Coronavirus comeback: most practices now near normal

Newly released data paints a picture of increasing practice revenues, and big declines in remote consulting and the number of people on furlough, as the veterinary sector continues its coronavirus comeback.

For the fourth instalment of its COVID impact survey, the RCVS gathered responses from 241 practices, which also showed 58% of those practices were operating at “near normal”, with more than a quarter reporting “business as usual”.

Figures showed a big improvement in the percentage of respondents who reported their practice’s turnover had stayed the same or increased compared to pre-COVID-19 levels (56%), while 10% of practices still had vets on furlough, compared to 47% in June.

Remote consults

The number of practices using remote consulting has also tumbled from 80% in the last survey to 50% this time round, while fewer practices have staff working remotely (26%) than was the case in June (45%).

RCVS chief executive Lizzie Lockett said: “The results from this latest survey indicate that, for many practices, business continues to progress towards normality, with more than half of respondents saying they were delivering a ‘near normal’ service.

“However, the pandemic is far from over, with many areas of the UK entering into new periods of greater restriction even since our survey was carried out. In light of the ever-changing situation and new regulations set out by the four UK governments, we would encourage as many practices as possible to engage with our fifth survey – scheduled for November – to allow us to best gauge developments, and identify where support and further guidance is needed.”

Sample

The RCVS findings are supported by another report from Veterinary Insights, which found revenues from more than 400 practices in its sample had now recovered to within 18% of pre-lockdown levels.

Despite increasing revenue, however, the Veterinary Insights data did show that sales in certain areas are still lagging, reflecting changed routines.

With many practices requesting clients wait in the car park, a drop in the sale of products typically sold in the waiting room has occurred, with sales of pet food falling by 44% during early lockdown, and still down by 25% compared with February’s figures.

And while sector analysts have welcomed rising revenues, questions remain around profitability, with much of the work being done under restrictions now taking far longer than in a pre-COVID context.

‘Normal’ consult

Veterinary Insights chief executive Alex Arpino said: “There are many factors at work here – the time to carry out a ‘normal’ consult is extended due to having to bring the pet in from the waiting room or car park, communicate with the owner remotely or at a distance and carry out cleaning down procedures.

“Fewer consults means reduced income or longer working hours to accommodate demand. This does mean there is still huge strain on many working in practices that don’t have a full complement of staff – again often due to space limitations or people shielding family members.”

Mr Arpino added that the next six months would be crucial for practices across the UK hit hard by COVID-19. He said: “No one has a crystal ball, but it seems likely that the next six months will be quite telling – once the vaccine backlog has cleared, we need to find a way to identify how to rebuild incremental sales generated by making positive recommendations for preventive care. But the profession has done well to rebound so quickly and – given the intelligence and creativity of the vets, RVNs and practice managers out there – I’m sure the profession will continue to perform reasonably strongly and be well positioned for a strong bounce back when conditions improve.”

• For the full story, read issue 42 of Vet Times, mailing this week.