Vacationers complain: Veterinary emergency service in Usedom fails spectacularly!

Vacationers complain: Veterinary emergency service in Usedom fails spectacularly!

An impressive case from Usedom is currently occupying people's minds: Monika and Gero Völlmar report serious difficulties that they had with the emergency veterinary service during their stays on site. In the beginning they came to Usedom regularly, but their last visits were anything but pleasant. During a stay two years ago, her cat Lilly was in acute distress and urgently needed veterinary help, but this was a long time coming. Despite several attempts to contact a veterinarian, Gero Völlmar was unsuccessful and finally contacted the police in Heringsdorf. She was at least able to give him the number of the Vorpommern-Greifswald animal rescue service. An animal rescuer showed up at 5:30 a.m., but was also unable to reach a vet, which tragically only meant that Lilly ultimately had to be rescued because there was no timely help.

Gero Völlmar decided to make his experiences public and was heard by other pet owners who had experienced similar problems. While he was waiting to receive a solution from the responsible authorities, Klaus Kraft, the chairman of the Vorpommern-Greifswald animal rescue organization, made it clear that travel times of up to 90 minutes to a veterinarian are not uncommon in the region. In addition, there are always false reports regarding the on-call services, which makes the situation even more difficult.

Veterinary care experts

In order to improve the accessibility of emergency veterinary services, there has been a central emergency number since March 1st last year, which was organized by the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania State Veterinary Association. At least the veterinary emergency service is now at the telephone number 01805 84 37 36 reachable. However, emergency services are billed at a higher rate, 2 to 4 times the Veterinary Fee Schedule (GOT). A flat emergency service fee of 59.50 euros is required, which includes additional costs during the night or on weekends.

The Maack veterinary practice in Usedom also offers the option of booking appointments online and has become accustomed to the new fee schedule (nGOT), which was decided by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Information about emergency services is available below the practice's website to find. The emergency service only treats acute cases, including shortness of breath, heavy bleeding or birth problems, to name just a few examples.

The challenges of animal care

Animal owners in Germany are increasingly faced with the challenge of financing veterinary treatments. Many people therefore take out animal health insurance in order to better cover the high costs of operations and treatments. These insurance policies are now available for dogs and cats as well as other pets such as rabbits. In the event of illness, this can provide valuable support, especially for pets who are treated like family members, report experts AniCura.

Although the Völlmars now traveled to Bansin again and moved into an apartment that did not correspond to the pictures shown on the Internet, they also have to deal with the problem of emergency veterinary care. Their experiences show that in the Usedom region not only veterinary care but also the handling of holiday accommodation needs to be improved. Ultimately, the hope remains that the situation for pet owners will soon improve and that emergencies can be treated in a timely manner in the future.