Manitoba vet clinics dealing with animal surgery backlogs

Surgical delays and staff shortages have been well documented in Manitoba’s health-care system, but it appears those problems have also taken over the animal world.

Vet clinics are dealing with an influx of surgeries, mainly related to an increase in people getting pets during the pandemic.

"With COVID, a lot of people were home and had more time for pets," said Dr. Erika Anseeuw, a veterinarian at Pembina Vet Hospital. "So those pets have all grown up a little bit and they're old enough to get fixed so now there's a second wave as far as needed appointments. Spay and neuter surgery, other elective procedures, emergency procedures…everything is affected."

It's not just the increase in the number of pets that is leading to delays Anseeuw said; she added there is a shortage of veterinarians as well as veterinarian technologists.

"There's been a number of new practices that have opened, there is an increased demand in each of those practices because of an increase in pets. Everything is compounding together to create this problem."

Only one school in the province offers programs for veterinarian technologists and that is Red River College Polytechnic.

Curtis Aab, the chair of the Life Sciences Department, said the two-year program usually accepts 30 applicants a year, adding all applicants must be Manitoba residents as it is a popular program.

When shortage concerns are brought up, he said conversations on how to address the problems need to happen.

"When you hear things like that, the first thought that comes to mind is 'how can we play a role in helping to address that problem,'" said Aab.

He said if the school looked at possibly accepting more applicants, they would need the infrastructure in place first before taking next steps.

"There are some limitations in terms of how many students we can take in. One of the reasons for that is it is an accredited program by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association…one of the big requirements there is staff to student ratios," said Aab. "That's where we would start the discussion. So if we were to consider (adding more applicant spaces), how would we go about doing that effectively and still, of course, maintain our accreditation requirements?"

Aab noted the school has representation from both the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association and the Manitoba Veterinary Technologist Association on the Program Advisory Committee.

With these problems, what does that mean for wait times? Anseeuw said it depends on the location, but at Pembina Vet Hospital they are booking two to three months out for spays and neuters.

She added those appointments could also be pushed back if there ends up being emergency surgeries.

And the delays don't just apply to surgeries; she said it could also impact lab work and other tests that pets require.

When it comes to advice for pet owners who have to deal with some of these delays, Anseeuw said she asks people to just be patient. She understands people want to take care of their pets but noted right now, it is taking time to get everything done.

A spokesperson for Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson said in an emailed statement to CTV News that the veterinary shortage is being felt in many jurisdictions for a variety of reasons.

"Increasing the supply of veterinarians will not be resolved by a single approach. It will take stakeholders working together on attracting more graduating veterinarians back to Manitoba and raising opportunities for foreign-trained, qualified vets and for more graduating vets," the spokesperson said.

"We are committed to working with our stakeholders to take a focused approach to meet our province's needs."