“There were moments of feeling completely overwhelmed but my overriding memories are of the camaraderie.” Veterinary reflections on the pandemic

In June 2020 we asked our members to record their experiences of working as a veterinary surgeon at the height of the Covid-19 lockdown. In their videos, we heard very honest accounts of how it felt for them, their colleagues, and their clients – the highs and lows of pulling together as a team in the most extraordinary circumstances. We shared the videos with Defra Minister Lord Goldsmith in a virtual meeting to illustrate the pressures and challenges the veterinary profession was facing.

Just over a year on, we asked Emily, Alex, Alice, and Malcolm to watch their videos back and give us their reflections on what it was like coming through the past year and how they feel looking ahead to the future.

Emily Craven, farm vet

Q: How do you feel watching your video back?

A: I had forgotten quite how I felt. Like all of these experiences you have blanked out the anxiety and the uncertainty and just look back and say we did ok and cracked on. Clearly we did, but maybe it was harder than I remember!

Q: What are your reflections on working during the height of the pandemic/lockdown?

A: It was tough. We didn't know what was happening one day to the next; we didn't know where the Covid was and at what point we were all going to be taken; we didn't know how the rules were going to change tomorrow, next week, next month. There was just so much uncertainty and the one thing that I don't thrive on is uncertainty. 

The only thing about it was in a way it was easier at the height of the pandemic than later because we were scared and we were struggling but we were running on adrenaline and teams pulled together in that ‘Blitz’ mentality. I think it became easier further down the line because there was less uncertainty and we were more used to it, but the fatigue and frustration set in. 

Q: Thinking about working now as restrictions are lifted across England, what is the same and what has changed from the time you made the video?

A: Still working essentially alone as much as possible, still trying to social distance and still working from home a fair bit. But now I’m probably more relaxed and taking more calculated risks as people can lateral flow test and whilst not perfect, that gives a degree of knowing some risk of Covid. I think farm practice probably changed least at the time so its unsurprising that it’s changed again least now. 

Q: What has been the biggest challenge of working during the pandemic?

A: Uncertainty and relentlessness – what would the rules be tomorrow? Where was the Covid? How much risk was a risk worth taking? 

Q: How are you feeling about the next few weeks and months?

Ambivalent. I've been through every emotion in the last 18 months. I'm drained and fatigued and fed up of it all but also not desperate to get back to normal whilst the risk still seems quite high. I feel happier now I'm vaccinated and know that most people who want it have been offered the privilege. 

Just taking every day as it comes but also slightly concerned as to when I am going to feel 'normal' and happy to break social distancing, without a mask etc. It certainly wasn't 'freedom day' and I’m not sure it’s imminent!! 

Alex Davies, small animal vet

Q: How do you feel watching your video back?

A: A mixture of pride in the team for how they coped, some dread and residual anxiety, perhaps reflecting a type of PTSD, if that’s not too self-indulgent especially when compared to our colleagues in human medicine.

Q: What are your reflections on working during the height of the pandemic/lockdown?

A: A wonderful team spirit, everyone knuckling down to get the job done for what we thought was to be a period of a few months.

Q: Thinking about working now as restrictions are lifted across England, what is the same and what has changed from the time you made the video?

A: Unfortunately, with the national recruitment crisis, and the ever-increasing numbers of pets and therefore emergencies, it feels as if little has changed, but the tolerance and respect from the members of the public has eroded.

Q: What has been the biggest challenge of working during the pandemic?

A: Training yourself to live with the uncertainty Covid brought into everyone’s lives.

Q: How are you feeling about the next few weeks and months?

A: Guarded optimism, tapered by experience.

Alice Moore, small animal vet

Q: How do you feel watching your video back?

On the one hand I feel incredibly relieved and privileged to be able to sit here and watch this video back, nearly a year later, from a position of relative stability and freedom. I am so grateful to still be working for a viable practice, to have had my first vaccination dose and to feel less anxious and uncertain about what the future may hold. On the other hand, I look at myself then and think – wow, she did not know what was around the corner! 

That period of time was undeniably immensely challenging, but we have come up against so many more challenges since then and as a team we have suffered so much. Those first few months were countered by good will and team spirit, but the chronicity of this pandemic has really worn me down, as well as my colleagues and clients. 

Q: What are your reflections on working during the height of the pandemic/lockdown?

A: I actually look back on those first few months, quite possibly with rose-tinted glasses, with an immense feeling of pride. I really feel like I played my part to ensure the ongoing provision of veterinary services for the animals under our care and so did the rest of my team. There were moments of feeling completely overwhelmed, exhausted and even desperate, but my overriding memories are of the support and camaraderie I shared with my small bubble of colleagues. It was an extraordinary experience and I was always be grateful to have had those people by my side.

Q: Thinking about working now as restrictions are lifted across England, what is the same and what has changed from the time you made the video?

A: The most significant change for me and my team is that we are now allowing clients back into our buildings. The benefits of this are that our consultation blocks can run much more efficiently and we no longer require additional staff to handle the animals, which frees them up to do other duties. As I mentioned in my video, I found it incredibly difficult to be in a position where I could not allow owners to be with their pets when they were euthanased. Being able to allow this again has brought me a lot of comfort. The main disadvantage of allowing clients back in is that we are no longer able to socially distance with owners inside our small consult rooms. We have decided to enforce our own facemask policy but as this is no longer the law in England, we have met with some resistance. 

Q: What has been the biggest challenge of working during the pandemic?

A: Managing client expectations, communicating our limitations effectively and dealing with intimidating or aggressive behaviour from the public.

Q: How are you feeling about the next few weeks and months?

A: Nervous! I feel like I’ve lost a significant amount of control over my own biosecurity, both inside and outside of work. It’s difficult to accept that you can no longer manage risk as effectively as you could before because it depends so heavily on what the people around you choose to do – whether they are the clients in the consult room or the other shoppers at the supermarket. 

I have only had one vaccination so far – that does make me feel vulnerable still and I am sure I will feel more positive once I have had my second. Aside from the physical health risk, I also recognise that I now feel very fatigued by the chronic stress, anxiety and loneliness of the pandemic. Over the past few weeks we have been very short-staffed due to staff members having to isolate. This has left us feeling over-stretched and we are struggling to provide the level of service we normally do.

In addition, as restrictions ease and owners start to travel with their pets again, small animal vets are now having to navigate a new and more complex post-Brexit travel scheme. I fear both of these issues are likely to worsen before they start to resolve. Despite my concerns, given what we have all been through over the past 16 months I have no doubt that we will make it out the other side together. The challenge is to stay positive and keep hopeful!

Malcolm Morley, equine vet

Q: How do you feel watching your video back?

A: At the time when I made this video we thought life was just gradually going to get back to normal in a linear fashion. I wasn’t anticipating the significant upswing in equine vet work and a booming ‘horse economy’ that was about to happen. The interest in horses and the price of horses has never been higher.

Q: What are your reflections on working during the height of the pandemic/lockdown?

A: Working at the height of the lockdown… the best bit was driving around the countryside visiting horses when most people were stuck at home and the roads were empty. We were very lucky to have that, and I feel privileged to have had a job where full lockdown was never really a reality. The hardest thing was losing most of our team to furlough, feeling rather alone and being on duty much of the time. I suppose that combined with an initial fear about catching Covid.

Q: Thinking about working now as restrictions are lifted across England, what is the same and what has changed from the time you made the video?

A: Everything is different now and it's less to do with worry about coronavirus per se and more to do with veterinary capacity. Back then I felt bad for my vet friends who are locums and I thought they would struggle to find work again for a long time. Now it is virtually impossible to find a locum and just at a time when we might really need them if any one of our vets has to self-isolate.

Q: What has been the biggest challenge of working during the pandemic?

A: Unpredictability… and I think it will remain that way for some time…or perhaps it won’t. Even that is unpredictable in a meta kind of way!

Q: How are you feeling about the next few weeks and months?

A: Our practice team feel especially concerned about the next month. The greatest threat is that one or more of our vets will have to self-isolate. Once we get past 16 August then hopefully that threat will reduce as the whole team should have been double vaccinated. At the moment we are avoiding each other as best we can to mitigate the chance of more than one member of the team being affected. Beyond that, I guess I’m just still concerned about the unpredictable nature of it all.