Corah Louise, Lambert Alison, Cobb Kate, Mossop Liz
University of Nottingham, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, Sutton Bonington, LE12 5RD, UK.
Onswitch Ltd, 28 Avenue Rd, Grantham, NG31 6TH, UK.
Heliyon. 2019 Oct 24;5(10):e02567. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02567. eCollection 2019 Oct.
Approximately half of first opinion, small animal consultations exceed their allocated time and there's a growing call in the UK for longer consults. The aim of this study was to investigate and describe allocated appointment length in first opinion, small animal practice in the UK. Almost half (49.8%) of consults were scheduled for 15 min, with a further 39.4% scheduled for 10 min. Nearly all participants (97.1%) reported flexibility when booking appointments, scheduling longer appointments for conditions predicted to require more time. However, the majority (68.1%) reported no additional cost charged to the client for a longer consult. Furthermore, 54.7% of the survey respondents offered nurse appointments free of charge. A restructured approach to consult scheduling for both Veterinary Surgeon and Registered Veterinary Nurse (RVN) consultations could help to improve workforce wellbeing, utilise the vast knowledge and skill sets of RVNs and improve financial metrics.
大约一半的初诊小动物咨询会超出分配的时间，并且在英国，要求延长咨询时间的呼声越来越高。本研究的目的是调查和描述英国初诊小动物诊所分配的预约时长。几乎一半（49.8%）的咨询预约时间为15分钟，另有39.4%的预约时间为10分钟。几乎所有参与者（97.1%）报告称在预约时具有灵活性，会为预计需要更多时间的病情安排更长的预约。然而，大多数（68.1%）报告称延长咨询时间不会向客户收取额外费用。此外，54.7%的调查受访者提供免费的护士预约。对兽医和注册兽医护士（RVN）咨询的预约安排进行重新调整，有助于改善员工的健康状况，利用RVN的丰富知识和技能，提高财务指标。
