Regional veterinary clinics struggle to find staff

The shortage has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, but also reflects many people exiting the profession.

In northern Victoria, Tatura veterinary clinic closed its doors in April.

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"The impact of COVID-19 has been felt widely throughout the veterinarian community and has further impacted veterinarians' global shortage in our industry," a statement read.

"As we have previously communicated, this has affected us, leading to Mooroopna Vet Clinic's closure and our large animal service here at Tatura.

"Unfortunately, we have been unable to secure a local vet for our Tatura clinic and have had to make the difficult decision to close our clinic."

Former Tatura clients are now turning to Shepparton, Kyabram, and other clinics in the area.

Shepparton Veterirary Clinic senior vet Riana Fitzpatrick said recruitment was a challenge for many clinics in regional areas.

Dr Fitzpatrick said the long hours involved, which often included after hours, as well as the stresses of the job, meant many people were choosing not to stay in the profession.

She said the closed borders meant there were fewer locum and travelling vets from oversees to help fill any vacancies.

"We're certainly finding it difficult to recruit," she said.

"It's real, it's not just something you see in the media - it's definitely an issue."

She said the closure of the Tatura clinic had a bigger impact on the local community.

"We're just feeling really empathetic for the people of Tatura," she said.

"After hours or emergency, it's not just down the road now - it's 20 minutes, half an hour trip to the nearest vet clinic.

"It's devastating for local communities and it does put pressure on neighbouring clinics."

Vets were added to the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List in May in a bid to help address the shortage.

"That might help take care of some of the positions," Dr Fitzpatrick said.

"I know there's a lot of effort going into recruiting.

"But I see emails from US veterinary education companies and they're talking about recruitment issues over there.

"I don't know that it's just an Australian thing either, I think it's potentially more widespread.

"What's leading to it - there's lots of reasons - how to fix it, it's not that easy."

The Shepparton clinic had a roster to share the after hours work and also collaborated with a nearby clinic.

"You've still got to cover you weekday shifts and you could have a really busy night and be out for a number of hours," she said.

The clinic had started advertising for a part-time vet.

"There haven't been any bites yet but it's only been a few weeks," she said.

"There have been spots I've heard that have been advertised for 18 months and don't even get a nibble."

The Gippsland Veterinary Group caters for both large and small animals across seven clinics.

Chief executive Michael Knowles said recruiting was a challenge that had been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Prior to border closures, some international students studying to become vets would choose to stay in Australia permanently to fill positions, but this was no longer the case with border closures.

"It was probably an emerging problem and Covid has made it worse," he said.

"Under Covid conditions a lot of people have bought pets, so that's ramped up demand as well.

"It's probably fair to say most vets are reporting double-digit growth at least - that's on the small animal side.

"Then when you're having a good year on the dairy side, that doesn't give you any relief."

About 35 vets were employed across the different clinics, he said.

Of those, about 12 worked in the farming sector, with six working as both small and large animal vets depending on demand.

"We've got both the dairy industry and the small animal veterinary space, when both of them are firing well the mixed animal vets get very busy," he said.

Although all the Gippsland clinics were fully staffed, although recruiting often relied on contacting graduates who had completed placements at one of the group's clinics.

While some clinics had been forced to abandon an after-hours service due to staffing, the Gippsland clinics were able to share the workload across the 35 vets.

He hoped having the professional listed on the priority Visa list would improve the situation.

"In a practice of 30 vets, and maybe hiring four or five new ones in a year, we might traditionally look at acquiring one from overseas," he said.

"We like to hire locally when we can but when there's shortages of course you have to expand your options."

The group also ensured new graduates were supported in their roles by having a dedicated human resources sector and scheduling regular meetings with senior vets to discuss how the work was going.

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