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By Caden Fanshaw

VET SHORTAGE

Vet shortage leads to cut of after-hours emergency pet care in Prince George

Jun 27, 2022 | 5:45 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – If your pet needs emergency care after 10 pm in Prince George you will be out of luck starting July 1st due to a shortage of vets.

For months vets in BC’s Northern Capital have been overwhelmed by the demand for their services.

Starting Canada Day, emergency service for pets can only be provided until 10 pm on weekdays, and on weekends from 8 am until 10 pm. Outside of those hours, pet owners will be forced to go online to get virtual service from Vet Triage, or hop in the car and drive to Kelowna, Vancouver, or Edmonton for in-person emergency service.

Currently, no urgent care at any time can be provided on June 29th, July 25 & 26th due to staff shortages, with more dates expected in the future.

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Even though the Prince George Urgent Care Group has been working together to provide 24-hour service although there is no true urgent care centre.

The Prince George After-Hours Urgent Care Group has been working together for many years to offer a solution to emergencies: a shared after-hours option that often has a veterinarian working a full day at their regular schedule, taking on the emergency role throughout the night with little to no sleep, and then continuing with their daily hours the following day.

A cycle that has simply become unmanageable for local vets with a staffing shortage they call ‘critical’

The group that provided urgent care included: Hart Family Veterinary Clinic, Prince George Veterinary Hospital, Ospika Animal Hospital, Murdoch Veterinary Clinic, College Heights Veterinary Clinic, and Birchwood Veterinary Clinic.

Throughout this past year, the region has lost approximately 25% of their veterinary professionals, this is compounded by the fact that before this year, local clinics still did not have enough veterinarians to service all of the pets in Prince George.

Dr. Marco Veenis, part of the Board of Directors for the BC Society of Veterinarians said there are plenty of applicants wanting to become vets in BC, the challenge remains the seats to educate them.

Local vets ask the public to reach out to your MLA and other government officials and ask them to develop plans to avert further crisis measures becoming necessary.

The joint statement also recommends utilizing the following priority chart to determine if your pet is in a true emergency crisis, or if it is an issue that can be handled either during daytime hours or through Vet Triage.