Yes. Under the South African Veterinary Council's practice rules, the official phone number of a veterinary facility "must be answered at all times". Outside consulting hours an automatic answering service is allowed, as long as it states your normal hours and refers the caller to the vet on duty or to an after-hours facility. You do not have to be personally available all night, but your clients must always have a route to a vet.
That rule is short, and it is easy to get slightly wrong. This guide sets out what the SAVC actually requires, what it does not, and how to set up your line so it meets the rule and still lets you sleep.
This is a plain-language summary of published SAVC rules and guidance, not legal advice. If you are unsure how it applies to your practice, ask the SAVC.
What the SAVC rules say about your phone
The Rules relating to the practising of veterinary professions (Government Gazette R1082 of 2015, as amended) cover this in rule 20(4):
The telephone of a veterinary facility of which the number is used in all official communication ... must be answered at all times, and the use of an automatic answering service outside the normal consulting hours is permissible for this purpose, provided that it states the normal consulting hours of that practice and refers the client to another telephone number, where the veterinary professional on duty can be reached or to the address and telephone number of an after-hours veterinary facility.
"Official communication" covers the number on your signboard, advertisements, directory listings and correspondence. In practice that is your main number.
Rule 14 adds that your facility's identification board must show the consulting hours, the facility's phone number and an after-hours contact number, if applicable.
What "24-hour service" actually means
Many vets read the rule as "someone must be on call personally, always". The SAVC's own Code of Conduct says otherwise, and opens the section with a note that it "should clear up many of the misunderstandings":
- A veterinarian "is not obliged to be available 24 hours a day", but must ensure clients have access to a 24-hour service, for example through colleagues with whom arrangements are made in advance.
- Your personal 24-hour responsibility extends to patients you recently treated or operated on, and to animals housed in your facility.
- You are not obliged to see an unknown client with whom you have no established relationship, except in emergencies with severe animal suffering or a threat to humans and other animals.
- A one-person practice has no obligation to stay on duty around the clock, provided clients can get help from a colleague with whom prior arrangements have been made.
The Code also says that if the after-hours service is not at your address, the emergency number must be on a notice outside the building and recorded on the answering device on your usual line.
A compliance checklist for your after-hours line
| Requirement | Source | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Main number answered at all times, by a person or an answering service | Rule 20(4) | Does every call outside hours reach something useful? |
| Answering service states your normal consulting hours | Rule 20(4) | Is the message current, including public holidays? |
| Caller is referred to the on-duty vet or an after-hours facility, with a number or address | Rule 20(4) | Is the on-call number correct tonight? |
| After-hours number on the identification board, if applicable | Rule 14 | Has the board been updated since your arrangement changed? |
| Advance arrangement with colleagues for 24-hour access | Code of Conduct 4.6 | Is it written down and known to the team? |
| Post-operative and hospitalised patients covered | Code of Conduct 4.6 | Do discharge notes say who to call overnight? |
Where after-hours lines usually fail
The recorded message is out of date. The on-call rota changes, the message does not, and an owner with a sick animal calls a vet who is on leave.
The message gives a number but no context. A panicked owner has to remember a number read once, at speed, while holding a dog.
Every call goes to the on-duty vet. If the referral number is the vet's mobile, they get calls about repeat prescriptions and booking a vaccination along with the real emergencies. That is how after-hours duty burns people out.
Routine calls are lost. Owners who ring at 9pm to book a check-up hear a recording, hang up, and book elsewhere in the morning.
A better set-up than a recording
The rule permits an answering service. It does not say it has to be a tape. A live service can meet the same requirements and do more for you:
- State your hours and after-hours arrangements on every out-of-hours call.
- For anything that sounds urgent, connect the caller to the vet on duty, or give the after-hours facility's address and number.
- For routine calls, book the appointment or take the details so reception can call back in the morning.
Remi works this way. It answers your line 24/7, puts urgent calls through to the person you choose, telling them who is calling and why before connecting, and books or takes a message for everything else. It never gives veterinary advice and is not an emergency service: its job is to get the owner to your vet fast and to stop routine calls reaching the on-call phone at 2am.
If you are weighing it up, our AI receptionist for vets page covers how it fits alongside an existing out-of-hours arrangement, including farm and smallholding call-outs.
What this does not change
An answering service, human or AI, does not replace your obligation to have a vet available through your arrangements. If no colleague is on duty, no message can fix that. Also check your local after-hours facility's details whenever they change, because the rule requires you to refer callers to a working number or address, not just any number.
The short version
- The SAVC requires your official number to be answered at all times.
- Outside hours an answering service is allowed if it gives your consulting hours and refers callers to the on-duty vet or an after-hours facility.
- You do not personally have to be available 24 hours a day, but clients must have access to a 24-hour service through prior arrangements.
- Your personal duty covers recently treated and hospitalised patients, and emergencies with severe suffering.
- Keep the after-hours number on your board and your message current, and keep routine calls away from the on-call phone.