Just to add ive only been with these vets/witch doctors for about 3 months, why the fuck are they taking on peeoples pets when they dont have enough vets to treat them?!! W@nkers. Im so pissed off with them,
Too many people now have pets that they don't know how to look after (not including you in that list of course). Add to that they're buying them from 'breeders' that only care about the money and couldn't give a shit about health and wellbeing. It's no surprise that Vets are overwhelmed.
Oh I know theres a lack of vets and *too many dogs , but lets face it its been getting worse long before Covid and dare I say about that time we sent a lot of foreign workers packing. Ive switched 3 times in 5 years simply because I cant get an appointment when I need one (and i also moved house). I really draw the line at vets taking pets on they cant help within a reasonable time frame though. Tory behaviour dare I say. Happy to take your money for very very little in return (and i dont blame the vets/receptionists themselves of course!). Another one to add to the growing list of businesses im going to start when i finally leave my current profession. *never enough really
I’ve read that quite a few vets came here from the EU (esp Spain) but left during covid and now can’t return to work in the uk or can’t bothered with the post-B-word ball ache of applying for work visas. I’ve also read a few articles which said that vets (and other professionals) are leaving in droves because since covid many customers seem to have turned into nasty, entitled complaint machines. That’s certainly my experience too, as I’ve had more problematic clients in the past 12 months than I’ve had in the previous 12 years. I also suspect that (especially corporate and franchise vet practices) have worked out that as waiting ages for a GP or dentist appointment has become the norm, people are willing to tolerate that level of service and so the practice owners/managers only hire enough staff to meet those lowered expectations.
Before my reply below I need to first declare a personal interest in a local Vet practice which goes far beyond just being a client. It's my recent experience that all remaining practices are under a huge amount of pressure due in part to the many other practices that have closed over the last two years. Why they have closed is unclear in many cases. 'Our' vets has additional staff on reception just to cover the constant barrage of pet owners calling trying to register because their practice has closed or they can't get an appointment at their current practice when they want one. They would love to take them all on, it's in their nature firstly as animal lovers and also as professionals to put the welfare of the pet above everything else, but even if they could employ more vets they do not have the space or resource to do it safely to their own standards, legislated standards, or those expected by clients. They do however of course listen to each case and assess it individually. For example, if a local elderly client with no transport calls they will get registered regardless and looked after somehow. If the welfare of the animal is realistically in doubt it will be seen. If you call a practice from 20 miles away being disparaging about your current practice then you may not get registered. Rest assured all vets are doing their very best in a pressurised environment, but you may need to shop around for an appointment, or adjust your expectation for non-emergency situations.
There is clearly a huge demand, so, like many of the problems on this septic isle, it seems to be a supply-side issue. If there is such huge unmet demand, then why aren't the practices which closed down re-opening or new ones springing up to service it? https://www.bva.co.uk/news-and-blog...numbers-drop-by-over-two-thirds-since-brexit/
I can only comment on local issues, but can assure you some practices in this area that have closed were staffed entirely by non-migrant workers, so that is not their excuse.
The BVA are a complete shambles of an organisation (as is the Kennel Club). For example... Hip/elbow scoring. You'll be lucky to get results back from the BVA in less than 10 weeks. Now the ANKC (Australian equivalent) operate the exact same scheme, but if you send the xrays off to them, the results are back within 48 hours (and it's cheaper). It's going to get worse too. The BVA have engaged the same bunch of IT clowns to 'upgrade' their systems, that have just made a monumental hash of the KC's systems (2 years on and still nothing like fit for purpose).
No. But what it fails to mention is that, since Brexit, there's been a 2 year(ish) pandemic during which not many people were moving around anyway. Hardly a reasonable period/window of time from which to draw conclusions eh?
Eh? The article doesn’t “fail to mention” the pandemic. In fact it mentions it several times. When I googled “vet shortage uk” earlier, every article I read came to the conclusion that it’s a combination of factors, including but not limited to Covid, with Brexit inflicting a double whammy impact on the profession as it has drastically reduced the number of NQ vets coming to the UK from the EU (and as reducing immigration was a stated aim of Brexit, that’s not really a surprise) whilst also diverting some of the now smaller pool of vets into the new testing, inspection and certification work that is required now the UK is a third country. The conclusions to be drawn from rhe data seem sound, so, no, I don’t think it’s too early to tell. As Carl Sagan said, “It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open that your brain falls out.”
I got scoob to our old vet to give him a once over last night , seems all his springer'ing around hes pulled a muscle/tendon. Anti-inflammatory's and no tennis balls for a few days. Thanks for the replies above from those in the know.
Iggy did something similar last week when he slipped while chasing his ball. He was ok walking but was clearly carrying his right rear leg when running. After a few days on light duties with no tearing around the place, he was right as rain. GWS Scooby spaniel dude
