Barkly Veterinary Practice changing remote service delivery

A remote Northern Territory clinic covering 322,000sq km is changing the way veterinary services are being delivered, and staffed.

For more than 10 years, Barkly Veterinary Practice has been the only clinic between Katherine and Alice Springs, serving 7300 people over 322,713sq km, an area 50 per cent bigger than the state of Victoria.

Last Friday night, the remote clinic’s work was recognised in the Chamber of Commerce NT Awards for Business Excellence, winning the Barkly Region’s small business category.

Since 2013, the clinic has provided a 24/7 service to the region’s people, their dogs, cats, horses, cattle, and native wildlife.

Trapped feral cats are humanely euthanased and native wildlife is treated free of charge with tourists regularly bringing birds, lizards and small marsupials to be rescued and released.

On top of the priority list are the biannual vet programs to remote communities across the Barkly.

Twice each year, in partnership with Barkly Regional Council and the local authorities, locum vets and final year vet students run free desexing clinics for dogs and cats in Tennant Creek and the remote communities such as Ali Curung, Alpurrurulam, Wutunugurra, Ampilatwatja and Elliott.

Barkly Veterinary Practice vet nurse Shoshoni Smith, principal vet Dr David Hall and office manager Kate Foran. Picture: Contributed

Recent funding cuts have negatively impacted dog population control, health and welfare but principal vet and owner Dr David Hall said he will continue to work with the council to see animal management programs reinstated.

“Our commitment is to get as many dogs vaccinated as possible, and to reduce the prevalence of debilitating, often lethal diseases which are an ongoing threat to the entire dog population,” Dr Hall said.

“We firmly believe the health and welfare of the dogs is directly related to the wellbeing of the human residents of the Barkly, and take our responsibility in providing this service very seriously.”

Barkly Veterinary Practice is a unique business model, operating with interstate and overseas locum vets, who are promised a rare opportunity to experience desert life in the small remote community.

The veterinary industry is high risk for mental health among its professionals, but office manager Kate Foran, who was on hand to accept the award in Tennant Creek on Friday night, said Dr Hall had a strong reputation among locums for offering interesting clinic work and the chance to undertake the kind of surgeries most city vets would refer to nearby specialists.

Barkly Veterinary Practice vet nurse Shoshoni Smith. Picture: Contributed

“We repeatedly hear from our locums how much they enjoy working here,” Ms Foran said.

“Clients greet them in the local IGA, or even shout them a drink after hours at the pub.

“The welcoming nature of Tennant Creek locals is usually a new experience for them.”

It was the quality of service, consistent good results and a good standing in the community that earned the Barkly Region 2023 Business Excellence Award for Small Business.

During the 2020 lockdowns, the practice remained open to emergencies with Dr Hall remotely advising the vet nurse in Tennant Creek from his clinic in the mountains of north east Victoria.

“I maintain a full-time staff and employ locals, focusing on training Indigenous vet nurses,” Dr Hall said.

“That wasn’t easy to facilitate as there’s no veterinary training in the NT, so two trainees attended TAFE in NSW and broadened their experience at our clinic in Victoria’s Upper Murray.

“Recently we employed a third trainee.”

He said Indigenous clients were more than 50 per cent of the business and growing that commitment was not a simple matter of just marketing, but involved building trust and education.

“We engaged a local Indigenous woman to visit homes and discuss preventive treatments and the benefits of desexing dogs, and we have a contract with Centrelink which allows us to lodge account payments in fortnightly instalments,” he said.

“This means clients on Centrelink can access services that would have been out of reach.

“The welfare of the pet community is our highest priority and the staff are driven by something bigger than what is normal.”

The finals of the Chamber of Commerce NT Business Awards will be held in Darwin in October.