As vets, we wait in anxious anticipation for that phone call at 5:40 PM on a Friday, just 20 minutes before closing, where we are told that Fluffy has not eaten in two days, has been lethargic for a while, or has been generally unwell for some time.
We love animals, and want to do the best for yours, which means not leaving them unwell and in need of diagnostic testing, planning and treatment. However, our human clients may often be unaware that such treatments and services can be challenging to access or complete on a Friday or Saturday schedule.
Through this blog, we want to give you an insight into how general practice vet clinics (like ours) work. Including the implications for your pet, for you and your wallet, for a complicated case presenting later in the week and spilling over into the weekend.
We acknowledge that many times it is unavoidable for patients to be brought in earlier in the week; illness can pop up anytime, anywhere. However, where possible, we’d strongly recommend taking your pet to a vet as soon as they get sick. This allows us to start the investigative process early, diagnose the condition ASAP and plan the treatment/surgery during the working week
To help you understand why this may even be an issue, it is important to take you behind the scenes of a regular general practice vet clinic. Here are some facts…
The Busiest Days At A Vet Clinic
Most vet clinics are busiest on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays.
– Saturdays are a convenient day to bring pets because it’s a day off for many, which means it gets booked out quite far in advance.
– Mondays are busy because the patients that are unwell over the weekend all get seen on this day.
– Fridays get busy because a lot of pets that have been sick during the week get seen after work on a Friday. It is also a very popular day for surgery as the owners like to spend the weekend helping their pets recuperate.
Vet Staff Shortages
There is a staff shortage in the vet industry. Due to this some pet owners cannot even get in to see their regular vet on weekdays, let alone late on a Friday or a Saturday. At Lynbrook and Berwick Clyde Vet, we do not have this issue as our staff are our primary focus. They are engaged and motivated, and we never have a problem attracting new team members. Therefore, we have never turned new clients away when their pets are sick, we always find a way to make it work. However, this is not the case with all clinics. We routinely see cases from other clinics who have not been able to see their patients because they are fully booked.
Do Vets Have Staff On Weekends?
All general practice vet clinics have limited staff on Saturdays. This is so that the team in rotation gets some time off on weekends. Our team members normally work 1 in 4 or 1 in 3 weekends. For our team members, as for everyone, weekends are a time to disconnect and recuperate for a busy and emotionally charged week. For the wellbeing of our team, we only open for reduced hours on a Saturday and keep the staff to a minimum giving as many team members as possible a normal weekend off.
Now that you know how most GP vet clinics work, here are the three main implications of a sick patient presenting late on a Friday as opposed to earlier in the week.
What Happens If You Bring a Pet To The Vet On a Friday
1. Limited time to do what needs to be done
When we see a patient that has been sick for a few days present on a Friday, which is normally fully booked, we do the best we can to do the diagnostic work up that is required in between the already booked consults and procedures.
If they need intensive care or surgery which cannot be done in regular hours due to prior bookings, the team may have to stay back to perform this procedure or treatment. At Lynbrook Vet and Berwick Clyde Vet, our engaged and motivated team will almost always stay back to perform surgery and care for our patients. However, as the team of vets and nurses have to stay back, penalty rates start to apply, which make the same procedure, treatment or diagnostic more expensive for pet owners. So where possible, if we could have seen the case earlier in the week and completed all work within the standard working hours, the overall cost to the owner would be reduced.
2. Referral to an emergency centre
If we are unable to deal with the case adequately because we just don’t have the time available to perform the procedure or if the case is time sensitive or urgent, then such a case may need to be referred to an emergency centre over the weekend. As soon as this happens, the costs of the same procedure will increase. This is because emergency centres operate round the clock, are equipped with expensive equipment to handle emergencies and consequently have higher operating costs. Higher operating costs means that the same treatment or test will be more expensive at an emergency centre compared to your GP vet.
3. Continuity of care is broken
If we are unable to handle the case for whatever reason and the case gets transferred to an emergency centre, you may not receive the same level of service as you would from your regular vet clinic. In our case, this is because we know you and your pet intimately and the emergency facility may not. Further, the plan of treatment or diagnosis may change as the vet handling your case changes, and this might mean additional costs as well. The feedback we have had from some of our clients is that the lack of established trust and relationships at the emergency clinic and the unfamiliarity of the premises causes some anxiety for the owners and the pets.
After all, the only people that know your pet better than you, is us!
In summary, the key impacts of a sick patient presenting late on a Friday, when they could perhaps have been seen earlier, are that it may cost more due to the team doing after hours and that the patient may have to be transferred to an emergency facility.
On the flip side, seeing an unwell patient ASAP lets us start the diagnostic process sooner, arrive at a diagnosis earlier and plan the treatment and surgery all within the working week at your own clinic. This helps keep costs lower and transfer to an emergency centre may not be required.
The key takeaways are:
- If your pet is unwell during the week, please have them seen by a vet as soon as possible.
- If you cannot bring them in, please see if a family member or friend can drop them off to us so that we can do what needs to be done and discuss everything over the phone with you at a scheduled time.
- If you cannot bring them in any earlier than Friday, please do so on Friday morning, so that we can start the diagnostic process ASAP. This way, if any surgery, treatment and recovery are required, this can be accommodated within the day.
- As a guide, your pet should be seen as soon as possible after these symptoms occur:
a. Vomiting and/or not eating
b. Dullness or lethargy
c. Abnormal breathing
d. A male cat with urinary problems
e. Anything to do with the eyes or ears
f. Ingestion of, or exposure to toxins
g. Abnormal neurological signs e.g. seizures, dragging legs
At Lynbrook Vet and Berwick Clyde Vet we are devoted to our patients and will do whatever it takes to help our patients.
It is our policy to never refuse to see a sick animal no matter how busy we are and we are dedicated to being thorough and always offering you and your pet optimal care.
You, as a pet owner, can help us, your pet and your wallet by presenting your pets when they fall sick as soon as possible and not waiting till Friday!
If you’d like to talk to our team about your pet, please give us a call. Or, arrange an appointment to suit your schedule–even if it is a Friday!
