WESTERN Australian veterinarians are facing a severe skills shortage - with no sign of reprieve on the horizon.
It is a story we are hearing all too often in rural and regional areas at the moment, as many businesses have been left struggling to secure both skilled and unskilled labour.
So what does this mean for our agricultural industry, given foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is right on the country's doorstep?
According to the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) head of veterinary and public affairs Dr Cristy Seacombe, who is based in WA, with the right plans in place the veterinary workforce should be able to respond if it is supported appropriately to do so.
Dr Seacombe said the association had been in regular contact with both the State and Federal governments and actively involved with preparedness activities.
She said veterinarians were well-trained in disease investigations and working to ensure they were provided with the specific information required to contribute to an FMD outbreak.
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"In previous outbreak scenarios, vets from across the country have volunteered to assist," Dr Seacombe said.
"Additionally, the government is working very hard to ensure all aspects of the agricultural community are prepared for an outbreak and this requires availability of resources and training to all involved - including the private veterinary sector."
Veterinarians are trained in disease investigation and although there are less veterinarians based rurally than previously, Dr Seacombe said the answer was not to train others to do the work.
She said a veterinarian studied for five years to earn their degree, so they were uniquely qualified in all areas of animal health and were not easily replaced.
"It is about using the vets who are in place rurally wisely and making sure there is support for them," she said.
"This will allow them to contribute their expertise efficiently and contribute to the emergency disease preparation in the most effective manner."
Job vacancy data has indicated the time to fill a veterinarian vacancy had increased substantially in recent years.
In 2018, the AVA workforce survey revealed 34 per cent of vacancies took over six months to fill.
This jumped to 52pc in 2021, with a further 37pc taking over 12 months to fill.
Dr Seacombe said it was difficult to speculate how many veterinarians were needed and work was being undertaken to try and model this - however it was complex.
"There are shortages in both the city and rural areas," she said.
"Smaller rural centres are most at risk, as they often have only one veterinary hospital servicing the entire town."
So what exactly is impacting the shortage of rural and regional veterinarians and has any work been done to entice more workers to the regions?
As can be expected there are social and financial considerations impacting numbers.
This includes an underinvestment in the labour component (low remuneration compared to other professionals with similar education debt), long hours and lack of flexibility in working arrangements.
Dr Seacombe said veterinary services were funded by animal owners and veterinarians doing many hours of unpaid work.
She said the cost of providing 21st century veterinary care was high and there were no government support structures - for example Medicare - to assist.
Therefore, all the cost of delivery is met by owners.
With no community support, if rural residents don't use veterinarians to deliver animal health services, then the veterinary business won't be financially viable.
Dr Seacombe said communities expected a 24/7 service by veterinarians, however in contrast to human health - where there is the safety net of a local hospital - the local vet hospital is usually the safety net.
"When there are fewer vets in rural and regional areas, there are fewer people to share the load, which compounds the issue," she said.
"The workload and lack of flexibility doesn't suit everyone, making recruitment and retention difficult.
"Finally, there is the impact of Australia's population becoming more city centric - if a graduate doesn't have much exposure to the bush, they are less likely to live and work there."
At the recent Federal government election, AVA called for support to help address the issue, starting with fee forgiveness and greater rural exposure for veterinary students.
According to Dr Seacombe, this is just the beginning as ensuring the labour component has adequate investment doesn't necessarily solve workforce shortages rurally.
This has been evidenced by the challenges in encouraging human health professionals out bush, despite being paid well.
"Given the marked labour underinvestment compared to the health profession, we think improving investment in the labour component of the vet profession is highly likely to improve the crisis," Dr Seacombe said.
"That is through improved pay, working conditions and flexibility."
The most recent AVA workforce survey indicated 70pc of veterinarians would consider rural work if those factors were addressed.
Other areas, which may assist, are mechanisms that provide opportunities for veterinary professional's partners to also seek employment, as well as community support of veterinary hospitals, similar to human health services.
