>I am curious to know what is happening out there in other veterinary
> clinics than our cat's.
It's certainly up to each individual clinic. First off, not all procedures
are conducive to audience participation. It can be distressing to the
owners
to see some things and the pet can be more wiggly when their humans are
around. Blood draws may seem minor, but - for instance- cats need to be
held
a certain way for the neck to be shaved down and then the needle inserted.
If the owner doesn't know how to hold the cat or moved during the
procedure,
it could be dangerous. Even off to the side, it's hard for them not to
talk
to the cat to try to sooth them making the cat want to wiggle out of the
arms. Not good when a needle is being inserted into a neck vein.
Safety - there have actually been cases out there where the client has
been
allowed to restrain their own dog and then was turned on and bitten. They,
in turn, sued the vet for 'allowing' the injury, and won. Some vets have
legal consents clients have to sign waiving rights to sue if they restrain
instead of staff.
In our case, the doctor decides. If it's done in the exam room, it has to
be
a situation where clients would be there. If the pet is brought back to
our
treatment area because of the need for help and/or equipment needed, the
client is not allowed for several reasons.
1. Safety - We need a trained staff member to do the holding. They go
through extensive training to learn how to hold animals of all shapes and
sizes so as not to injure themselves or the pet. Pets usually cry out not
from a needle stick but from the holding. It tends to piss them off! If
done
properly, it's fast and safe.
2. Confidentiality - our treatment area is very large - much like a great
room in a house. It containes a lab to one side, the ICU on another, prep
area for OR and radiology as well as tables for minor treatments. There
are
other things going on there with cage cards listing owner names and other
confidential information as well as files around. We hold confidentiality
very high. IF we have a tour going on we'll flip the clip boards over and
grab charts, but we can't be doing this all day long. There are also
discussions going on regarding other cases, sometimes about clients'
financial situations and phone calls going on with clients. The staff
doesn't need to be looking over their shoulders all day and hu****ng their
discussions.
3. It's busy back there. It's no place for traffic as staff is going about
their business processing urine and stool samples, running blood work,
inducing and prepping animals for surgery, taking x-rays around the corner
etc. There may be bodily fluids being spilled on the floor or a wet floor
from just getting it mopped.
4. The staff works hard to keep it extremely clean and there are areas we
don't want stuff tracked back to. You'd be surprised what some people drag
in on their clothes that is not conducive to a hospital facility.
5. In that area, our medications are double locked. They need to be
available for emergencies. We don't need all of our business on display.
Now, that doesn't mean we bar the owners from being around all the time.
It's a case by case issues. We never allow clients to restrain for
procedures - ever. But there are times if we know the owner that we'll let
them stick around if it's a quiet time. Over the weekend a blocked cat had
to be catheterized. The owner was an out of town tech and the doctor
decided
that she was knowledgeable and calm enough to actually help. And on a
holiday, the treatment area was empty as well as the ICU (amazing). I've
also seen emergencies where the panicked owners made the situation far
worse
for the animal. We do what we do to keep the patient and owner safe and we
protect our other clients and patients as well. Discretion is always key.
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