Surely this isn't true? Any London vets around?

[vivariumvivariumsvivaria]

A good, and previously sensible, friend of mine is a OT specialising in stroke rehab at a big London hospital.

She is now working 12 hour shifts in ITU under supervision of a specialist nurse. She's got PPE and the system seems to be working well.

However, staff are getting sick - and she told me there has been an appeal to vets and vet nurses to come and work in NHS.

Surely not?

I can't find any reports on it, and my friend is not prone to drama or delusions. I guess it makes sense in desperate times, but, the thought that times are that desperate makes me really quite scared.

Anyone heard of this?

Any AHPs ie OTs or PTs redeployed into HDU or ITU are in "runner" roles. I think you're underestimating their skill levels.
Vets will have a vast amount of knowledge and experience relevant to supporting teams in this crisis.

@Veterinari I’d rather be treated by Harry’s vet than some doctors I’ve seen!

I have found the route of my confusion on the 6 years degree. Cambridge offer a 6 year course. The first year is more a foundation for helping students who maybe need help due to background or not having being able to get the relevant work experience before applying.

www.cv-library.co.uk/career-advice/start/career-guides/how-to-become-a-vet/

@RoryGilmoree

We definitely have vets helping (supervised) on ICU in my trust. Perhaps get your facts straight before getting on your high horse.

My Dentist friend has already been asked to work in a hospital as she is a sedation specialist, I imagine that a Vet would have more current medical knowledge that most psychiatrists for example

Harry and veterinari are correct...

Many vets and vet nurses want to volunteer. As far as I know, there hasn’t been any ‘calling up’ letters to anyone.
If anything, the number of vet staff wanting to help far outstrips the number of roles going.
Some NHS Trusts have done training for vets and vet nurses so they can assist in various hospital roles.
There roles are going to be as health care assistants. There is no way they will be intubating humans. I have intimated many animals in my vet career and I understand that the human anatomy makes intubation really tricky. For covid patients this is a hugely high risk procedure that risks both the patient and the health care professionals involved. I’ve a further qualification in vet anaesthesia and there is no way that I would consider it to be a take I could and should do for a human.
Again, the assertions that vets ‘know how to use ventilators’ is erroneous - many vets will have experience in using them, and I would probably say that the vet nurses know more about the anaesthetic equipment than the vets tbh. But again, there is no way that a vet professional would take a responsibility for ventilation. It maybe they would take routine measurements and monitor a patient but this would be under very strict guidance from trained human medical professionals such as ITU nurses and doctors.
Vets and vet nurses have an obvious advantage In various other tasks such as being able to Understand and implement bio security and they will have many different skills that a human medical team can utilise effectively. They will be able to manage equipment in a sterile way, so they could assist in low risk procedures. Likely they could take blood and insert cannula a (this is my take on the roles, not an actual specified role), they will be easy to train up to do jobs such as 111 call handlers, maintaining equipment and maybe doing a small amount of stuff that is patient centred.

So, yes, vets and vet nurses are very likely to come into the NHS to help; where the nhs has a need; in jobs that are lowEr risk and appropriate; some of them will Need further training, Dane as other recruits, but they will have an underlying understanding of a number of issues that exceed that of many other applicants, which makes them easy to train up

I hope this allays anyone’s fears and also represents the reality of the situation.

Intubated not intimated!!!

@alltripe excuse me? Get off my high horse? I didn't say I knew it wasn't happening just that it wasn't happening in my trust and that they wouldn't be working at the same level as ITU nurses. Which is true. They'd be supervised as you say. No need to be so rude.

@Veterinari fair comment and I apologise - I didn't direct that necessarily at it being rubbish that vets might be working within the nhs (this is totally as I said) but more that someone said dentists are doing c-sections.

Good luck to all if you're working within the NHS as a vet/vet nurse, super interested to see the cross overs in terms of providing care to animals and humans. V much appreciate your support too x

My training is old but I qualified as a dental nurse and worked in a day surgery unit that performed general anaesthetics on dental patients having complex procedures or because they had extreme anxiety. We had a consultant anaesthetist but the dentists used to assist incubating the patients. Have seen some rather complex stitching done by them, them literally peeling back someone’s face. I know they had some training alongside medics at University. My knowledge is woefully out of date as not practiced for many years. I have no idea what their training is now but I think people tend to think of just scaling and fillings and the lower level stuff because that’s what they experience thankfully they won’t need to ever have their dislocated jaw put back in place or part of their jaw removed. These were maxillo facial specialists but still dentists.

It’s odd seeing this thread as it’s made me think of my training, could I still draw up drugs safely, take out stitches and sterilise instruments who knows. Holding someone’s jaw for hours as they had complex work done knowing you had to have their head in the correct position for safety as someone swings an enormous mallet in to another instrument that’s directly in their jaw. If they messed up they would literally smash the patient in the face, it was amazing to watch.

My first job on leaving school was as an auxiliary nurse the operating theatre block at our local hospital. I HAD NO TRAINING WHATSOEVER.

I 'assisted' at operations. Yes, I was in the theatre with a patient on the table while the surgeons operated. I wore basic scrubs. I counted swabs. I ran and got extra kit (sets are wrapped so remain sterile), I did all sorts of basic things which required no medical training whatsoever. I - and all the nursing staff in a theatre) were closely monitored.

I would write up the book with straightforward stuff like time the op started and ended, who was operating, who assisting.

Sometimes I would collect a patient from the cross-over area of which I've forgotten the name. This meant checking names, notes, aspects of dentistry, jewelllery and so on. Then taking the patient to the right theatre (of 8). Not hard.

Sometimes, I would stay in the anaesthetic room with a patient, especially if the previous op were taking longer than expected.

Anyone could do the things I did.

When not assigned to a theatre, I cleaned.

If I wasn't in a vulnerable group I would volunteer.