Have your say: after-hours emergency care

19 June 2024

Kia ora koutou katoa

Inviting your feedback on the Emergency Care Review

Last year, the Veterinary Council of New Zealand decided that challenges for veterinarians in providing after-hours emergency care needed closer investigation.

They had been singled out as one of the biggest influences on vets' wellbeing and work satisfaction. Workforce issues, since the arrival of Covid-19, appeared to have made matters worse.

As the Vet Council’s purpose is to lead veterinary excellence, ensure quality and advance trust, it was important that we looked closely at issues that were having this type of impact.

Emergency care provision is also a requirement we set for all veterinarians in clinical practice to ensure that animal welfare is protected, public expectations are met, and the burden falls fairly among those practising.

We decided to take a systems thinking approach to gain an understanding of the different factors influencing emergency care and to establish what could be done to make it more sustainable. A cross section of veterinarians were involved in the Emergency Care Review to ensure there was strong representation from different parts of the sector, including rural and urban veterinarians, and those from small and large animal practices.

The findings from the review were captured under six themes:

  • vet confidence, proficiency and willingness to do emergency care shifts

  • client circumstances and expectations

  • financial considerations

  • medical knowledge and training

  • veterinarians professional development in practices

  • veterinarian stimulation in work, wellbeing, and job satisfaction.

Have your say

Now the review has been completed, the Vet Council wants to know what you think.

The work has highlighted that a range of short and long term actions will be required to improve the system and ensure it is fit for modern ways of working. You can read more and watch a video about it here. While you are reading, please be aware that not all of the issues will be relevant for you or your teams but they are important for the profession as a whole.

Once you have read more about the review, please complete a short survey here to share your thoughts and be part of shaping the future of emergency care, after hours in Aotearoa.

Next steps

Once the survey is closed, all feedback will be collated and used by the Vet Council to inform a final emergency care report and the actions that will be taken.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected]

Ngā mihi

Iain McLachlan

CEO & Registrar