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It’s a veterinarian’s worst nightmare, but dealing with a complaint through your local Veterinary Practitioners Board is surprisingly common. Here’s how it works. By Lynne Testoni
For dedicated professionals such as vets, a complaint about the care they provide can be upsetting and confronting.
While (hopefully) small, informal complaints can be dealt with on a practice level, more serious concerns are often handled by each state’s Veterinary Practitioners Board.
Each board operates a little differently when it comes to dealing with complaints, so it is worthwhile for vets to take time to understand the process in their state.
Dr John Baguley, registrar of the NSW Veterinary Practitioners Board, says the current legislation dates to 2003 and is in the process of being updated. The current review of the Veterinary Practice Act 2003 (NSW) is publicly canvassing registration for veterinary nurses and technologists, a risk-based approach to complaints and a premises licensing framework. At present the Act only deals with individual veterinarians —there is no mechanism to complain about vet nurses or hospital premises.
Serious complaints about vets are rare. Dr Baguley points out that with more than 5000 vets across about 700 hospitals in NSW and millions of client interactions annually, the board receives only around 80 complaints a year, suggesting most practices handle issues well.
He says that many vets are perfectionists and can regard complaints as an attack on their professionalism or their ability as a veterinarian. “I think that perfectionism sets them up in that way, because they don’t want to make mistakes,” he adds. “Nobody does, but of course the reality is that we all do.”
The complaint process
One of the challenges with the current act, says Dr Baguley, is that complaints cannot be triaged. All must follow the same process regardless of severity, and it takes, on average, four to six months to resolve a complaint.
In NSW, all complaints need to be in the form of a statutory declaration.
“We do that because we don’t want to deal with complaints that really have no basis,” explains Dr Baguley. “And also because we want to make sure the person who’s submitting that complaint is of course a real person, and they have some knowledge or experience of the circumstance that they’re complaining about.
“So they will say who they are, the animal that was affected and the veterinarian, or veterinarians, that they’re complaining about. They then describe the circumstances of the complaint.
“We try to find out what their main concerns are and what sort of outcome they’d like to achieve. We review it to make sure it’s meeting all those requirements and forward it to the veterinarian.”
Communication is a big part of dealing with issues, he says, so the board always acknowledges the complaint, offers advice about how long it’s likely to take, and what the outcomes can be.
The board then sends a copy of the complaint, with a request for information, to the veterinarian in question.
“That request for information is usually linked to records, either medical records, or communications with that particular client that might be relevant to the complaint,” Dr Baguley says. “And they can add a written submission. Sometimes they just like to explain the circumstances in a bit more detail.”
That information is then reviewed by the board’s investigation team, which currently employs three veterinarians, who turn the allegations and the records into a draft report, which in turn is reviewed by a complaints committee.
“Ultimately they’ll make a draft finding to either dismiss the complaint, or if they think there might be an adverse finding in relation to one of those allegations, they draft that report up and send it to the veterinarian, so the vet can respond,” says Dr Baguley.
I think that perfectionism sets them up in that way, because they don’t want to make mistakes. Nobody does, but of course the reality is that we all do.
Dr John Baguley, registrar, Veterinary Practitioners Board of NSW
“That would then come back to the complaints committee, and then they would make a final determination as to whether or not they believe the veterinarian was in breach, and what steps should be taken.”
Support for vets
It can be very stressful for vets going through this process, so Dr Baguley suggests the first thing a vet should do is talk to a colleague or employer. “This helps them to get some support from that perspective, but also just share the burden of the complaint,” he says. “Not to be ashamed of it, but just to talk about it.”
Dr Baguley says that most vets receiving a complaint through the board are aware that the complaint will come through because of interactions with a particular case or client, which does help them to prepare. “In many cases, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to them, but it certainly can be,” he says.
The NSW board also provides a counsellor, who is also a veterinarian, as a support for vets going through the complaints process. Dr Baguley also recommends that vets who are members contact the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA), especially its THRIVE program, for support.
THRIVE is the AVA’s flagship mental health and wellbeing initiative tailored for the veterinary sector.
Dr Debbie Neutze from the THRIVE steering committee says it is important to normalise complaints, as many vets will face them at least once in their career.
“People need to be prepared for complaints,” she says. “And what I mean by that is understanding that they are likely to happen at some stage and that’s okay. And it happens to lots of vets, including specialists. Even very good vets get complaints.
“Know who you would reach out to for support and help with a complaint. Vet teams should discuss how they would work with each other to address any complaint that might arise.”
She warns against over-catastrophising, stressing that the majority of complaints aren’t found against the vet.
“A lot of vets worry that it might end their careers, but the chances are, unless it’s repeated and intentional, you might get a small fine and a slap on the wrist.
“The majority of vets don’t know that others have had complaints, and that’s actually a problem in itself.
“I think that the more we talk about the fact that we had a complaint and what happened, the less stigma is attached. Because it is okay to have had a complaint and make a mistake — especially if you learn from it.”
Preventing issues
The best way to prevent complaints from reaching the board is to have a complaints process within the practice, says Dr Baguley. “We certainly recommend that each practice has its own complaints policy and hopefully, what that should do is nip the complaint in the bud,” he says. “So if any complaint is made about someone, it is acknowledged and addressed efficiently.
“Apart from that, we just really want them to be open and honest with us in terms of what happened. If a mistake was made, a mistake was made. What is important is acknowledging it, learning from it, and using that experience to become a better vet.”
AVA resources
The AVA has lots of support available to vets undergoing the complaint process through their local state board, or any other stressful situation. These include:
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP): available to all vets and veterinary staff.
• Mentoring: provides a trusted person with whom to process experiences.
• Member Hub: useful for experienced vets without a mentor to connect with peers who may have navigated complaints.
• Cultivating Safe Teams (part of the THRIVE program): focuses on psychosocial safety and open team communication so complaints are addressed collectively, not in isolation.
• AVA Conference plenary: annual session with board representatives from across Australia discussing the complaints process and demystifying outcomes.
