Complaints against Manitoba veterinarians rose in 2021, new data shows

The number of complaints against veterinarians in Manitoba rose significantly last year, the profession's regulatory body revealed in its first published report on that data.

There were 39 formal complaints in 2021 — an increase from 27 in 2020 and a nearly eight-fold increase from the five complaints in 2016, according to the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association report, which was published in May.

The association's registrar, Corey Wilson, says the regulator was spurred to start publishing annual disciplinary and complaint data on its website after an October 2021 CBC News report about a veterinarian whose licence was suspended over alleged misuse of narcotics. That story noted data about complaints in Manitoba wasn't made public at the time.

The decision to make that data public, which brings the Manitoba association in line with neighbouring Ontario and Saskatchewan, was welcome news for some.

Manitoba's veterinary regulator was "just a little behind on the times, and I think that they're just catching up," said Kim Gibson, the president of the not-for-profit Professional Pet Groomers Association of Manitoba.

"I think transparency in any field is the way to go," she said. "Pet owners are becoming more educated. They are becoming more demanding. They want to know what's going on, and this is a way to make that happen."

Although the data hasn't previously been published, the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association has a decades-long history of investigating each informal and formal complaint, said Dr. Colleen Fisher, a practicing veterinarian in Brandon and the chair of the association's peer review committee.

"We have had a very strong complaint process in place, and it's been only the reporting of it that has been something that we've needed to bring into the 21st century, so to speak," she said, noting that there are still very few complaints lodged against veterinarians.

Pandemic pet care behind closed doors

Wilson says the rise in complaints may in part be due to the public becoming better aware of the veterinary regulator and its complaint process. 

Other veterinary regulators across Canada saw a similar rise in complaints and believe the pandemic may be the reason, he said.

Gibson said during pandemic restrictions, pet owners often weren't allowed to be present for veterinary visits — so she's not surprised by the rise in complaints.

"I don't think that they trusted what was happening behind closed doors as much as they normally would," said Gibson, who is also president of the Canadian Professional Pet Stylists Association, which certifies dog groomers.

"When you give your animals to someone, even though it's a professional, you always wonder what's going on."

Wilson was not able to provide a breakdown of the subject areas of complaints, such as quality of care, or billing and financial issues.

That's an issue the pet groomers' association president would like to see addressed. 

"The main complaint that I hear when I deal with pet owners is that everything's so expensive and they're just trying to get more money out of you," Gibson said.

"Even veterinarians that my pet owners trust, they think, 'Oh, I think you just did it for the money.' I think that's just the way that owners are starting to feel nowadays."

Fisher understands that some people feel that way, but says veterinarians are required, according to their bylaws, to give an estimate to every client — whether it's verbal or written — before they go ahead with a procedure.

"The only places where that might not be possible is in a true emergency or there's an unforeseen complication that we need to deal with in the moment," she said.

"It doesn't mean that we can do things in a way that the client can always afford, but that core communication, that trust and respect going both ways in what we call that veterinary client-patient relationship is something we hold in very high esteem and want the best experience even in those worst situations for everyone." 

The added barrier of closed-door policies during the pandemic added to the anxiety and frustration experienced by both veterinary teams and their clients, she added.

1 complaint referred to inquiry, 23 dismissed

Manitoba currently has 458 licensed veterinarians and 435 registered veterinary technologists regulated by the veterinary association.

The regulator's report shows that of the 39 complaints, 32 were resolved in 2021. Five cases were resolved by agreement, meaning the complaints committee entered into an agreement with a veterinarian or veterinary technologist to address the concerns raised, Wilson said. 

Two complaints resulted in advice to a member, two resulted in a formal caution and 23 were dismissed. 

Wilson says cases may be dismissed if the conduct involved is outside the purview of the regulator, or if there is insufficient evidence that the member breached the Veterinary Medical Act, or the association's bylaws or code of ethics.

One complaint was referred to an inquiry.

He wasn't able to identify the numbers of cases related to animal categories such as pets, livestock, or equine, but says the vast majority of complaints involve companion animals.

A shortage of veterinarians is also an issue affecting the profession and animal owners.

Wilson says a survey of Manitoba private practice vet clinics showed that as of May, there were at least 68 full-time equivalent positions for veterinarians that would need to be filled just to meet the demand in private practice.