The Walk in Vet director Dr Bronwyn Orr set to open Coombabah clinic
A walk-in veterinary clinic will open on the Gold Coast today, helping relieve pressure on overrun animal emergency services amid a statewide shortage of vets.
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A walk-in veterinary clinic will open on the Gold Coast today, helping relieve pressure on overrun animal emergency services amid a statewide shortage of vets.
The Walk in Vet director Dr Bronwyn Orr said her Coombabah clinic would provide urgent care for pets outside of regular vet operating hours, relieving the strain on emergency departments.
“Essentially we have two emergency hospitals servicing the region,” she said
“What that means is that during the busy months, like summer and spring, it results in really long wait times for people and their pets.
“We realised there is a need for something in between, you know a daytime regular GP and not a full-blown emergency hospital which operates off triage.”
A pet ownership boom during the pandemic has placed a demand for vet services across Australia with recent data revealing Australians had more pets than people – an estimated 28.7 million animals versus 26.8 million humans.
An after-hours emergency visit typically costs Gold Coast pet owners thousands of dollars.
The Gold Coast Walk in Vet clinic would treat cuts and infections, provide check ups and divert critical patients to emergency.
“It’s all about that minor stuff – which actually accounts for 60 to 70 per cent of presentations at emergency at the moment,” Dr Orr said.
“Our view is to take a little bit of pressure off all the other people who find themselves with a pet that’s unwell outside of business hours.”
The clinic will operate Thursday to Sunday from 6pm to midnight when it first opens. It will then move to seven days a week from January.
Dr Orr said, while she hoped her clinic would alleviate some of the stress, the vet shortage continued to worsen across the state.
“There is a massive shortage (of vets), particularly on the coast,” she said.
“It’s really quite bad and I know some clinics that are pretty much just selling up or closing because they can’t get the staff to support them.”
The Queensland Australian Animal Welfare League said a central veterinary employment agency was currently advertising 139 vacancies in Queensland – 88 of them in southeast Queensland.
“By comparison, NSW is advertising 90 vacancies in Sydney and 118 in regional NSW, and Victoria is advertising 68 vacancies in Melbourne and 55 in regional VIC,” a spokesman said.
“The vet shortage is a national issue affecting all states. Regional and remote areas are significantly impacted.”
Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) national president Dr Diana Barker said pet ownership went from 61 to 69 per cent of the population during the pandemic and vet clinics were “struggling” to meet demand.
Dr Barker said the main concern for the industry is the rate of vets leaving the job citing long hours and mental health issues as some of the main concerns.
“You’ve got vets that are working really long hours looking after people’s pets, and you’ve also got vets in the rural and agricultural areas,” she said.
“It’s a challenging job, but it is a really rewarding job and I think what we’re seeing with the mental health issues is really in that first five years of practice.”
Dr Barker said the AVA would continue to push for government funding, including reduction on costs to veterinarians, university fee waiving and a boost for skilled international workers into the Australian workforce.
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