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VET HELPLINE  - PAST & FUTURE

Vet Helpline celebrates its twentieth birthday this summer.  One of its founders, David Wishart, recalls “It is hard to believe today that VHL started with a telephone and an answer phone in a cupboard at RCVS”.

 

The service was first established in 1992 after two years of lengthy discussions driven by the Society of Practicing Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) working in partnership with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and the Veterinary Benevolent Fund (VBF).

 

David Wishart (BVA President, 1990 – 1991) also remembers “the Vet Helpline gestation was lengthy, we had no idea what work, costs, logistics, were involved in running a helpline…  BVA and RCVS were very supportive of the initiative”.

 

Volunteer helpers for the Helpline were recruited, as they still are today, from the veterinary profession. They include veterinary surgeons (and some spouses) located throughout the UK from practice, government service, industry and academia. One of the current team of helpers who has been with the service since 1995, explains why she wanted to be on the team “hearing an impressive interview with Lydia Brown (currently President of VBF) spurred me into thinking of a way I could put something back into the profession. I was realising at the time that life in general practice was not without its difficulties; working alongside others in Vet Helpline has been surprisingly therapeutic”.

 

The helpline was initially established to provide support for veterinary surgeons and their families but this has now been extended to cover veterinary nurses and veterinary students, some of whom want anonymity from their university support systems. Jill Nute (SPVS President, 1991) who was one of the initial team who established the helpline, commented that “Vet Helpline was not set up to specifically try to prevent vet suicides, people wanted advice or help on a wide range of problems and in those early days communication and employment were probably way out in front of health and wellbeing issues”.

 

Caller and helper anonymity is essential for Vet Helpline to function.  Every year since the first meeting of the 24 volunteer helpers was held at BVA headquarters in October 1991 the helpers have met again to receive training and exchange ideas. This ensures that they can offer as high a level of empathetic support for emotional, addictive or financial problems as possible and are also able to refer callers on for specialist advice where appropriate. Detailed statistics about the calls are reported each year in the VBF Annual Report which is available to view on the Vetlife website. 

 

Vet Helpline merged with the other veterinary support services run by the VBF in 1995.  It is fascinating to see how the original plan for a simple telephone advice and support service has grown into a service which in many ways is now the hub of the VBF support network.  It is a 24-hour service which is available every day of the year, even Christmas Day.  Callers dial 07659 811 118 and are put through to an answering machine, where they can leave their contact details.  Their call will be returned shortly afterwards by one of the helpers, all of whom have substantial experience of the veterinary profession and will support Callers in exploring the options open to them and give them a safe space to think things through.

 

John Moffitt, one of the VBF Directors with responsibility for Vet Helpline, says “our service is totally independent and confidential. We help veterinary callers of all ages with a vast variety of different issues. We are deeply indebted to the RCVS Trust for the financial grants they provide to the helpline and which benefit so many vets in need.”

The next innovation is to launch an email response service later this year, which should enable those people who hesitate to contact the service by telephone to come forward and ask for help. Studies have shown that many people who are reluctant to use the telephone, possibly because they cannot talk in private, may make email contact instead. The VBF wants to offer help in as many ways as possible. Rosie Allister, Vet Helpline Chair says:

 

We know that vets can, for a variety of reasons, find it very difficult to ask for help when they are struggling. They may feel their problems aren’t severe enough, or have very high expectations of themselves and think they should be able to cope with problems alone. Vet Helpline exists to offer support to individuals who are struggling, and offers a completely confidential, non-judgemental space for people to think things through. We’d strongly encourage vets, vet nurses and vet students to get in touch if they need to talk.”

 

We hope the next 20 years will continue with the same positive forward progress for Vet Helpline. 

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