Service changes to sustain our positive impact on pet welfare

31 July 2017

When people struggle economically, we are the safety net that ensures their pets are cared for. Since 2008, demand for our services has soared by around 50%. In that time, instead of cutting services we have been using our charity reserves to meet the unprecedented demand.

Nearly a decade on, we have reviewed our operations to identify the most efficient way to achieve our charitable aims of preventing illness, educating pet owners and treating sick animals with our available funds.

Our 48 Pet Hospitals continue to be the most sustainable, cost-effective and impactful way for us to deliver pet wellbeing. Going forward, we will be providing free care through our hospital network for one pet per eligible household, reduced from the current three. Clients with more than one pet will still be able to access PDSA care for their pets through our reduced-cost charitable service. Those with pets already registered with us, requiring long-term care (for conditions such as diabetes or heart disease), will still be supported.

Furthermore, the Pet Treatment Fund will be withdrawn (a service that provides a discretionary contribution towards a pet’s treatment for clients that fall outside of PDSA’s catchment areas). This service model is small, supporting around 4,000 of the 430,000 pets PDSA helps annually.

We are also continuing to review the Pet Practice Scheme (a service funded by PDSA, but delivered via private vet practices) and are working closely with practices to explore if any other financially viable alternatives to the current scheme exist. This review is due for completion later this year but for now, this service will continue as normal.

By reviewing and reshaping our services, which is something PDSA has always done over the past 100 years, we can continue to help millions of pets in need, long into the future in a sustainable and affordable way.

As a charity, we are funded entirely by public support. We don’t get any Government funding, it costs £60 million to run our services every year and we rely on the generosity of our supporters to help keep our services running.

For further information, please visit www.pdsa.org.uk/services