Unnecessary emergency vet visits cost businesses £19 million

British businesses are losing out to the tune of £19 million a year as workers take time off for unnecessary emergency vet visits.

According to new research by pet insurer MORE TH>N, over one in three pet owners (37 per cent) took time away from work to rush their pet to the vet, lying to their employer about where they were or taking the time off as compassionate leave. Common excuses were that they were ill themselves or they had a medical appointment. A further 58 per cent of those who made sudden trips to the vet used up their precious annual leave.

And when it comes to the vet visit, up to 49 per cent of the emergency trips may be unnecessary, with pet owners just needing advice rather than urgent treatment for their pets. Unnecessary trips cost pet owners £118 million in a combination of vet fees, wasted miles and lost annual leave. The majority (81 per cent) travelled up to 10 miles to visit the vet unnecessarily and a small but significant 3 per cent travelled over 40 miles.

To combat this, pet insurer MORE TH>N is launching a service that is like NHS Direct but for pets, called Vetfone. The service, which launches on Monday 2nd April, works in exactly the same way as the one for humans and in a recent pilot with MORE TH>N pet insurance customers, only 27 per cent of callers needed to take their pet to the vet urgently.

The MORE TH>N research reveals a strong demand for such a service. 42 per cent of pet owners claim that a service like NHS Direct for pets could have saved them time and money and a further 43 per cent say it would give them peace of mind. One in five (17 per cent) often worry about their pets’ health and wish they could telephone someone to get guidance.

Mike Holliday-Williams, managing director of MORE TH>N, said: “Pets are an important part of the family so when a pet becomes ill, many people don’t hesitate to take time off from work to rush them to the vet. Often these visits are unnecessary but they cost UK businesses dear. It costs them in employee time and colleagues can be left to hold the fort for hours with no idea when their colleague is likely to return.

“MORE TH>N’s Vetfone will provide worried pet owners with 24 hour access to a qualified veterinary nurse who can advise them on the best course of action. We anticipate that Vetfone will save pet owners valuable time and money in unnecessary vet visits, and it will enable vets to focus time on the serious cases that need their expert skills.”

Vetfone is available for new and existing MORE TH>N pet customers. For further information, visit morethan.com\pet.