"The wise man does not rage against the world as it is. The wise man works towards the world that he wants."   — Author unknown

Over the past two years I have learned from personal experience just how difficult the complaints process can be when a complaint is made in relation to veterinary services…and I have thought long and hard about how this situation can and should be made better.

This is not about our vets. It is about having a fair complaint process.

It is this that I want to share with you and to seek your involvement in.

Legislation covering veterinary services is currently under review in South Australia, and it offers a rare opportunity for the South Australian Community to get involved in designing a complaints process suitable to everyone’s needs – our animals, our community and our vets.

The world as it currently is…

Currently, and under proposed legislation, complaints will continue to be managed by the Veterinary Surgeon’s Board.

• This is a self-regulated system that keeps complaints in-house.
• The Board’s website (12 February 2023) continues to advise that under privacy provisions, and unless they impose conditions on a vet’s registration or cancel registration that they can choose to tell you nothing about your complaint – that they will give no progress reports, no reasons for the outcome and no outcome at all.
• As well as advising that they can choose to tell you nothing about the progress or outcome of your complaint, amongst the considerations the Board has put forward for the review of the legislation is  that a fee might be charged to lodge a complaint. Presumably, this has the potential to mean that we will charge you a fee but don’t expect to be told anything.
• There is a potential conflict of interest between the Board’s role in accrediting veterinary premises and responding to complaints. If the Board has not adequately maintained accreditation then the Board could be implicated in the circumstances that led to the complaint.
• It appears that the Board is still slowly working on the complaints process. In 2003 the legislation read – that the Board be involved in establishing complaints processes. In 2022, the review Bill also reads – that the Board be involved in establishing complaints processes.

The world as it could be – what is the alternative? 

I am calling on the South Australian Community to sign this petition calling on the Government to establish an Independent Complaints Agency. This would bring about the following:

• A comprehensive system that, for example, could adapt the Better Complaints Guidelines (Commonwealth Ombudsman) to the unique challenges of responding to veterinary complaints.
• As well as supporting the public and our animals, for veterinary surgeons this would make possible:
  • Efficient processes that reduce the pressures already being experienced by a profession that is in shortage and whose suicide rate is 4 times the general population.
  • Reduced risks for whistle-blower vets.
  • Avenues of recourse for veterinary surgeons if exposed to unwarranted social media reviews, and what support they can be offered, most especially when the public then has access to a good complaints system.
• A complaints process that de-escalates complaints, offering early resolution and potentially offering vets support to respond to complaints within their practices and before any notification is made – a professional advisory service for vets in responding to complaints would likely help everyone.
• An Independent Complaints Agency would be able to provide resolution in the increasingly complex field of animal care. It could provide:
  • A complaints process that recognises that Veterinary Surgeons operate in a complex clinical environment and should not risk being held responsible for the conduct of others also involved in an animals’ care. The Board is responsible only for and to vets. It does not and cannot cover others involved in your pet’s care – veterinary assistants and nurses, administrative staff, etc. The dental profession in South Australia has long had an independent complaints process and as a result of which many categories of service provider are included, not just dentists.
  • The field of animal care is expanding and is far more complex than when Boards assumed the responsibility of complaints management. The public seek access to alternative practitioners, and again the Board is not designed to cover other practitioners.
• An independent complaints agency which can cover a range of providers will better help detect areas of concern, and how things can be improved – it is a continuous improvement mechanism by using complaints as feedback.

Above all, an Independent Complaints Agency will be Giving A Voice To South Australian Animals