Nationwide vet shortage hurting pet owners in country towns
Pet owners fear for their furry friends, as a nationwide vet shortage leaves regional towns without clinics. Here’s why the industry needs help.
Australia’s veterinarian shortage has reached a “crisis point”, with a growing number of rural residents left without clinics in their towns.
That’s according to Australian Veterinary Association president Warwick Vale, who said poor workplace culture, remuneration and mental health were all factors contributing to the decline in vets nationwide.
He said the COVID-19 pandemic had exacerbated the problem with the inability to get locum vets from overseas, and an increase in demand for services with more people getting companion animals.
Mr Vale estimated there were anywhere from 800 up to 1200 positions vacant for vets Australia-wide.
“Some businesses aren’t even advertising because they are not even getting one applicant for positions,” he said.
According to veterinary employment website Kookaburra the number of jobs listed at any one time in 2021 was 712, compared to 170 in 2014, while the average number of weeks a job was advertised has also doubled.
VISA CHANGES A SHORT-TERM SOLUTION
It comes as the Federal Government announced on the weekend that vets would be included in the Priority Migration Occupation Skilled Occupation List, with changes to visa requirements expected to come into effect in the coming days.
A spokesman for the Department of Home Affairs said the decision was “based on industry feedback including strong evidence provided to the Joint Standing Committee for Migration”.
While industry has welcomed the decision, it says it was a short term solution for a long term problem.
“We aren’t expecting a huge influx of vets. There are worldwide shortages in the US, UK, South Africa and Europe,” Mr Vale said.
“The profession globally is going through a big cultural change.”
Chris Richards, managing director of rural vet business Apiam Animal Health, said incentives were needed to attract graduates to regional areas.
“The Federal Government offers a number of incentives to attract doctors to regional and rural areas and it would be good if there was a similar incentive program, like there is in NZ, to attract vets to regional and rural areas,” he said.
He said COVID also meant there would be a shortfall in the number of international students studying vet courses over the next couple of years, which would continue to create a challenge for the industry.
Mr Vale said the solution to the vet shortage had to come from within the industry, so vets weren’t overworked and underpaid, and their mental health was a priority.
“There is a huge attrition problem in the industry. It’s not sustainable, the pay and working conditions are not good enough,” Mr Vale said.
“Vets are one of the lowest paid professions.”
“A full-fee paying student can incur a $280,000-$300,000 debt, then be paid $50,000-$60,000 when they graduate.”
Mr Vale said the AVA was continuing to lobby the government for HECS forgiveness for vet students.
RURAL TOWNS HIT BY SHORTAGE
Kilmore pet owners face a scary drive down the highway to the nearest vet clinic, after the one in their town closed to appointments due to the nationwide worker shortage.
Shelly Biancon’s daughter breeds bulldogs and has been forced to take them to a Craigieburn clinic, a 40 minute drive away.
“For the emergency side of it, you get very anxious when you have to travel if you’ve got a sick animal,” she said.
“The travelling is draining on yourself and the animal — you’d rather be able to go to your own home town.”
It’s a similar story across the country, as border closures leave the often locum-fuelled workforce in the lurch.
Towns such as Tatura in Victoria’s north east and Berri in South Australia have also been left without their local clinics.
A statement on the Kilmore clinic website said the clinic remained open for food and over-the-counter support, but appointments would be redirected to Wallan.
“The increase in demand for veterinary services post-COVID-19 has accentuated the challenges our workforce already faces in regards to the shortage of vets in the profession,” Melanie Leijer the general manager for Kilmore Vet and Wallan Vet Hospital said.
“This has been further exacerbated by the introduction of COVID-safe protocols, the closure of international borders, and the inability to support overseas veterinarians and nurses on working holiday visas.”
HOW TO FIX THE PROBLEM
Mrs Leijer said they were working closely with the Australian Veterinary Association to advocate for change and help within the industry.
“We are also focused on programs that address retention in the industry that includes: creating
career pathways, providing more access to training and development programs, creating back-to- work programs, and improving the safety and wellbeing of working environments through more flexible rostering and work schedules,” she said.
The AVA also runs a return to work program for vets who want to return to practice after a career break or period of leave, which usually costs $900 but is currently offering for free during the vet shortage.
Another initiative the AVA has developed is an accreditation program for employees to score their workplaces, so workplaces can become an AVA employer of choice with the aim of improving workplace culture.
At Apiam, Mr Richards said the business operated clinics on a regional basis vets could move to regions with a higher workload depending on time of the year.
“For example in south west Victoria our vets move between clinics based on where work is required during calving season etc,” he said.
Apiam has also developed after hours triage phone service to ease the workload pressure on vets after hours.
“This has resulted in a more than 50 per cent reduction in the number of calls referred to vets after hours. This helps improve the work life balance for our vets,” he said.
Mr Vale said responsible pet ownership was another way to fixing the issue.
“A big problem is the emotional stress when a pet owner doesn’t have the finances to cover treatment and a vet has to put down an animal,” he said.
“We need to educate customers to have pets responsibly and to look at pet insurance.”
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