2 Jun 2023
Charity’s data follows launch of online support materials for anxiety, and suggests the service may now be seeing levels of annual demand beyond even the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Allister Webb
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Contacts with a veterinary charity’s helpline jumped by more than 50% in the first three months of this year compared with 2022, officials have revealed.
The Vetlife data follows the launch of online support materials for anxiety, and suggests the service may now be seeing levels of annual demand beyond even the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, its latest impact report has indicated the organisation’s yearly expenditure is likely to exceed £1 million for the first time in 2023.
Senior officials warned earlier this year that the charity was experiencing “unprecedented” demand for all of its services, and that trend broadly appears to be continuing.
The group’s president, Graham Dick, wrote: “There is no doubt that the veterinary professions, and indeed veterinary services overall, find themselves under considerable stress during the current difficult times.
“The present cost of living crisis, ongoing veterinary staffing and workload issues, and the much-welcomed expansion of Vetlife charitable operations to embrace registered veterinary nurses have meant our support services are approached by members of the veterinary community now more than ever.”
The Vetlife Helpline offers a free, confidential and independent listening service for all veterinary workplace staff, as well as relatives or colleagues who have concerns about an individual.
Contacts increaseAccording to latest figures, 1,052 contacts were made to the helpline during the first three months of 2023, up by nearly 51% from the 697 recorded in the same period last year.
The increase can be largely attributed to email correspondence, which rose by 77% from 345 cases to 611, while telephone contacts were up by around a quarter from 352 to 441.
The figures suggest the helpline is on course to handle more than 4,000 calls and emails in a year for the first time, exceeding the current record annual total of 3,921 recorded during the COVID‑19 year of 2020.
Vetlife’s final impact report for 2022 said a pattern of steady increases in contact levels – about 3% a year – seen before the pandemic had resumed over the past two years, but warned “the severity and urgency of calls has steadily increased”.
The charity has now released new online resources – available online – to help people living with anxiety, which was the theme of the recent Mental Health Awareness Week.
Vetlife trustee Kirstie Pickles said: “Contacts received by Vetlife services are completely confidential, but we know that many people are experiencing anxiety and there are many more in the profession who find it difficult to reach out for support.
“Recognising and admitting that you are experiencing anxiety is the first step in effectively managing it.”
One encouraging indicator from the latest figures was a fall in the number of health support referrals made, from 56 in the first quarter of 2022 to 47 in the same period this year.
But the number of applications for financial assistance, the provision of which was extended to help veterinary nurses as well as vets last summer, has jumped from 1 to 24 in the same period.
The latter figure is around half of the overall 2022 total of 47 applications, which was itself more than three times the level of the previous year.
The report said the charity had provided £183,000 of grants in 2022, while a return to in-person fund‑raising activities following the pandemic – plus industry and charitable donations – had boosted its incomes.
In April, the organisation launched a video appeal to encourage veterinary professionals to make regular donations by becoming Friends of Vetlife, while forthcoming fund‑raising activities are set to include a group scaling of the UK’s biggest freefall abseil – the ArcelorMittal Orbit in London’s Olympic Park – in mid-June.
Vetlife’s annual expenditure peaked at more than £927,000 last year and is likely to exceed £1 million this year.
The report added: “Major upswings in demand for all services have now resulted in the demand-led budget currently facing an expenditure increase in excess of 15% year on year.”
Donations to the charity can be made via www.vetlife.org.uk/donate
Vetlife Helpline is available 24 hours a day by telephoning 0303 040 2551 or email anonymously via vetlife.org.uk
