Combined After-hours Emergency Service for Charters Towers
How does this work?
Commencing 24th October 2025, our clinics will share their after-hours equally by alternating ‘on-call’ duties every second weekend. This ‘on call’ period will be from 5pm Friday through to 8am Monday.
There may be times when this schedule is interrupted due to unavoidable circumstances, however, we will guarantee a veterinarian is on-call at all times to ensure the local community is supported.
Dates of weekends, along with which veterinary clinic is on-call, will be posted on our websites and social media in advance. During the week, both clinics will continue to provide their own individual after-hours service from Monday to Thursday.
How do you contact the after-hours service?
Clients will continue to call their regular veterinary clinic number if after-hours assistance is needed. If your regular clinic is not on-call that weekend, your call will be automatically transferred through to the on-call clinic. We will aim to make the triage and call diversion as seamless as possible.
Always remember to keep your clinic’s number close at hand in case of emergency:
Gold City Veterinary Clinic – (07) 4787 4949
Charters Towers Veterinary Service – (07) 4754 7400
What will this mean for you and your pets?
Occasionally, you will be receiving your weekend after-hours care from a clinic that may not be your normal clinic. If you require emergency care, please call your normal clinic and follow the prompts.
If your animal is hospitalised leading into the weekend and is not well enough to go home, it will be referred to the on-call clinic, or to NQ Care in Townsville. This will be carefully organised and communicated with you, and with the on-call clinic veterinarian, prior to the weekend. All relevant history and instructions for ongoing care will be forwarded to the on-call clinic to ensure a continued high standard of care is maintained over the weekend.
If your animal is still in hospital when the weekend is complete, it will be referred back to your normal clinic on Monday (along with all records from their stay at the on-call clinic).
The transportation of animals to and from the clinics will be the responsibility of the owner. Transport of animals will be at the discretion of the treating clinic and subject to the animals’ condition. In no circumstances will an animal be transported if they are not well enough to travel, or if doing so would worsen their condition.
How does payment work if you’re transferring between clinics?
You will pay the respective clinics individually for the care they’ve provided. All costs will need to be finalised prior to leaving the respective clinics, including after-hours fees.
- For example: If your animal is in hospital at your normal clinic and transferred to the on-call clinic or NQ Care for ongoing treatment over the weekend, you will pay your normal clinic for their service up until the weekend. You will then subsequently pay the on-call clinic for the weekend care.
Agreements are in place, and we will take great care to ensure owners are not being double-charged for treatments prior to, during or after transfer between clinics.
We thank you for your understanding in making rural veterinary practice a more sustainable career for veterinary staff and their families, as well as ensuring the longevity of after-hours services to the Charters Towers community.
On-call weekends: November 2025 – January 2026
| 24th – 26th October | Gold City Veterinary Clinic |
| 31st Oct – 2nd November | Charters Towers Veterinary Service |
| 7th – 9th November | Gold City Veterinary Clinic |
| 14th – 16th November | Charters Towers Veterinary Service |
| 21st – 23rd November | Gold City Veterinary Clinic |
| 28th – 30th November | Charters Towers Veterinary Service |
| 5th – 7th December | Charters Towers Veterinary Service |
| 12th – 14th December | Gold City Veterinary Clinic |
| 19th – 21st December | Gold City Veterinary Clinic |
| 28th – 30th November | Gold City Veterinary Clinic |
| 5th – 7th December | Charters Towers Veterinary Service |
| 12th – 14th December | Charters Towers Veterinary Service |
| 19th – 21st December | Gold City Veterinary Clinic |
| 24th December – 30th December CLINIC CLOSED AFTER HOUR EMERGENCIES ONLY | Charters Towers Veterinary Service |
| 30th December – 5th January 2026 CLINIC CLOSED AFTER HOUR EMERGENCIES ONLY | Gold City Veterinary Clinic |
| 9th January 2026 – 11th January 2026 | Charters Towers Veterinary Service |
| 16th January – 18th January | Charters Towers Veterinary Service |
| 23rd January – 26th January (inc. Australia Day public Holiday) | Gold City Veterinary Clinic |
| 30th January – 1st February | Gold City Veterinary Clinic |
