Dr Sally Henry to launch 24-hour animal treatment centre in Albury

At present, Sally Henry treats animals all hours of the day or night, but only if the pet is a current client.

Newcomers to town who have not visited her Lavington practice are forced to drive to Wagga to get emergency treatment after hours.

Dr Henry described the unbearable stress and sorrow when she hears about injured animals not being able to be treated in time when they have serious medical emergencies.

"It gives me goosebumps thinking about the dogs and cats that are in trouble if they're bitten by a snake and have to try to make it to Wagga," Dr Henry said.

"It hurts me so much because I see on community pages people asking if anyone is open, where do they go when their dog's been bitten by a snake?

"That dog will be dead by the time it gets to Wagga. The nearest one that is open 24 hours is at Wagga, an hour and a half drive from here.

"That's what needs to change and that's my motivation for doing this.

"By doing this, it means that we are no longer restricted to our clients, it means anybody can come here and get emergency care anytime."

Last October Dr Henry bought the business formerly known as Dr Jana's Pet Hub.

For the past nine months the practice has been known as the Albury Animal Hospital.

Dr Henry hopes to turn the practice into a 24-hour operation early next year - but there are frustrating hurdles.

"We have seven vets now, not enough for this after-hours project, so our biggest challenge is going to be getting vets," she said.

"Our seven vets at the moment have enabled us to increase our workload to be able to support more pets coming through.

"But they're a combination of part-time, casual and full-time and I guess that's part of the crisis, getting more is the biggest challenge.

"We used to have the emergency centre but that closed in January. I worked there for a brief period of time and it is an absolutely necessary service for this region.

"That did not close because there was lack of animals coming through the door, it closed for a number of other reasons, but particularly because of the vet shortage, they just could not get enough staff to work."

Dr Henry said many vets were leaving the industry because of combination of burnout, stress, and compassion fatigue.

She said many people didn't understand the challenges that come with being a vet in a regional community, with many mistakenly believing vets "earn a small fortune".

"We don't get paid the wages that people think that we earn," she said.

"There's no Medicare, there's no PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) for what we do, and so that then compounds and leads to the fatigue and emotional blackmail that we get and that is a lot for people in our staff to deal with.

"Well, I'd like to get the 24-hour operation happening in 2024.

"If I could make it happen next week, I'd make it happen next week but I'm acutely aware that we had an emergency centre before and it didn't last, and I want to make sure that I get it right."

Dr Henry estimates she would need another seven vets to make a 24-hour operation feasible.

"The last thing that I want to do is go into it, and then go, oh no, we can't do those days, or we don't have staff, because that's what happened last time," she said.

"Currently, we can only provide after hours care for current and active patients.

"The fees will be higher, they have to be because the staff will be paid more at night, it's just basic maths.

"However, I anticipate that even though they (fees) will be higher than during the day, and rightly so, they shouldn't be as expensive as they are for after hours service now.

"People need to understand that we are deeply connected with the animals.

"And we do want to help them and we have an immense connection with the community need.

"But at the end of the day, people still need to be paid, the power still needs to be turned on, the pharmacy still needs to be filled."

Dr Henry said her motivation was not for financial gain.

"It's probably going to create more work and more worry for me than what I currently have now," she said.

"My motivation is the dogs and cats that are dying on the way to Wagga.

"I've got staff members that are coming out multiple times a night, I'm concerned that they're going to crash the car on the way home or if they come in the next morning and they're fatigued, what if they miscalculate a dose or something like that?"

"We have a vet on-call for our patients, whether it be 6.30 at night, just after we've closed or three o'clock in the morning, we will still come in and see the pet.

"But they have to be our current clients."

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