Reduced hours for emergency vet clinic in London, Ont., leads pet owners to telehealth services

A high volume of patients and a shortage of veterinarians has led London Regional Veterinary Emergency and Referral Hospital — the only after-hours emergency clinic in the city — to reduce its hours.

In addition to its emergency services, the clinic is referring pet owners to Smart Vet, a virtual service that handles routine and non-urgent medical concerns.

"This isn't just a London or southwestern Ontario issue, it's a North American issue," Danny Jaffe, vice-president of medical operations at VCA Canada, told CBC News. "Pressure on emergency clinics has gotten extreme."

Jaffe attributes this pressure to a shortage of veterinarians working in emergency rooms (ERs) because there are not enough students graduating from veterinarian colleges in Canada.  

The COVID-19 pandemic has also increased workload through the additional health protocols, which are adding to longer wait times and limiting the number of pets veterinarians can see on a daily basis.

This adds extra pressure on emergency clinics, which Jaffe says are overflowing with patients, requiring them to limit their hours. He calls this the tipping point for burnout.

"As lifestyle and demographics have changed, we just don't have enough professional hours to fit the practices," he said.

Sharon Quinn is chief medical officer of Smart Vet. She says there's a pandemic-led pet boom, creating reduced access to health care for many animals. 

"Some vets physically couldn't be at work for a number of reasons, and it led us to be even more short staffed than we were previously, and the pet boom on top of it has exasperated it," she said. "It's certainly been a challenging time."

Quinn says this has increased patient volume significantly for her team of 60 veterinarians. They are dealing with more than 600 cases this month from hospitals across the province.

"Our service has adapted to be able to provide access to care for individuals who are having trouble getting access, where virtual care is appropriate," she said. 

Jaffe says there's been a shortage coming for many years. "In London it's reached that tipping point where they have less than 50 per cent of the doctors that they need to keep their doors open 24/7."

Veterinarian groups have been lobbying against this, he says, but aren't getting much of a response from the province.

In a statement to CBC News, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) said, "The limited access to veterinary care related to a shortage of veterinary professionals is an international challenge and OMAFRA has been working with stakeholders to better understand the issue in Ontario and explore solutions to improve veterinary access in under-serviced areas."