So this article, from October 2019, raises some points that I can’t help feel are raised badly, and offer what many in the veterinary community consider bandaid solutions at best.
In summary, the inquest looked into veterinarians which committed suicide using euthanasia solution. Veterinarians are at greater risk of suicide than the general population (about 4x higher) and a common method of choice is using the same injection we use to euthanise animals. We’re familiar with how it works, it’s peaceful, and it’s easily accessible.
The inquest drew two main conclusions:
Veterinarians need to acknowledge that their career can be stressful (ya don’t say…) and should have mentorship systems in place (we’ve tried, that’s not a new idea)
Veterinarians should lock up that drug, like they do with other controlled drugs like morphine, fentanyl, etc.
And I can’t help feel like this is kind of laughable.
Locking up euthanasia solution isn’t going to prevent any veterinary suicides. It might prevent vet nurse suicides, but last stats I read put them at about 1.2x the risk of the general population, which is fortunately a lot less than our 4x risk factor. Locking up euthanasia solution wont prevent veterinarians from accessing it.
Because veterinarians are the ones holding the keys.
Listen, if you were intending to use euthanasia solution on yourself that night, are you going to care about someone realizing you’ve stolen the drug later in the week when they do an audit? If you’re last vet working are you going to dob yourself in when you audit before closing, or are you just going to take it home and go about your business?
Veterinarians tend to be a type, and that type is methodical, logical planners. Nobody is taking that drug on a whim, it’s planned and thought about ahead of time.
It’s also pointless because I can think of at least two other, non-controlled drugs which would be on the shelf at any vet clinic that you can also reliably use to cause rapid death, and some clinics will even have a third.
And while younger, female vets prefer medically committing suicide, older male vets seem more likely to put themselves into car accidents. Harder to prove it was suicide, but that’s rather the point. More dignity after death that way.
Access to euthanasia solution is not the cause of the problem. It’s a tool If you limit access to it, and you can’t do that in any meaningful way, they’ll just move to the next tool. They have the knowledge to do so.
I can’t help but feel like the inquest conclusions were kind of victim-blamey. Like, “Oh yes, well you must acknowledge that your job is stressful and you should probably have had the victims lock that drug away from themselves, even though they carry the key in their pocket. I’m sure they would have obeyed that rule.”
At some point we need to recognize that society at large, the general public, isn’t going to step in and save us. It’s up to us to walk away from our careers if they’re killing us, to set boundaries, to shield our own mental states.
And I think part of that is getting to vet students early, before they’re well and truly stuck in the pit of despair, to offer ideas that they don’t have to be veterinarians forever if they feel trapped, lost or hopeless. There are other routes in life, other options. Because knowing other options exist in life is vital.
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