Moray family back calls to restore out of hours service at IVC Evidensia owned practices after dog nearly died from serious seizures
A MORAY family have backed calls to restore emergency out of hours care at veterinary practices across the region after their dog nearly died from serious seizures last month.
Roy Ferguson and his family say they were made to wait more than 40 minutes for a call back from a centre in Inverness while their six-year-old cocker spaniel Jasper had seizures on the floor of their home in Lossiemouth.
The family say that the ordeal, which took place just after 4pm on Saturday May 18, was “extremely traumatising” with the seizures becoming so serious at one stage that they thought Jasper had died.
The Wards Veterinary Centre in Elgin, where the family’s dogs are registered, moved its out of hours service to a practice in Inverness, some 38 miles away, at the end of April.
The decision meant that the family had to contact a call centre in England to access emergency out of hours care and were unable to take Jasper to the Wards for treatment.
“We were told after phoning that the vets from Inverness would phone us back,” Mr Ferguson said.
“After waiting 25 minutes my stepdaughter phoned the call centre again and the lady told us that there was no record of our first call.
“Basically, we didn’t get a call from the vets in Inverness for 40 minutes from our initial call all the while Jasper was having seizures.
“Towards the end of us waiting he had a really big one where his eyes sort of rolled back into his head.
“It was really serious and to be honest we thought we had lost him.”
The family were told that their only option was to transport Jasper to Inverness.
But it was decided that he was in no condition to be taken on such a lengthy trip from Lossiemouth and the family opted to look at other options closer to home.
Mr Ferguson said: “We couldn’t put him through that kind of trip with the condition he was in.
“At the same time, we needed to do something for him so we contacted another vets in Elgin who we used to be registered with.
“We were told initially that they couldn’t see him because we were no longer registered with them but we basically begged them and they agreed that he did need to be seen.
“We were told that we would need to pay an unregistered pet consultation fee which amounted to an additional £480 but we knew that and that was fair enough so we brought him in.”
After running several tests, it was discovered that Jasper’s sodium levels were too high as a result of him swallowing sea water during a walk along the beach earlier that day.
Jasper has made a full recovery but the family have sent a formal complaint and say they are trying to register their pets elsewhere.
“He seems ok now but we’re really not happy with how this has been dealt with,” Mr Ferguson said.
“We put our complaint in and it has been investigated.
“They have told us that the problem is that the vet and nurse in Inverness were busy with another patient and that’s why we didn’t get a call from them for 40 minutes.
“But waiting that long for a call back in that situation is just ridiculous.
“The Wards is excellent but it feels like this decision hasn’t been made in the local practice.”
IVC Evidensia, which describes itself as a “global leader in veterinary care”, runs the Wards Veterinary Centre, Seafield Veterinary Group and Speyside Veterinary Practice - all located in Moray.
It has now moved the out of hours service at these practices to either Inverness or Aberdeen.
But the company says it cannot comment on individual cases such as Jasper’s, saying that it aims to provide “a professional and caring service at all times”.
A spokesperson for the company said: “Due to client confidentiality, we cannot comment publicly on individual cases.
“However, we take any owner concerns regarding care delivery extremely seriously and all complaints are investigated thoroughly.
“We encourage our clients to please take any complaints directly to us at the practice, through the customary channel, and our team will liaise directly to help address any issue.
“To reassure all pet owners from Ward Vets: in case of an emergency during nights or weekends, please call our practice number as usual.
“Your call will be directed to an on-call triage team who will assess your situation and discuss any next steps with you. If your pet needs to be seen urgently by a vet, we will arrange for you to attend Highland Vet Emergencies.”
Thousands of concerned pet owners have already signed a petition calling on IVC Evidensia to reconsider its decision to move the service outwith Moray.
Many claim that the move may lead to pets dying and suffering unnecessarily.
And Moray politicians have echoed those concerns with Moray Council leader Kathleen Robertson and MSP Richard Lochhead writing to the company on behalf of constituents to find a solution.
Mr Ferguson added: “I think we’ve all been alarmed and concerned about the decision.
“You obviously hope that you will never have to use emergency out of hours care especially with it being moved to Inverness but within a week of it being moved from the Wards we had to use it and it was really traumatic.”
IVC Evidensia says that the decision is necessary due to a “severe” shortage of vets in the region and the company maintains that it is the only way to ensure the wellbeing of pets registered at their practices going forward.
A spokesperson for the company told The Northern Scot: “We are sorry to say this may mean a longer drive for some pet owners.
“However, we believe the dedicated service we’ll be able to offer at Highland Vet Referrals (Inverness) and Vets Now (Aberdeen) is the only sustainable option to help ensure the welfare of the animals we treat.”
