HOW TO IMPLEMENT WELLBEING IN VETERINARY PRACTICE

The Veterinary industry crisis and how we move forwards

Having worked in Veterinary across various diversities for a decade now, we have all the insider insights in to how people are feeling at the deepest level and coming from HR, communications, research and development we completely understand the need to save money and cut costs but, and this is a big but, we are really starting to see that cutting costs at the expense of our work force has backfired on us hugely.

Any good leader will know that the work force is the backbone of your Business and that without a healthy workforce, your business will not be healthy. On paper it might seem like things have been great and over the years the data, figures and gains might speak for themselves but behind the scenes the cracks have deepened and there is no escaping the issues that now need to be addressed as they are not going away. 90% of our workforce have admitted to feeling overworked, stressed, overwhelmed, under paid, unappreciated, under-valued and no longer sure of their purpose all the while, in the Management office our priorities have always been on figure growth and we have turned a blind eye to the feelings of our staff.

Surveys that have been conducted between 2018 to date (2022-23) have proven that our sector has taken a bashing and there is no longer a collective work force and an exodus of practitioners has taken place, resulting in a huge crisis in the work environment. ‘Where have all the vets and nurses gone?’ is the big question that has been asked this last few years. Well, it is statistically said that 80% of new graduate workers are female and it has been reported that the Women amongst our collective have contributed to the shifting dynamics due to attempting to balance work and family life. Address this to them and I don’t think they’ll feel thrilled at being told to hold the blame card however.

Then there’s Brexit – Claiming the majority of our vets which understandably have come from EU countries have now returned to their homelands due to bureaucratic issues thus leaving a big dent in our recruitment.

Many Vets also aren’t happy with the new IR35 regulations and the corporate take over domination and no longer feel their autonomy over their work schedule and pay requirements are being fairly met and have decided to either leave practice entirely or move in to non clinical roles and then the huge one and the one where we come in to play is….

The undeniable situation regarding MENTAL HEALTH and the sadly heart breaking fact that Vets are ranked the number 1 profession to sadly take their own lives due to burnout, stress and poor work / life balance. It surprises most people from outside our profession that this is the case because seemingly many think of Veterinary to be a dreamy little job where you get to cuddle cats all day. Oh but the harsh reality is one of heartbreak where stresses of the job, very poor work/life balance, and very long hours have caused a situation now that we can no longer brush under the carpet in favour of counting numbers on spreadsheets.

For the official RCVS STATS on worker surveys regarding mental health since 2018 click HERE. So, while we are all in support of hoping your Business booms, we are insisting that YOU as a practice look at the overall health of your work force as an absolute priority and start to implement strategies and protocols that look at focusing on the wellbeing of your team as issues both inside and outside of the workplace have an effect on their day to day lives and it is fundamentally crucial that management realise the importance of supporting their staff in these areas. They are signed in to completing such long hours for your Business that whether you like it or not, it is your duty and obligation to pay back that support in ways that they also need in other areas of their lives, whether that be with their mental health, physical health, family lives, emotional health or stress levels, finances etc because a team only works when a team operates in inclusive collaboration and support across all areas. It is time to really be a team and that comes full 360 so we’re here to help you implement changes that can better your work force and strengthen in all areas so that everyone is healthy and happy!

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