Malaysia Veterinary Forum (Archive)

curryz · Joined: 17 Sep 2006 Posts: 30 Location: KL

hi all, I'm a student who's doing an assignment to evaluate the potential of an emergency centre in Malaysia. pls feel free to give your thoughts on these few questions. thank you very much for all your help!

1. Has your pet ever needed emergency services from a vet outside of working hours?

2. Would you bring your pet to the vet in the event of a night emergency or would you wait till the next day?

3. Do you know of a place that you could bring your pet in the case of an emergency? Is it near to your house (estimate your travel time)?

4. What are your views on the importance and/or need of an emergency centre for your pet?

Thanks again!!!

ai_ney · Joined: 11 Sep 2006 Posts: 48 Location: KL

1. No... touch wood... :P
2. if it's an emergency, definitely will take my dog to the vet immediately
3. yes and yes... i know of 2 places in fact... 1 is 15 minutes away, and another is 30 to 40 minutes away from my house
4. very important... i know of dog owners who do not keep any vet number in case of emergency, and they called me at 12 midnight for a number, which i stored in my hp...

hope the above helps in yr assignment... :)

Dr Dunker · Joined: 02 Jun 2006 Posts: 464 Location: Puchong,Selangor

1. nope
2. if i were not a vet, then yes i would.
3. Yes but both of them are more the n half hour away, VERY FAR in a real emergency.
4. It is very important to offer such service and in the future most vet practices will have "vets on call" but i dont think it is possible in our country to have a full emergency center. In an emergency center u need nurses, labs, ICU, operating rooms, vet tech and kennel men not to mention vets all working 24 hours. the logistical cost and over head will be so huge u may have to question if people are able or willing to pay.
I think Dr. Dahlan will give u a hard time if u go ahead with this project. Mine was about animal photography and i got buddies that went into pigeon and quail farming, non medical stuff...we did rather well. Think business, think big like Donald Trump, think expansion and international trade...don't go into animal health care and medical fields. That's not what he wants..at least during my time. He wants to teach u the ability to do business and have business sense. he knows we were never trained to think that way, that's why to this day, i think he said many things which i thought was rubbish at the time only to fully understand what he meant when i am dumped in the real world.

curryz · Joined: 17 Sep 2006 Posts: 30 Location: KL

hmmm... you've got a point there Dr Dunker. I was really thinking hard of another topic. maybe something like closed house dairy goat or maybe duck/ quail farming instead. cos the way he spoke medical services really do not sound too good. may have difficulty to get info also.

thank you very much for your opinion and advice!!!

chinginy · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 13

Dear student,
It all depends on how you look at the entire situation and what type of services you or your clinic is willing to offer. It is not uncommon to have clients ( notably regular ones or breeders ) to call their regular vets for possible surgical intervention in cases of dystocia especially in dogs and cats. Not to mention the colic calls from horse owners during the night. If you ask around and gather enough information( not restricting information gathering on the internet ), I'm sure you will have more valuable feedbacks especially from practising veterinarians in different fields. Some of your senior vets in private practices ( both equine and small animal ) will take these calls. If you're thinking about the feasibility of setting up a clinic handling mainly emergency cases, you really have to think about the overhead/operating cost at odd hours or graveyard shifts. Are you going to pay your personnels enough to keep them ??! I know and believe there are vets out there who are taking in emergency cases. Do your groundwork, visit the clinics and practitioners themselves since you're doing a survey for your project, you will be surprised how the veterinarians in the real world operate out there. If you're lucky enough you may meet your potential/future employer. You probably do not need fancy laboratory set-up. You NEED TO KNOW what kind of possible emergencies you may be dealing with, hence stocking up the NECESSARY diagnostic and therapeutic equipments. You do not need vet techs/nurses working all the time, someone can be on call while the rest take their evenings off or collaborate with clinics within the same vicinity to offer the emergency services using the same mobile phone number which will be handled among the participating clinics/vets for a particular weekdays/weekend. I don't believe everybody will take the weekends/days off at the same time. A little bit of passion for the profession and client friendliness go a long way. IT IS PURELY a matter of sacrifice and team work. Good luck

ela3 · Joined: 16 Feb 2007 Posts: 1

I have encountered few occasions on emergency services but could not get the vet to help but to wait till the very next morning before help could come.This is usually when the vet has seen my dog in the day and says it`s okay but then other emergencies come along in the evenings and there`s no one.

I even tried calling one of the vets in Singapore in their 24 hour vet hospital and was pleasantly surprised with their willingness to help.The only downside is they usually only have one doctor at night and can`t do outbound calls across to where I live in JB as it`s too far.

But having said that,at least there is a center for those living in Singapore to rush their pets to if they need help.

Dr Dunker · Joined: 02 Jun 2006 Posts: 464 Location: Puchong,Selangor

Having an emergency centere is not the same as providing an emergency service. Having to call an entire team to meet up with a patient is not what an emergency centere be doing. however if you only porovide the service it is ok. In a emergency centere/ER the team and equipment should be on red alert and good to go 24/7. People don't have to call, all they have to do is get to your centere in the least posssible time and the rest, your team will take care of. BUt as Chinginy said, you got to go and see these pracitces that offer the service and if u should can go to a emergency centere overseas and see what they do.

PS I am no longer just talking about your little project anymore.

Dr HanMRCVS · Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Posts: 560 Location: Johor Bahru

it is indeed a need in providing 24 hour emergency services in many parts of Malaysia. While there are many private practices in kl providing just that, i am afraid there is practically none thus yet in many major towns.

but sometimes, i dont really feel secure to just attend any 'emergency' esp with the high crime rate in this town. thus sometimes, i decline emergency calls from ppl i do not know or to places i know is 'rough'.

to compare jb with singapore is really a injustice for singapore. in the streets of singapore, i feel safe to go jogging at 3am in the morning. in jb, i have to look left and right each time i get out of my car or house.