Nowhere in Grey Bruce to take pets in after hours emergency

A group of eight local vet clinics have updated their procedures for dealing with after hours emergencies and it has local pet owners concerned. 

The vet clinics have sent out an email to their clients letting them know the new procedures and where they might have to take the family pet after regular business hours. 

Clients have been taking to social media to voice their concerns about the distance they'd have to travel if their pets were in a life or death situation. 

"Updated Emergency Services Procedure

Information on Services Provided Outside of Regular Business Hours

Dear Clients;
We hope this message finds you well. We are writing to inform you of an important change in our local veterinary practices that will affect the way we handle after-hours medical emergencies. After careful consideration, changes have been made to the availability of local emergency veterinary care outside of regular business hours. 

These changes will become effective on November 15th, 2023

If your pet DOES require in-person care, it will be necessary to travel outside of the Grey-Bruce area. 
Below are the steps required to access emergency medical care. Emergency cases are triaged in a manner similar to ones in the human emergency health system. 

1. If your pet is suffering from an urgent or emergency condition, please contact our clinic at (519) 422-3164 (this is the Sauble Beach clinic's number, it will vary depending on what vet you use);

2. If our clinic is not open at the time, please follow the instructions on the message and you will be directed to an emergency triage service, where you will speak directly to an Ontario Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) who will then discuss your pet's situation with you and ask you some basic questions. This step may take a few minutes to complete. 

3. The RVT will help determine if your pet is suffering from a life-threatening emergency, and therefore requires an in-person examination as soon as possible. If so, they will arrange a transfer to the facility most suitable to your pet's expected level of care for diagnostics and treatment, and will provide you with further instructions. 

4. If the RVT feels your pet's condition may be able to be resolved without an in-person emergency visit, they will assist you in setting up a virtual appointment with an Ontario based veterinarian. This means that the RVT does not feel your pet is currently suffering from a life-threatening condition. The RVT will aid you in setting up an account that meets the legal requirements for the provision of veterinary medicine in Ontario. Payment is accepted in the form of Credit Card, Debit Card or e-transfer. This payment is required to proceed further through the triage process. This step may also take several minutes.  

5. You will now be in the scheduled queue for your virtual consultation. We understand that this wait can be stressful for the owners. It is important to note that if your pet experiences a new symptom or change in condition during this wait, you should contact the RVT again and your place in the queue will be reassessed; otherwise be patient, knowing that if your pet is waiting for a consultation, that is a good thing! It means their emergency situation has not been deemed life-threatening. 

6. During your virtual consultation, the veterinarian will further assess your pet. This may mean requesting a video or photos to aid in the process. This veterinarian may be able to prescribe certain medications for your pet which would allow you to avoid the unnecessary cost and travel time for an in-person visit. Their records and treatment will be sent to us the next business day so that we can proceed with any follow up for further treatment required.

7. At the end of your consultation, If the virtual veterinarian believes that your pet should be seen in clinic, they will arrange a transfer to the facility most suitable for your pet's expected level of care, and provide you with further instructions. 

Below you will see a list of ER clinics; we recommend that you save their contact information and familiarize yourself with their location in advance.

Huronia Veterinary Emergency Clinic 
705 722 0377 
391 Dunlop St W, Barrie, ON, L4N 1C3 

Campus Estates Animal Hospital 
519 837 1212 
1460 Gordon St, Guelph, ON, N1L 1C8 

Mississauga Oakville Veterinary Emergency Hospital 
905 829 9444 
2285 Bristol Cir, Oakville, ON, L6H 6P8 

404 Veterinary Emergency and Referral Hospital 
905 953 1933 
510 Harry Walker Pkwy S, Newmarket, ON, L3Y 0B3 

Veterinary Emergency, Urgent Care and Referral Clinic of York Region 
905 953 5351 
1210 Journey's End Cir, Newmarket, ON L3Y 8Z6 

Veterinary Emergency Clinic of Toronto 
416 920 2002 
920 Yonge St Suite 117, Toronto, ON, M4W 3C7 

Toronto Animal Health Partners 
416 380 7400 
1 Scarsdale Rd, North York, ON M3B 2R2 

Vaughan Richmond Hill Veterinary Emergency Clinic 
905 884 1832 
10303 Yonge St, Richmond Hill, ON L4C 3B9 

Sincerely, 

Your Veterinary Teams at: 

Sauble Beach Pet Hospital
Port Elgin Veterinary Clinic 
Southampton Pet Hospital 
Sunset Strip Veterinary Clinic 
Owen Sound Veterinary Clinic 
Grey Bruce Pet Hospital 
North Heritage Animal Hospital 
Wiarton Animal Hospital