Burnout, depleting mental health, and workforce shortages are some of the harsh realities Australian veterinarians have been facing for almost a decade. But one clinic in South Australia's Riverland, which services an area the size of Belgium, has found an international solution to ease the pressure.
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00:00Caring for furry friends on the other side of the world has always been a dream for Irish
00:07vet Kate Campbell.
00:08And I was just really interested to combine that travel and then also be able to work
00:13in a different kind of environment for veterinary and learn different things as well.
00:17But her presence in this Riverland-based clinic is helping to address a bigger problem.
00:23I think across Australia you can definitely see the shortage and the pressure that all
00:27the vets are under.
00:29Locum Vets from the UK are helping take the pressure off Stacey Guyer and her staff, so
00:35they can stop taking the phone home after round-the-clock shifts.
00:39Unfortunately becoming a bit of a norm for them to work, you know, 14, 15, 16 hours which
00:45just isn't sustainable for anyone in any job.
00:49Veterinarians are leaving the industry due to overwhelming and unmanageable workloads
00:54and clinics are struggling to replace them.
00:57Almost half of regional vacancies are taking more than 12 months to fill, up from 30% in
01:032021.
01:04To be honest, I can't remember a time where we haven't had job adverts up, whether that
01:09be for vets or for nursing staff.
01:12According to the latest Australian Veterinary Report, locums only make up 5% of the country's
01:17workforce.
01:19And while they're helping lift the load in this regional community, it's not a long-term
01:23solution.
01:24I'm always really keen to kind of try to relieve that pressure, even if we're only there for
01:28a short time, to give those vets the much-needed break that they deserve.
01:33Caring for the vets who look after our pets.