterinary Clinic reports that the difficulty in attracting vets has been a "significant issue" for several years, particularly in rural areas.

"There are many contributing reasons as to why it is difficult to attract vets, and the solution will also need to have a multilayered approach," she says.

"Our clinic was looking for over two years to attract a new vet to our practice. I know of other clinics that have been looking for much longer than us, and I know of clinics that have had to close due to the lack of available vets, leaving rural communities with no vets within several hours.

"There were a number of times where we needed to refer urgent cases to other clinics as I was already busy with other emergencies, but often these clinics were also understaffed and unable to help, and unfortunately there were times where animals, particularly livestock, were not able to get the treatment they needed.

"This is very distressing for both vet clinic staff and the owners. People working in the veterinary field do so because of their desire to help animals, and to not have enough staff to be able to do this is very stressful, both from the viewpoint of knowing that an animal is suffering, and also in communicating with clients who are understandably upset by the situation."

Dr Hoad says mixed practice veterinarians play a significant role in rural communities; in helping livestock farmers to improve health and productivity, in monitoring for and early detection of exotic diseases that threaten international trade; in diagnosing diseases and educating the public, and in promoting animal welfare; even to emphasis the important role that pets play in a family.

"I believe some sort of government incentive like a HECS waiver to help retain and attract vets in rural areas would help," she says. "However it is not the sole answer."