Veterinary backlogs, staff shortages made worse by pandemic
Many pet owners are reporting long waits for appointments
It's not just humans who are dealing with a backlogged medical system these days.
Many pet owners are reporting waits of weeks and even months to have their animals seen by a veterinarian.
"When Nova Scotia was in lockdown, we were only allowed to do emergency medicine and not preventative care, and that has resulted in a massive backlog of pets that we need to see and catch up on," said Dr. Laura Perry, a vet with Celtic Creatures in Sydney, N.S.
Lynn-Ann Bessant's teenage son recently got a golden doodle puppy — Earl. When Earl broke a tooth and needed care, Bessant struggled to find help.
She and her husband called clinics across Cape Breton, including ones 45 minutes away. They eventually got Earl seen at Celtic Creatures, where she is now on a waiting list.
"It's kind of the same as the human health-care system here in Nova Scotia. We kind of can't get the attention that you may need right away."
Bessant and her family moved to Sydney from Halifax a year ago.
She was unable to find a clinic to put her on a wait-list during that time and had to resort to driving the family pets to Halifax for appointments. A round trip from Sydney to Halifax takes more than eight hours.
Bessant's case isn't the exception. Many clinics are dealing with a shortage of staff, including vets, vet technologists, receptionists and assistants.
While the pandemic has exacerbated the issue, Perry said the industry has been dealing with these types of shortages and retention issues for years. She attributes it to poor work-life balance, high student debt, and working in medicine that is constrained by money.
"Veterinarians have a very high rate of mental illness and burnout."
In recent years, the vet industry has been drawing attention to the mental health issues many of its professionals face. However, Perry said burnout has only gotten worse during the pandemic.
"A large part is bullying and lack of empathy from clients and a lack of understanding from upper management and veterinary hospitals."
A complex issue
Dr. Greg Keefe, the dean of UPEI's Atlantic Veterinary College, said vet shortages are a long-standing and complex issue.
"The Atlantic Veterinary College opened in 1986 and we had 40 seats for Atlantic Canadians at that time. Now we have 42 so that really hasn't grown substantially over the last three decades."
The four Atlantic provinces fund the 42 seats. Sixteen are funded by Nova Scotia.
However, Keefe said people are getting more pets and pets are living longer, which means the current model is only producing enough vets to replace retirees. The model does not address the increasing number of animals.
According to the Department of Advanced Education, the Atlantic provinces are doing research into supply and demand in the industry to determine how many seats each province needs when the current agreement expires in 2024.
But even if the number of graduates increases, Keefe said there's no guarantee they'll choose to work with small, household pets. Many will choose to work with large animals, or work for the largest employer of vets in Canada — the federal food inspection agency.
Other solutions
Keefe said increasing the number of vets isn't the only solution that's being assessed. He said there are models of care that could use veterinary technologists differently, in a similar way that nurse practitioners have become part of a collaborative care model.
He also believes more emergency clinics could take the burden off of other vets looking to focus on more routine care. Perry and Bessant agree.
However, where vets don't operate under a single-payer system, a private practice would have to take the initiative.
In the meantime, Perry has advice for how pet owners can help with vet retention.
"Being patient with us and understanding and just being empathetic and kind goes a long way to allowing us to do our jobs."
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