A national shortage of vets has seen one Spalding practice close its doors temporarily while others have shut their lists to new patients.
The Best Friends practice in Spalding has announced that it’s closed and urged patients to attend its Wisbech or Peterborough branches.
One Holbeach pet owner says he has lived in the town for six years and had continued with Best Friends because he was already registered there.
“It has been increasingly difficult to get an appointment for the past three months, today I’ve received a letter saying they are closing the Spalding branch effective immediately, but I am welcome to take my dog to one of their other branches, an average 50-mile round trip each time to either Peterborough or Wisbech,” said Gareth Herbert.
And the situation is not set to get any better in the immediate future with a nationwide shortage of vets, a result of Brexit and a surge in pet ownership over the pandemic.
“We are currently experiencing recruitment issues, but we are keen to re-open as soon as we can with some great new team members,” said a Facebook post from the company.
“I have no car,” said Gareth “a taxi would cost in the region of £80 for a return journey and I’ve contacted other vets and they are not taking on new patients.
“I’ve been unable to register with an NHS dentist since moving here, now even the vets are abandoning our rural community,” he added.
Spalding’s Alder Vets has closed its list for new patients.
“We have been working tirelessly to manage the situation but Brexit and COVID have combined to create a perfect storm of problems when it comes to recruiting and retaining veterinary surgeons in the UK,” said practice manager Sally Twell.
“Because of this we have had to temporarily make the difficult decision to close our books to new registrations. This will allow us to safely look after the pets we already have registered,” she added.
Work is also going on to recruit a locum and then review the situation.
But the problem is not specific to South Holland as the nationwide issue was highlighted by the British Veterinary Association in 2020.
At the time it said that three-quarters of vets were concerned about stress, burnout and COVID-19. Some had left the profession and others retired early.
The association said some 60 per cent of vet practices had also suffered abuse or intimidating behaviour.
“It will be a problem for some years,” said Emma Walker, practice manager for the South Lincs Vet Group with branches in Holbeach and Pinchbeck.
