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Historic photo of vets caring for a cat at the Blue Cross animal hospital in Hugh Street. The service started in 1907, but is now struggling due to the economic crisis. |
Reality bites: Blue Cross shelter hit by credit crunch
As the economic crisis worsens, vets at historic hospital warn of huge strain on services
THE recession isn’t the only thing biting at the famous Blue Cross animal hospital in Victoria, but it’s proving more painful than the pets.
The 102-year old hospital is a lifeline for pet owners on low incomes who can’t afford private veterinary services, but with more people out of work and others unable to spend the money on their animals they once could, soon there could be more dogs than bones.
Demand for the hospital’s services soared in 2008, with the highest number of consultations on record – meaning vets seeing around 70 pets every day, and an incredible 5,524 operations in 12 months – almost double the amount in 2005.
Staff say the credit crunch has hit pets and their owners hard, resulting in packed waiting rooms and crowded kennels. Mange, diabetes and heart disease are all on the rise, as owners cut food costs and struggle to find time to exercise their pets with more people working second jobs.
Hospital manager Steve Broomfield, a former pet ambulance driver who has worked for Blue Cross for 28 years, said: “We have had a sharp increase in the numbers of animals we are seeing because of the financial situation. Obviously there are more people on benefits, so we have more people eligible to come down and see us. But people are also spending what little money they have on themselves, where before money went on their animals.”
Open 24-hours, seven days a week, the hospital in Hugh Street has a strict criteria for an animal to be eligible. Services, including expensive operations, are available for free only to people claiming benefits, on a state pension or with no income.
The hospital’s 16 vets are working round the clock to keep up with the workload, and if there was room for expansion, Mr Broomfield said they would.
Every inch of the five-storey building is being used to maximum effect, with wall-to-wall kennels, two operating theatres, a special sterilised washing area and an “isolation room” for animals with contagious diseases.
To cope with the groundswell of needy pet owners, the hospital has opened a new evening vaccination session and has also launched a weekly mobile clinic to help people who are housebound.
And with hard times come the chancers. One of the problems posed by across the board belt-tightening is the small but rising numbers of pet owners who will try and take advantage of the free services.
“The reality is that keeping a pet isn’t cheap, especially in London,” said Mr Broomfield.
“We do get people trying to play the system but that is expected because private vet care is expensive. With anything like this it happens and we are wary about it.”
With fewer people giving to charities, the Blue Cross faces a funding headache over the next few years, but Mr Broomfield insists there will be no redundancies, although there are plans to make savings on drugs.
The hospital site was originally given to the charity by the Duke of Westminster in 1906.
It was originally the Duke’s private stables and bosses at the hospital claim to have “never turned a sick pet away”. |
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