Changes to Atlantic Veterinary College Small Animal Emergency Services
Similar to human health care, the Canadian veterinary industry is facing unprecedented staffing shortages in both veterinarian and veterinary technician positions. Prince Edward Island (PEI) is not exempt from this shortage, and many clinics across the province and country have to make difficult decisions and adjust clinic hours to protect the health of patients and staff.
As a result, starting in May, the Atlantic Veterinary College’s (AVC) Veterinary Teaching Hospital will not be able to provide overnight small animal emergency service coverage to Island veterinary clinics.
As we adjust to this new normal, AVC intends to provide daytime emergency service coverage from 7 am to 10 pm seven days per week. However, staff illness or leaves, or high caseloads may result in reduced service hours. Individual cases will be triaged to ensure that the most critical patients are seen first. If we reach capacity on a given day, cases may need to be turned away, and stable cases may be asked to come back the next day. This triaging is to ensure that staff can adequately attend to patients facing life-threatening illness and injury, when needed.
To assist you in making the best decision for your animal’s veterinary care, updates about wait times and closures will be posted on the AVC’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital Facebook Page. We encourage you to like and follow this page for the most up-to-the-minute updates. The following categories of pet owners will also provide you with guidance in your decision-making for your pet’s veterinary care.
Small animal clients of AVC:
If the AVC’s Community Practice at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital provides your primary veterinary care, we are on-call for primary care and specialty services coverage after-hours. If you have an urgent or emergency need for your pet, please call AVC at 902-566-0950.
Small animal clients of another veterinary clinic on PEI:
Island veterinarians will provide emergency services to their own patients and may access AVC’s emergency service up to 10 pm, as long as AVC is not at capacity. Clients of other Island veterinary clinics should always call their clinic first before calling AVC. If you are directed by your clinic to go to AVC, always call AVC prior to departure so that we can inform you of our estimated wait times, and whether we have capacity to see your pet.
What to do if you do not have a primary care veterinarian on PEI:
Pet owners with emergencies but without a primary care veterinarian should call the clinic nearest to them. To call one of the 13 primary care clinics on PEI, please visit the Prince Edward Island Veterinary Medical Association’s website. If you are directed to go to AVC, always call AVC prior to departure so that we can inform you of our estimated wait times, and whether we have capacity to see your pet.
These changes are being implemented to ensure that all pet owners can access safe and focused care for their pets. We ask for patience and kindness as we navigate these challenging times and try to support our staff members within our hospital.
