Vet shortage ends Ballito and Salt Rock emergency service

A shortage of veterinarians countrywide has placed enormous strain on emergency veterinary services in Ballito and Salt Rock, North Coast Courier reports.

So much so that after-hours emergency services previously available to pet owners locally have been put on hold.

Overnight veterinary services are becoming increasingly sparse across South Africa because of small graduating classes and high levels of emigration.

“We simply do not have enough vets across the country anymore. I graduated more than 30 years ago and I would say that more than 70% of my class are now working overseas,” said Ballito vet Kevin Stevens.

With visas easier to come by than for most professions, it often makes sense for a new graduate to find a job abroad, he said.

Newly graduated vets and locums – who made up the majority of emergency vets in the past – are more difficult to come by and prefer to stay in larger cities.

Even with full-time employment offered for an overnight vet there were hardly any applications, said Stevens.

“When I graduated there was no choice but to supplement my income by working night shifts as a locum. It was a huge learning curve, dealing with any animal you could imagine. The graduating vets are very well paid and are unlikely to seek out extra employment like we were forced to do 30 years ago. We have only had 3 applications in the last 2 years.”

Salt Rock vet Roxanne Buckle echoed the sentiment.

“We used to split the emergency services between the 3 local vets. It was done for the community, not because of a financial incentive, but it just does not make sense anymore,” she said.

Aside from the low numbers of vets available, there are also other factors at play for veterinary practices outside of big cities.

Having a single person operating in a stand-alone practice which may contain expensive equipment can be dangerous.

“We have also found that there is a disproportionate amount of abusive clients who come in during the overnight shift. Whether it be people who are inebriated or unable to pay the costs for their pets, it makes things particularly difficult,” said Stevens.

The only veterinary science faculty in the country is Onderstepoort at the University of Pretoria, producing a limited amount of graduates every year.

“We had 168 graduates last year and anticipate 140 this year. Our expanded classes will start graduating more frequently from 2023, with 170 to 180 veterinarians per year,” said OFVS dean, Professor Vinny Naidoo.

By comparison, there are around 1 400 doctors, 1 500 engineers and 4 000 lawyers who graduate every year.

The OFVS graduates are highly sought after worldwide and the degree is recognised in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, said Naidoo.

As the North Coast continues to grow, so too will its services, but for now you will have to make the trip to Durban or Tongaat in an after-hours emergency for your pet.