In short:
For the past two years, Bunbury pet owners have been forced to drive to Perth for emergency services on weekends.
The national vet advocacy group says there is a lack of vets in regional areas.
What’s next?
Bunbury vet Rob Hill wants to open a 24-hour animal hospital for the region.
Lethargic, struggling to breathe, and with no local option for help. This was the state of Gail Walker’s dog, Lucy.
The 13-year-old Maltese shih tzu had a history of heart problems and was quickly going downhill on Sunday, May 12.
Ms Walker, who lives in the South West city of Bunbury, two hours’ drive south of Perth, was quick to ring vets in the regional city.
But she was told the same thing again and again: take Lucy to an emergency vet in Baldivis.
Baldivis is a southern Perth suburb, 125km from Bunbury.
“With that, I got very, very angry and very emotional watching my poor little dog suffer. For 15 hours I had to nurse her,” Ms Walker said.
Driving to Baldivis was not an option as Lucy had begun to lose control of her bodily functions.
Plea for vets to come to Bunbury
On the Monday morning, Ms Walker rushed Lucy to the vet but was told she had to be put to sleep.
The experience left Ms Walker furious and calling for more vets to move to the region.
“It’s a lovely place and we just need more vets to help our little animals,” she said.
In 2022, Bunbury vets made the decision to stop emergency vet work on weekends due to burnout and extreme fatigue.
Treendale Pet Medical owner and veterinarian Rob Hill tried to keep the weekend service going but said it took a mental and physical toll.
“I was under terrible strain,” he said.
“Unfortunately, working over 100 hours a week and getting woken up every night and surviving on only a few hours of sleep just wasn’t sustainable.”
‘I was broken’
Dr Hill decided enough was enough after seeing 32 cases alone on New Year’s Day and only offered the extra service to existing clients.
But he said the industry was struggling.
“The younger generation is very focused on work-life balance, which is reasonable, but it isn’t the case in regional areas,” Dr Hill said.
“I work seven days a week and am on call seven nights a week. Every hospital in Bunbury is trying to hire veterinarians to lighten the load.”
The Australian Veterinarian Association said the lack of emergency vet services was not unique to Australia with New Zealand also struggling.
WA division president Katie Kreutz revealed there was a severe lack of after-hours services from the south of WA right to the north of the state.
“Unlike an ED department that has shift workers, the vets who service after hours are the same vets who go to work Monday through to Friday,” she said.
A lack of housing, access to childcare, and climbing HECs debts all play a part in getting vets into regional areas.
Solutions for a changing industry
Dr Hill said an after-hours emergency animal hospital in Bunbury could be a solution in the long term.
He has purchased vacant land adjacent to Treendale Pet Medical for this purpose, but operating costs and the local vet shortage stood in the way.
“Our vision is to build and start a hospital that is open 24-hours a day, seven days a week, but the challenge is to find veterinarians,” he said.
In the meantime, he said a rotating roster, where all Bunbury vets came together and took turns being on call on the weekends, could work in the short term.
Posted , updated