Elephant in the clinic: Helpline offers support to vets with mental health difficulties
Veterinary medicine is a demanding career, leading to mental health problems for some vets. A new helpline is offering much-needed support, says .
The creators of All Creatures Great and Small have a lot to answer for. While the long-running TV show, set in the Yorkshire Dales, depicted the life of a country vet as gentle and easy-going, it’s a representation that Ireland’s 2,926 veterinary practitioners would struggle to recognise.
“The veterinary world is a demanding one,” says Dr Pat O’Doherty, a partner in the Gilabbey Veterinary Hospital in Cork. He has been practising medicine for 36 years.
We work long hours, which takes its own toll. We’re constantly expected to perform at our best, but, like everyone, we make mistakes. The problem is that in the veterinary world, that mistake can be catastrophic. An animal dies, and, for someone who is conscientious and committed enough to work in a caring profession, that’s a devastating outcome.
Many vets struggle with mental health problems. “A variety of research shows that veterinary professionals report a very high level of psychological stress and are known to be at an increased risk of death by suicide, when compared with the general population,” says Dr David MacGuinness, president of Veterinary Ireland, the representative body for veterinary surgeons in the country.
A study carried out by the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association, found that from 1979 to 2015, veterinarians died by suicide 3.5 times more often than the general US population.
O’Doherty offers his own anecdotal evidence. “Vets are high-achievers, with high expectations, and if we don’t perform at the high level we’re aiming for, we can be rocked,” he says.
“Vets’ mental struggles tend to be hidden, until something gives. I’ve been to a number of funerals of colleagues who committed suicide. In most cases, the death came as a shock to everyone.”
GRUELLING HOURS
Last November, Veterinary Ireland launched an initiative called Vet Support Ireland to help support vets, veterinary nurses, and lay staff with their mental health. It is tackling the issues that can make the profession so challenging.
According to the Veterinary Council of Ireland, 1,671 men and 1,253 women are registered as veterinary practitioners in Ireland. Each one has demonstrated the highest academic ability and commitment to being a vet even before they have qualified.
University College Dublin is the only Irish college to offer a bachelor of veterinary medicine degree. Candidates must complete 60 hours of practical experience in the manual handling of animals before they can apply. Because there are only 82 places, points are above 560, which means students must have an A average in their Leaving Cert results. Those who make the grade then have to complete a five-year degree, before they embark on their careers.
Like their medical counterparts, those careers are challenging and varied. In the cities, most vets work with small animals, generally domestic pets, whereas in the countryside, most work with large animals, generally cows, sheep, and horses.
“Whether you’re a rural or urban vet, you usually work long hours and it can be a gruelling job,” says MacGuinness.
People get attached to their pets, so emotions run high when pets are sick or injured. Farmers are heavily invested in their animals, too, so vets can often find themselves in very stressful situations.
LONELY WORK
This isn’t the only pressure on vets. Many of them have to travel long distances to visit clients, which means that they have little to no interaction with colleagues and can become isolated, with no-one to confide in about the difficulties of the job.
Vets work long hours and often have to be on call to deal with emergencies. The work also can be dangerous, particularly when dealing with large animals such as horses.
Many vets are self-employed, which creates its own insecurity. If most of your clients are farmers and there’s a downturn in the prices they are being paid for their animals, they may be late in paying for your services, placing you under growing financial pressure.
MacGuinness believes that vets’ easy access to powerful drugs is also a factor in the profession’s high suicide rate. “They need to have these drugs, in order to treat sick or injured animals, but the danger is that they will abuse them or use them to euthanise themselves,” he says.
CHANGING ATTITUDES
There are signs the 24/7 work ethos is changing. “A lot has changed since I graduated, in 1984,” says O’Doherty. “Those first few years were sink or swim for me. The training was rough-and-tough, and you had to develop a thick skin, as you went along. There was a strong drinking culture, at the time, and a lot of vets used that as an outlet for stress.”
He identifies several key changes since. “Graduates are being prepared for the challenges of working life now,” he says. “We didn’t have that. Practices are more supportive, too, and there’s a move to try to get vets to work nine to five rather than constantly being on call.”
The Vet Support Ireland initiative is part of these changes. It was set up in Northern Ireland in 2017 and it has now been rolled out in Ireland. It is in addition to the existing Veterinary Assistance Programme (VetAP). “Ten years ago, all of the different veterinary organisations in Ireland got together to establish VetAP,” says MacGuinness.
It’s a bit like the Samaritans, in that it’s a dedicated line, offering immediate help to veterinary surgeons, nurses, and staff who are in crisis situations.
Vet Support Ireland helps people before they reach those crisis points. “We’re not replacing VetAP, but adding to it,” says MacGuinness. “We see it as a way of averting the disaster before it happens or avoiding things coming to a head.”
Vet Support Ireland is run by a team of trained volunteers, consisting of nine veterinary surgeons and two veterinary nurses.
“Their profiles are up on the website, www.vetsupport.ie, and you can choose to speak to the one who most appeals to you,” says MacGuinness. “Their job is to listen to you in total confidentiality and then help you make a plan of action to solve your problem or refer you to other organisations, or people who can help.”
Currently, vets in Ireland are being helped by the same team of volunteers as vets in Northern Ireland, but Veterinary Ireland is planning to train up its own volunteers.
ADVICE SERVICE
Dr Andy Mayne, a director of the Jubilee Vet Clinic, in Newtownards, in Co Down, has volunteered with Vet Support Ireland since it started.
“I’ve spoken to many vets in that time,” he says. “Their problems vary, but, I suppose, you could say they are overwhelmed by veterinary life. Some struggle with isolation, working on their own, travelling from client to client, and rarely getting an opportunity to talk to colleagues. They need to talk to someone about their difficult cases and we can help with that.
“Others are working all the hours of the day and night, trying to make ends meet financially, and sometimes struggling to get paid,” he says.
“The veterinary life can be a difficult one. We urge all vets to talk to us about those difficulties. Our volunteers are well trained, and they can teach you the tools you need to calm down, so that you can start tackling your problems.”
When MacGuinness started out, his father, who was a retired vet, acted as his mentor. “I could always phone him for good advice. Then, I worked in large practices and always had collegial support. My life could have been very different, had I not had either of those things. At least today, Vet Support Ireland can fill that gap.”
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