Bourke-based veterinarian Charlotte Cavanagh has a mammoth task ahead of her, as the vet shortage takes hold of Western New South Wales, leaving her to cover a larger distance than ever. 

The impending departure of Cobar’s vet from Kidman Way Veterinary Surgery will leave a noticeable gap for animal owners around the region, but the vet surgery has ultimately decided that the role will not be continued for the foreseeable future. 

Instead, Dr Cavanagh will cover the workload for both clinics, splitting her work week between each town. 

“It’s probably not enough for two full time vets, but I am envisioning I will be flat out…I think you’ve got to be up front, I can only do what I can do,” Dr Cavanagh said. 

While dividing the workload for one vet between Cobar and Bourke is a model that the vet clinic has used before, Dr Cavanagh’s role as a large animal vet and the current lack of Local Land Services vets in the region will leave her with even more to balance. 

It has left her as one of the few vets west of Walgett, from the north to the south of the NSW border. 

“I’ll also do a bit of contract work for the government if they need it,” she said. 

Dr Cavanagh has decades of experience in the region. (Supplied)

Despite the chore ahead, Dr Cavanagh is happy to take up the role in hopes to ride out the current vet shortage, with her experience in both private and public vet roles proving useful. 

“I had 16 years away from companion animal medicine and surgery, so was lucky to ease back in with the suport of our vet in Cobar. I feel like I’ve found my feet over the last two years and am ready for the challenge,” she said. 

For many vet surgeries across the state, temporary locum vets have been used to fill the gaps of permanent positions, but they’ve proven difficult to attract, and expensive to maintain. 

“When this clinic was transitioning from the previous owner…they had a couple of locums that would not do large animal work. They weren’t comfortable at all with horses or anything like that.”

“It’s not even getting a locum, it’s getting one that is happy to do different types of work that comes up out here,” Dr Cavanagh said. 

It’s an inevitable problem for clinics where a single veterinarian is responsible for such a large area. 

“The fear of the unknown is a bit daunting…some vets may not think they would be confident to come and be a one man practice,” she said. 

For Dr Cavanagh, she’s at the life stage where she’s happy to give it a crack to service the community. 

“I know my limitations...I'm never afraid to pick up the phone and ring someone within my veterinary network for some help.”

Dr Cavanagh will spend three days each week at the vet clinic at Bourke, and will service the Cobar clinic on the remaining two days. 

Local Land Services district veterinarians are currently based in Nyngan, Coonabarabran and Condobolin.