It is reassuring to know that most veterinary practices in Switzerland are organised into an on-call rota, so that pet owners can reach a vet whatever the day or the hour. Simply ring your usual vet: the answerphone message gives you the number to dial. One thing to avoid at all costs: directory-enquiry services, which will often give you the wrong number for the wrong area!
In the small practices typical of our region, the call usually goes straight through to the duty vet rather than to a call centre. That vet is available on top of their normal working hours and often has to handle the calls from home.
This is why it is essential to telephone before setting out — or you may find the door closed. That can quickly mean lost time and added stress.
What counts as an emergency is very relative, and does not always mean the same thing depending on where you stand.
1 – Immediate emergencies, which are in the end rare, thankfully: multiple injuries after an accident (road, train, etc.), torsion of a digestive organ (such as a twisted stomach), status epilepticus, sudden heart failure, severe attacks or violence (by other animals, people…), haemorrhage, and so on. In short, emergencies that involve the animal’s vital functions. To be shown to the vet as quickly as possible.
2 – Emergencies of the day: anything involving a degree of pain — a bite, diarrhoea or vomiting, wounds of any kind and anywhere on the body, urinary problems, euthanasia of an animal whose condition is worsening badly, and so on. Most of the emergencies actually seen belong to this group. Some conditions need to be seen quickly, within the day (for example a cat that can no longer pass urine, even if the problem has been going on for several days); others can sometimes be watched, or seen over the days that follow.
3 – ‘Emergencies’ that are not emergencies: appointments requested out of convenience (a public holiday leaves time to spare), vague complaints that have lasted several days without the animal getting any worse, small scratches, behaviour concerns (except, perhaps, the sudden appearance of aggression).
Already on the telephone, the vet will ask about the warning signs or symptoms — some of which, it must be said, do not always reflect the real problem well. It is important to be precise, and to have observed carefully the changes that prompted the call.
Some problems can be solved, or at least stabilised, with advice over the telephone — others, too, after a moment’s reflection on the owner’s part. Animals are like us: there is often no reason to panic after a single bout of diarrhoea, for example, when the animal is still behaving completely normally.
Using the on-call service often means travelling to an unfamiliar, more distant practice, but your animal is seen there promptly. Payment of the fee is requested immediately after the visit, and a surcharge, its size depending on the hour or the public holiday, is always applied.