Emergency services and offering a specific and limited range of veterinary services

technical advice is our interpretation of how professional standards apply in a particular situation it is designed to help veterinarians deal with common issues in practice, using their professional judgement to apply the advice to their own situation it represents our best efforts at the time of publication but standards and expectations change over time and particular care should be used when reading old advice my business offers a specific and limited range of veterinary services only (i don't consider myself to be my clients' "main" or general veterinarian) what are my obligations for providing a 24/7 general emergency service? in the context of emergency service provision requirements, we interpret “a specific and limited range of veterinary services” as being where all of the following conditions are met the veterinarian provides services that requires a level of expertise that is higher than regular veterinary practice (for example referral equine dentistry services or embryo transfer services) the service is relatively limited in its scope so as not to be confused with the services provided by a regular veterinarian (see below) the service is not likely to be seen as a substitute by the client to them developing a relationship with a general veterinary practitioner a general veterinary practitioner (gvp) is the predominant veterinarian(s) or practice(s) who can be considered to be the provider of the regular and general veterinary services for an animal or group of animals a gvp must accept the major responsibility for providing emergency care for those animals veterinary services docid\ qytt vobkfxdyhtxlemcb section 5 7 https //app archbee com/public/preview wrbjxyhoscpug72h2 7zt/preview qytt vobkfxdyhtxlemcb#pifae of the code of professional conduct says veterinarians in clinical practice must make an emergency service available at all times this service is required so that animals under their care can receive essential veterinary treatment in order to relieve unreasonable or unnecessary pain or distress the emergency service must be sufficiently resourced, so that except in extraordinary circumstances all veterinary emergencies https //hub vetcouncil org nz/glossary#6cnvz involving the animals under their care are attended in reasonable time to ensure the welfare of the animals professional relationships docid\ g7umy1lhaknz5u4kno yw section 3 2 https //app archbee com/public/preview wrbjxyhoscpug72h2 7zt/preview g7umy1lhaknz5u4kno yw#jtrb1 says veterinarians who provide a specific and limited range of veterinary services to client/s (for example consultancy services) must ask the client who their usual general veterinary practitioner is ask the client for consent to contact this veterinarian and share relevant information while treating the animal(s) only authorise the use of restricted veterinary medicines for specific clinical matters they have consulted on arrange for 24 hour emergency care in relation to the matters consulted on see sections under veterinary services docid\ qytt vobkfxdyhtxlemcb 5 10 https //app archbee com/public/preview wrbjxyhoscpug72h2 7zt/preview qytt vobkfxdyhtxlemcb#section 510 to 5 13 https //app archbee com/public/preview wrbjxyhoscpug72h2 7zt/preview qytt vobkfxdyhtxlemcb#section 513 for requirements for those operating a specific and limited range of veterinary services section 3 2 also requires that veterinarians who provide a specific and limited range of veterinary services to client/s (for example consultancy services) must arrange for 24 hour emergency care in relation to the matters consulted on hence if the emergency specifically relates to the veterinary services provided by your practice the client can legitimately expect you to provide emergency care where a veterinarian chooses to provide specific services only, but these do not meet the above criteria (e g they are normally considered regular veterinary practice work and do not require a higher and more focussed level of expertise), our interpretation is that they are acting as a gvp and are expected to meet full emergency service provision requirements many clients will have more than one veterinarian and we encourage collegiality in these circumstances veterinarians who provide a specific and limited range of veterinary services to client/s (for example consultancy services) must ask the client for consent to contact the client’s gvp and share relevant information while treating the animal(s) it would be sensible to develop a relationship to ensure there is clarity around their responsibilities for emergency cover etc