VN April 2022

Vetnuus | April 2022 48 This past month has been very trying with the work I do for the SAVA on the Stress Management side of things. There have been many calls for help from a wide spectrum of practitioners. That Covid has played a significant role cannot be questioned. Recently there was an article put out by one of the Practice Management Agencies giving a list of the ten most important changes that had resulted from the epidemic. Some of the pertinent ones were for example that practice incomes had decreased or remained stagnant and this was believed to be caused by clients being reluctant to spendmoney in the short term. If annual vaccinations are extended from 12 months to 15 months this aspect of income decreases by 25 percent and the owners don’t see any difference in their pets. Some clinics have suffered drop offs of up to 47%. One begs the question as to whether this income will ever return. Another significant aspect has been theeffect of digital communications.Yes, those very tryingWhatsappphotoswitha request tomake adiagnosis from the concerned owner. What are the ethical problems with this? If a diagnosis and treatment is suggested digitally what responsibility does the vet take as to the outcome? Takes one back to a case many years ago where a vet gave telephonic advice to a farmer and when the farmer killed a large number of his sheep the vet, who had never even seen the sheep was found guilty of professional negligence and paid the price. Another interesting aspect of this survey was the manner in which many practices had tried to increase their client base by offering discounts and specials on all sorts of things from professional work to flea remedies. And online practice advertising has increased drastically. Supermarket type marketing; buy one get one free type approach. On the whole, during the epidemic veterinary prices were found to have remained static. This obviously affects the bottom line where many of the input costs had increased. It was reported that 47% of the clinics surveyed had had significant decreases in profitability. This in turn resulted in more stress on the practice owners particularly where attempts had been made to retain staff and to treat them well despite the economic conditions. Also practices where equity was relatively low had trouble servicing debt and this caused severe stress. Some of the more forward thinking practices had made various attempts to rationalize services by combining with other practices things such as x ray and laboratory services. Some of these attempts had proved to be extremely successfully particularly where logistics could play a significant role. In others personality clashes made for disasters A huge change recorded was that of future aspirations for the profession. There was general dissatisfaction resulting in greater stress, poor health for the principles and for staff with the resultant negative effects on the overall wellbeing of the business. One particular case I dealt with was really concerning. I wonder how many of us realize that if you for any reason change your place of practice the drug companies cannot supply you with drugs until the new premises are certified? The SAVC has this regulation in place and uses the drug suppliers to act as the policing mechanism. The case I dealt with involved a very senior member of the profession who was well acknowledged by the profession for achievements. The premises from which this practitioner worked were sold and required a relocation of just a few doors further down the road. Scheduled drug supplies were stopped without notice and the practice was virtually forced to close. The practitioner had informed the SAVC of the change but inspections had not been scheduled and thus supplies were suspended. Now we know why vets commit suicide. Yes, three in one week were successful and two fortunately were hospitalized and successfully treated. Please try and avoid the pressures that we practitioners have to endure; help is but a phone call away and it does not matter what the time of day is! v Life plus 23 without parole Mike Lowry Mike Lowry has been in veterinary practice for "life plus 23" years. In this column, he shares his experiences and opinions . Regulars I Life plus 23 + 23