rip off vets

[craigie09]

One of my dogs became diabetic. He needed 2 shots of insulin a day. I asked the vet if i could do the blood testing myself and he said no. I noticed thatwhen he did it that the glucometer was the same as a human one you can buy in Boots. I did a bit of research on the internet and sure enough you can do the tests yourself. The test at the vet alone was £45 then the appointment fee and this needed done weekly..GULP!

 

I saved a fortune doing it myself, not only that you can regulate the dogs blood sugar levels more accurately with daily tests. I managed to kep his blood realyl well regulated, this would never have happened with weekly or monthly tests

[Minkiesmum]

That's pretty disgusting that they blatantly lied like that. I'd be changing vets sharpish AND ensuring they know just why too !!

 

Lynda~

[kittyvet]

Schedule 3, Part 1, of the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2006 lists the conditions for prescribing authorised veterinary medicines. For POM-V (prescription only) medicines, before prescribing the product the

• vet must carry out a clinical assessment of the animal, and
  
• animal must be under the vet’s care
  

Actually the RCVS have never defined 'under my care' but the BVA now do...

 

 

For small animals, in the case of routine prophylactic anti-parasitic agents the time interval between re-assessments should be no longer than twelve months. All other re-assessments should be carried out at intervals which do not exceed six months, but in many cases professional judgement may require a considerably shorter period.

 

That is copy and pasted from their members only discussion document. It is generally accepted within the profession than 'under my care' means an examination every 3-6mths. This is similar to the requirement of a GP asking to see you every 3-6mths when on long term medication. It is not about profiteering...its about doing the best for your pet. No vet wants to harm a pet by prescribing a medicine that harms a pet- and that includes underdosing thyroid medications because a dog's needs has changed (and yes that does happen!) Perhaps when doing your online research you might look at the cost of seeing a private doctor or dentist. I think that you will find veterinary surgeons a bargain by comparison. I wouldn't buy an expensive car or boat if I couldn't afford to run it. Its the same with pets- they are not a right but a luxury and if you can't afford the running costs don't get one!

[kittyvet]

I saved a fortune doing it myself, not only that you can regulate the dogs blood sugar levels more accurately with daily tests. I managed to kep his blood realyl well regulated, this would never have happened with weekly or monthly tests

 

Sorry but thats not true. It may be the case in human medicine but in veterinary medicine we would never change the dose on a daily basis. The gold standard is an 24 blood glucose curve for dogs or a fructosamine test in cats. Insulin dose shold only be changed on the basis of these and no more often than weekly. See pet diabetes dot co dot uk for more details.

[Minkiesmum]

When my dog's been on the same medicine for the past 6 years without any issues I still do not see why she'd need to be seen every time I need the prescription refilled.

I also resent your remark about not wanting to pay for the cost of my dog(s) basically which I find insulting. I've no issue whatsoever with paying a vet for actually DOING something.

If I went to buy anything else and it wasn't fit for purpose and didn't do the job I'd bought it for I'd expect my money back-not so with a vet that doesn't know what ails your pet but still takes your money on "guesswork" and when the medicine you've paid for doesn't work still expects you to pay yet another consultation charge and buy alternative medicine.......and when THAT still doesn't work you still aren't offered a refund. Now if I was taking my car in to be repaired, for example, and the problem wasn't fixed first time there's no way I'd be expecting to keep shelling out every time a mechanic took a stab at what MIGHT be wrong with it !!

So i'm more than happy to pay to get my dog "fixed" or "repaired" but I'm not happy to fork out endlessly for guesswork which is what a lot of consultations turn out to be.

My dog lost an eye thanks to 3 prior vets guessing till it was too badly damaged to save. Was I ever refunded by the prior 3 vets ? I think you know the answer to that............

So a bit of give 'n' take wouldn't make owning a pet the luxury you speak of.

 

Cheers, Lynda~

[John Bonham]

Ear treatment easotic online from Vivovet £11.94 vat included.

Today paid over £18 at the vets for the same stuff as a repeat prescription.

I rather fancy that £6 on top of retail cost is a little excessive but hey ho theres nothing we can do because it is a POM V.

 

I wish I could make that sort of mark up on stuff I sell.

Sililar to the Doctor charging £45 to countersign a passport application.

If you have the capability you can charge what you like. I used to do loads of them when I was in work and charged £5 which went to a charity supporting children in Africa.

[assisted blonde]

I used to sign them for free, unlike me to miss out on a money earner ha Ha

[jackieandwayne]

If anyone in the Dorset area (Poole/Bournemouth) ever wants a recommendation for a very good vet - pm me. Not the cheapest to be sure, about £30 per consultation, but a very dedicated hardworking vet, own practice, smashing staff and nothing is ever too much trouble. I started going here when I needed to find an avian (bird) vet for my african grey, and this chap was the only one locally at the time. He's a smashing guy, a charmer with the animals (tells me he has NEVER been bitten!), and, wheni was skint and the bird got sick, he told me just to bring him on over and worry about paying later. If a drug can be purchased cheaper over the counter he always tells you. Only closed Xmas day and Boxing day. No extras for Sundays as these are his normal times, 7 days a week including all BH's except as stated. Oh yes, and he supports dog whisperers as well, and recommends one (my buddy) when he sees it is needed. Has a lot to do with rehoming strays and works with all the local charities (some of them tell me he does alot of freebies for them). He even, oh get this, is the president of the local ferret racing club and all the kids love him!

 

So anyone in Dorset wanting to make a choice of a good vet, as I say, PM me, give him a try and see what you think.

[The]

I found that Pets 4 Vets was really good. I feel I got a good honest service. No non sense tests. I highly recommend you check to see if there is a local in your area.

[Lillibelle]

My cats have regular 'frontline' treatment and it's a darn site cheaper online

[labrat]

nottinghamshire id recommend bridge house vets

 

our cat had two days of treatment, anesthetic, amputation, antibiotics and checkup came to less than £150

[fenwoman]

I have nothing but the utmost respect for my vet. I followed him from a previous practice, watched him start from scratch in a new premises, buy the expensive eqiupment needed, such as lab equipment, xray machine and all the stuff needed for operations. I saw him grow haggard in the first year as his debts must have amounted to tens of thousands. He had a few clients from the previous place but he needed more clients in order to pay off his debts. He couldn't even afford to pay a 2nd vet to help ease his work load. Yet if I went with a rescue animal, he refused to charge aconsult' fee. He will price match on POM whenever he can and has treated animals for free. I recommended him to many many people and now, he is thriving, has other vets and the place is buzzing. Sure it hurts if I have to have an animal treated which costs me £400, but because he knows my dedication to the animals in my care and knows that I never have much money, he tells me to pay him as an when I can. I won't hear a bad thing said against him. He earns every penny he gets. This paragon of vet care is David Feldmar at Terrington Veterinary Centre.

Over the decades I have had lots of vets (I am an old lady and run a rescue centre) but Dave is one of 3 who I reckon should be given a Sainthood. He is a true animal lover. His staff are lovely and friendly, the premises are an old health centre. I don't know of any other vet who has different rooms for cats and dogs to recover in so that the cats don't get stressed by being near to strange dogs. He won't recommend any unecessary treatment, and will always offer different treatment options, explain them fully and suggest to take the cheaper one first if it isn't life threatening. Like my massive RottieX GSD who started limping badly on a front leg. I was offered painkillers, anti inflammatories and rest as a first option, or could go with an Xray @ £300. I decided to go the Xray route right away. As it was, nothing was found and the painkillers/ anti imflammatories/rest worked fine. I don't begrudge the money for the Xray because at least I know 100% that nothing was badly wrong. If anyone lives within driving distance of this surgery in Norfolk, just outside Kings Lynn, then I would say go to this surgery.He now is very very busy, after only a couple of years setting up, and the majority of his clients are recommendations from people like me, his other old clients and people who went along just to see what the place was like. I'm not related to him and I don't get paid to say how great he is. In fact he'd be very embarrassed if he knew what I'd written. When he sold his partnership in the previous place, I told him that if he opened up within 50 miles of where I live, I would still be a client of his.

To all pet owners, shop around, ask the vet to price match, ask him if the prescription can be bought over the counter (Dave will volunteer the info without me asking), phone vets up and ask them what their consult fee is, what it costs for a neuter or whatever else, and, if you have a lot of animals, and end up going to the vet often, ask for a discount. I get a small discount because I'm there on a regular basis as I have a lot of animals. All I can say is that I wish all of you had a vet like Dave because you'd not hear a bad word against them if you did.

Edited December 29, 2012 by havinastella
Link removed

[kenyam]

A fair fee or charge for the service provided. You will just not get that from most Vets. They are out to make money, no harm in that, but greed has become embedded.

I've just paid 28 pence per prednicare 5 mg tablet as a repeat dosage, previous charge was 44 pence each...not bad? Same tablets are 5 pence each online.This is not fair or just. Neither is the rapidly increasing [problem] of the blood test.

My old dog is dying, and I do not feel like complaining, but this will be my last pet. The pet owner is in a catch 22 situation and the drug companies, the Vets and the insurance companies know this and conspire to take full advantage of the situation. Just,sadly, a sign of the times.

[fenwoman]

so why not ask the vet to price match and if he won't ask him for a prescription and buy them online for 5p.

[hightail]

I'm a firm believer that you should save money when possible and with vets, just as with any other professional service, knowledge is power. We do have to understand though that they are in business, they have business overheads and expenses. A consultation with a private GP costs around £100. Maybe an even more obvious comparison would be a dentist - even under the NHS people have to pay for that. The costs are roughly comparable with dentist's charges aren't they?

[Hacked_Off]

I've been pretty shocked with the pdsa. They give you a receipt now on your way out with "approximate costs". I noticed they were actually charging double, sometimes three times my usual vet. The consult fee was £42, my usual is £20. The surgery she had was £180, my usual is £65. Even the MEDS and the syringes were double.

 

Ive compared these costs with three different private vets reciepts i have used as little as three months ago.In actually really annoyed by this there purposely inflating their costs to guilt people into giving more.

[suseW]

You think a dog is expensive. ? I have 5 chickens that i rescued from a battery farm that was about to cull them. one needed to see a vet badly but i had trouble finding one who would see her. Apparently they have to specialise in chickens. i eventually found one who was very nice and sorted her out. I needed to take another some months later but the vet was on leave so i had to find a another practice. this one charged me £45 !!!!! just for the consultation. Apparently chickens are classed as EXOTIC PETS. For goodness sake!!! they are bog standard farmyard animals. MUST have been covered in basic training surely. then to add insult to injury i was charged £29.81 for 10 antibiotic tablets that I know cost no more than £6. That is one helluva dispensing fee.

Yes i can understand they spend years in training and i am paying for their knowledge and experience. I don't mind that, really i don't but classing a HEN as exotic and telling me she needs a specialist chicken expert and then charging a ludicrous dispensing fee is just taking the pee.

and why don't they publish their charges so its a bit more transparent before you go in.

[Minkiesmum]

I'd maybe speak to any local farmers or others that keep chickens in your area to see who they use and go elsewhere. I think that's tripe as well to call them exotic pets !!

All credit to you for saving them, too.

 

Cheers,

Lynda~

[suseW]

Thanks,

 

I'll try that.

I wouldn't mind so much but they don't offer to tell you in advance what the fees are and they don't publish them. It seems they can charge what they like and there's no regulation in that respect at al.

[Hacked_Off]

There called exotics for a reason. Most vets study cats and dogs in vet school for the main. Other animals chickens, guinea pigs, rabbits etc are classed as exotics and are not covered as extensively when these people are training.

 

For example guinea pigs are covered in one day. Most vets will work with the cavy trust to get a better knowledge, hence needing a specialist.

 

Yes your paying for there knowledge. Would you rather pay a vet who had covered your animal in one day? Even though you'd be paying less you'd be paying for the wrong treatment more than likely costing you more in the long run.

 

I've had this happen with my lot. Once had an inexperienced emergency vet try to prescribe a penilin based medication which is highly toxic for guineas. I've seen several vets who didn't have a clue, I've gone in telling them what's wrong and what I need then paid for the pleasure!!

 

As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

 

Although I do agree the "dispensing fees" you mentioned are extortionate. I usually pay a higher consult fee and buttons for the meds.

[Asleep In Wonder]

I just wanted to mention a couple of things which might be useful to know.

 

 

The business of copies of test results from vets is covered by the Sale of Goods & Services Act. If you commission and pay for a test, the very least you are entitled to is a copy of the results. I suppose they can charge you a few pence for a photocopy or print out, but you are entitled to have a copy for yourself, without argument or obstruction. The interpretation of the results is a separate issue and the cost of this is factored in to the cost of the tests themselves.

 

 

Not many people know they are entitled to copies of test results and not many people ask for them. I have always kept copies of results for each cat over the years. Every time there is a new receptionist, vet, nurse, veterinary assistant and I ask for a copy of a result, it is always met with "we don't usually give them to customers" - I explain that they do, to me. Then we have the rigmarole of explaining the Sale of Goods Act, then I get the results and we don't have a problem until next time. I have lost count of the number of times I have reminded the practice manager that test results belong to clients. One idiot vet (who didn't last long at the practice) told me I couldn't have the test results as I might go to another vet and get them interpreted. He had to be gently put straight on that one. If you have the results that you paid for, you are free to have your own vet interpret them or any vet you choose.

 

 

Vets do have to run a business. But, there are some who will try every trick in the book to string out treatment. One trick is to only offer a blood test for one or two readings instead of running a full 12 point panel for a cat. Then, to order a further one or two tests from yet another blood sample taken from yet another paid for consult. On it goes. It makes no sense to run a test for just one or two results when the same machine can run an entire panel at roughly the same cost, provide a good baseline snapshot of the health of the animal (valuable for the future to compare results) maybe identify an underlying issue and probably result in a better outcome for the animal and the client's wallet.

 

 

If a vet is a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Accredited Practice Scheme, they must display prominently all charges for basic services - such as initial consult fee, follow up consult fee, charge for writing a prescription, neutering, spaying, claw trims, vaccinations, booster shots etc.

 

 

If they don't display these charges clearly then you need to speak to the practice manager and ask them to display the costs.

 

 

Since the RCVS dropped the trial scheme where vets weren't allowed to charge for writing a prescription, it has left the door open for vets to charge what they like for this service. Cynically, some vets now charge far more for writing a prescription than the cost of the drug they are selling themselves with a huge mark up. Thus negating any savings a client may make seeking the POMv from online, registered pharmacies. Our vets charge £19 to write up a prescription and will only do it if you agree to the pre-writing prescription consultation (full charge) and agree to a regular set of scheduled consults.

 

 

I can see why it is important to check that drugs are doing their job and being given in the right amounts. But for long term medications for long term health conditions, a normal schedule of check ups and monitoring that was fine for years with several animals, suddenly became "inadequate" when clients had the opportunity to save a bit of money. This wasn't an issue about the health of the animal needing closer monitoring, it was vets being a bit greedy.

[Squirrel Nutkin]

So interesting reading this. Here are some charges to blow your minds. We had a pair of young peacocks who both managed to catch the flu like bug from our bantams and it knocked them sideways. The peahen went down with it first and I called our local vet. I was concerned to catch her and take her to the surgery because of the added stress. I was charged £95 for the vet to come to us, a ten minute journey away from the surgery. We had to wait for my husband to come home from work to hold her and I had told them he would be back until around 1.30pm but the vet turned up around 1.10pm and then complained as he had to wait. The peacock then caught the bug. The total of bill from the vets was £333.00. But they had to too high a dosage of antibiotic and the peacock developed jaundice and died. Our peahen is on here own now and coping well. The peacock I had bought as an egg and one of our bantams sat and hatched him. It was amazing watching him change as his grew and when the beautiful colours started coming through. He was just 11 months old when he died. He is sorely missed by us all.

[citizenB]

Ouch, that is a wicked price for sure. Sorry to hear your Peacock passed away

[jackieandwayne]

But, hey, all of us pet owners, we will pay it somehow won't we? Its all part and parcel of being a soppy animal lover!

 

 

I'm so sorry to hear about your peacock - and thinking about the poor hen - its made me feel quite tearful! (Probably because Eastenders was a bit depressing tonight!)

[citizenB]

But, hey, all of us pet owners, we will pay it somehow won't we? Its all part and parcel of being a soppy animal lover!

 

 

I'm so sorry to hear about your peacock - and thinking about the poor hen - its made me feel quite tearful! (Probably because Eastenders was a bit depressing tonight!)

 

 

As I understand it.. Eastenders is depressing EVERY night ?