Your Practice Needs You!

RE: Your Practice Needs You!

Sal the 1st — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 11:08:35 GMT

I am doing very well for Easter eggs this year. During the week Morrisons supermarket delivered an Easter egg for everybody. They also delivered to the Police station, fire station, and ambulance station that are just across the car park from us. Thank you Morrisons

RE: Your Practice Needs You!

Sal the 1st — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 22:03:02 GMT

2 more nursing staff furloughed (better off for everybody because it means we will all be on more than 50% pay) - just the two of us now with the boss and most recent vet. The rush to buy flea and worm tx continues unabated, there must be animals out there that have never ever had flea or worm tx in the past that are now being treated? Seems a bit strange to think that through what is happening to us some of the pets are now receiving more treatment?

RE: Your Practice Needs You!

Selena Carnell — Sun, 05 Apr 2020 18:12:47 GMT

great! Not seen anything about that yet.

RE: Your Practice Needs You!

Sal the 1st — Sat, 04 Apr 2020 17:51:09 GMT

Heads up for those that didn't know already. Have just been reading elsewhere that RSA insurance groups will now be paying owner only NOT practice. Direct claims look like a no no until things are sorted. Don't know about anybody else but this could have some nasty implication for us as an independent practice. Just another kick in the teeth

RE: Your Practice Needs You!

Sal the 1st — Sat, 04 Apr 2020 15:54:36 GMT

[quote user="Selena "]

even other practices fake calling to see what procedures we were doing. (yes really!)

[/quote]

Yes we have had a couple of these calls as well - and you know what its pathetic, as if things weren't bad enough. I don't know what they are hoping to achieve but if it carries on I will name and shame and will do it in the national press - lets see what that does for their corporate image. If a practice is so paranoid about what others are doing..... I think the saying is 'the Devil makes work for idle hands'

RE: Your Practice Needs You!

Selena Carnell — Sat, 04 Apr 2020 12:58:13 GMT

we have been mental this week! phones almost off the hook. clients wanting emergency flea and worm treatment. even other practices fake calling to see what procedures we were doing. (yes really!) over half our work force requested furlough and jumped ship, leaving the hardcore few. Boss has been so grateful that our locum vet and nurse have continued to work for us. out regular vet was high risk.

RE: Your Practice Needs You!

Sal the 1st — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 08:54:23 GMT

I'm off again today but was in yesterday. Went through as many of the prescriptions in the box waiting collection as I could. Any that had been put up and not paid I called owners and either took payment over the phone so they could be collected or posted or returned to stock if no longer needed. We can't afford to have 'dead' stock sitting on the shelves. I'm not even sure why this has happened? My policy has always been pay when ordered. Brought in a little bit of income and I suppose it saved a little bit on postage as I printed off the month end invoices last night.

I am also getting super hot on returning items that are ordered in error from the wholesalers - don't hang onto stock you don't need in the hope it will get used somewhere along the line - when I did locum work every practice without exception had the cupboard, drawer, shelf of items going out of date because they never got used and nobody could remember why they had even been ordered

I have just under 90 hrs work for the whole of this month, my hours have halved - its going to be a tight one!

but on the plus side the bus I use has decided I am an essential worker and have said I have free travel. Yesterday it made 2 trips for the whole of the day one to pick me up in the morning and one to take me home last night and the bus driver said there is a little something from all of us if you look in the bag - an creme egg, never been so chuffed to get an easter egg.

RE: Your Practice Needs You!

Robyn — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 08:03:26 GMT

We're just about being kept ticking over by a couple of weird emergencies and surgeries over the last week, so the biggest way for me to help is streamlining things for my vet as much as possible. We've been split into two teams and our manager is on the other team so not much I can do to directly help her out, but keeping on top of phone payments for phone consults and making sure people know they can still order food and meds, and organising no-contact pickups is definitely helping things keep rolling

RE: Your Practice Needs You!

Sal the 1st — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 21:07:44 GMT

so how was it today? anybody got anything they can share?

I was at home today - have lost half of my hours , back at work tomorrow. Made a roast dinner for myself and neighbour (prepared using all precautions and left at her gate for her to collect) She complimented me on the tenderness of the lamb. It was venison at least by the end of this she will either be used to my cooking or my cooking will start to resemble something she can recognise.

RE: Your Practice Needs You!

Sal the 1st — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 22:40:25 GMT

[quote user="apache"]

Lets all pull together and come out of this stronger at the other side :) None of us know what's going to happen, so staying adaptable to change would be amazing!

[/quote]

this was my intent - please join in people

RE: Your Practice Needs You!

apache — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 22:23:15 GMT

A lovely thread and I hope some people chip in with ideas. As a practice owner I do find myself in an impossible situation, because I don't always know what is best for the staff or the business. The biggest unknown for me is that we don't know how long this is going to go on for, if it was really a 3 week lockdown and then back to normal then I have zero worries. I do want to protect staff, I do want to protect the business and I do want to protect the animals entrusted to my care.

Lets all pull together and come out of this stronger at the other side :) None of us know what's going to happen, so staying adaptable to change would be amazing!

RE: Your Practice Needs You!

Sal the 1st — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 20:21:58 GMT

'so quiet you could hear a bloody sparrow fart' to quote one of my more eloquent friends

Ok well I will start it off

You may be able to help quite easily by just not piling the stress on the boss. You think you got it bad? then spare a thought for the person trying to make the wages bill. Take a step back and try and see this from their position. This is not their fault. I work in an independent single site practice I am acutely aware of how this is affecting everybody.

Don't feel badly done by if you are furloughed you are actually going to be better off - at least you are home and safe and are guaranteed 80% wage and the chance to pick up work elsewhere if you want to , for those of us still working our hours are uncertain as is our health. - tho I acknowledge being home with children could be equally stressful

For those of us still working start thinking of ways we can make this work for all of us. Is there anything we can do to make things easier? What can we do to protect the practice and our futures? ie as stock becomes unavailable is there anything that we can do to try and pre empt a shortage by looking for other suppliers or being extra careful not to let one or two clients wipe you out?

Doesn't have to be something massive, could be as simple as making a cup of coffee or being there for a chat, or offering to answer questions from the public on the practice facebook page, or volunteering to answer questions that come in on the email. Above all try and stay upbeat - I'm not saying you have to be a Polyanna but https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=240FilS6nCA

And outside of the practice for anybody struggling on a reduced budget (I know there are a few of us on there already) give this group a quick look on facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/651859231575794/

any more ideas - anybody? keep them coming