Firstly, we would like to extend our thanks to the veterinary staff who are continuing to work during the pandemic often under very stressful conditions. We would like to reassure you that both our VPIS and Animal PoisonLine services are running as normal during the lockdown and we are here 24 hours a day to support you.
Thank you to all the vet practices who are using us to triage their cases by calling us themselves or recommending their clients call Animal PoisonLine. Around 80% of calls have resulted in the owner being able to stay at home.
We are increasingly concerned, however, when we receive calls from owners who have been advised by their vets to go in for treatment and subsequently call us before making the journey to the surgery. In many of these cases we have told them that they do not, in fact, need treatment. Animal PoisonLine was set up to support vets by triaging their poisoning calls for them, as well as ensuring their clients’ pets would only receive appropriate treatment when it was necessary.
We do not want our advice to impact on the trust that clients have in their vets or the veterinary profession as a whole. We are the experts in this field and have over 260,000 cases behind us so we URGE you to find out if treatment is required BEFORE asking the owner to go to the surgery. That way we all work together to ensure that pets are not overtreated and we maintain our credibility with the public.
We hope you all stay well and that soon some normality will return to us all.
Best wishes
The VPIS and APL team
