Asking vet for a prescription

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  • LittleTinker
    LittleTinker Posts: 2,841 Forumite
    I understand what you mean about all the charity work that Vets do but disagree that "someone" has to pay for it. I always thought that a Vet wanted to make sure all animals were comfortable in life...and sometimes that means doing so without making money.

    Look at rescue workers, for example. They take a hugh amount of the charity work from vets and the vets then gain paid work for their treatments. And none of the rescue workers are paid.

    It shouldnt be passed on to the average customer as they already pay enough.

    But....like all walks of life.....you get some people who are greedier than others and vets are no exception.

    I did move my Vets not long after I moved here because they werent that nice, they werent that friendly, they charged for a sneeze, they had mercs and jags in the carpark and I never felt that they cared all that much to be honest.

    The vets we have now are fantastic. They dont press for their money. They give you alternative therapies. They will tell you what human medicine will work just as well (and costs far far less). They are cheaper than the other vets. In fact they are so nice, I would go more often....if you know what I mean.

    Lets face it.....if a person were needing emergency first aid in the street, you can almost guarantee that one doctor will complain about not getting paid for that kind of thing....whereas another will be happy to have helped.

    Its just greedy people.
  • POSSETTE
    POSSETTE Posts: 1,474 Forumite
    i once asked our brill vets for a prescription for meds, i knew what i was going to be prescribed through experience with other doggies, so id looked it up on www.vet-medic.co.uk and got the price. My vet asked how much id been quoted,and as his was approx £6 dearer he said he would match it! So i got it there and then.Try bartering with them,it works!!
    TO FINISH LAST, FIRST YOU HAVE TO FINISH....
  • I wanted to point out that as of 30 October 2008 vets can now charge for prescriptions. Mine charges £15 so for most things it is as cheap to buy from the vet rather than buying online when a presciption is required. For flea treatments, wormers etc you don't need the prescription so it's worth buying online.
  • Last time I checked what one of my pets got from the vet against online suppliers there was a HUGE markup. We paid £52 and could have gotten it online for less than £20! Horrendous.

    However, our vets are great. They run 2 clinics per day and as Casey creates mayhem whenever we take her in by wanting to play with everyone, we usually make a same day appointment for her so we know there is going to be no-one else there.

    Also, when we had to contact them OOH recently when she was giving birth we took her in, she bled all over the floor in the hallway, waiting room, surgery etc, on the way in, and on the way out. And when we had to take her back for a C-Section an hour later she did it all again - but at that point she was taken straight through and jumped infront of everyone else who was there for Ops aswell. And made a mess of the floor all over again (glad I wasn't cleaning up!).

    The vets do have to do lots of jobs that we don't appreciate, including the cleaning of the floor OOH so I don't mind paying the costs to have my pets treated same day instead of having to wait on a prescription being provided, then order it online and waiting for delivery.

    Oh, and the service is so personal that whenever one of the vets see us in the street they always stop to ask how the pets are getting on, asking after them by name!
    "Life may not always be the party you wish for, but whilst here you may aswell dance"!!!
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    My Avatar? Arnie and Casey, proud parents to Storm and Tsu born 19/01/2009!!! - both now in new homes and called Murron and Burger!
  • Tribulation
    Tribulation Posts: 4,001 Forumite
    When our dog got ill a couple of weeks ago, we made an initial appointment and had a consultation. At that time the vet spent around 20 mins with him, doing a urine test, taking blood.

    The following day we phoned up for the results and the blood test confirmed he was diabetic.

    We then had another 1hr long appointment where they went through everything with us, getting us to inject a harmless saline (I think) solution into him to make sure we were doing it right. We came away with insulin, loads of syringes, magnetic fridge chart to record dosage, box for used needles, glucose, written info, and the loan of a DVD to watch.

    Then sadly he had a fit. We phoned the vets, took him there as an emergency patient. This was around 11pm at night. He was put on a drip, given glucose and had various blood tests done while we waited. We were there for over an hour.

    The following day the vets phoned me up 5 different times to give me progress updates on him, and to tell me what medication they had him on to try and stop the fitting.

    Finally we got the call I was secretly expecting, we went in and my poor dog was put down and we asked the vets to arrange his cremation.

    Total cost for ALL this was a very very reasonable £481.87

    When I read some threads and see what people are being charges (ok I don't know exactly what treatment their animals are having), it looks to me like some vets are using insurance companies as a license to print money. I was talking about this to my brother in law today. He said that both my and his vets really care about animals, and that's the big difference. he said that often if he's only in his vets for 5 mins with something simple, his vet doesn't even bother charging him.
    Martin Lewis is always giving us advice on how to force companies to do things.

    How about giving us advice on how to remove ourselves from any part of
    MoneySupermarket.com

    I hereby withdraw any permission Martin might have implied he gave MoneySupermarket.com to use any of my data. Further more, I do not wish ANY data about me, or any of my posts etc to be held on any computer system held by MoneySupermarket.com or any business it has any commercial interests in.
  • Just a quick question about your signature foreign correspondent, does it mean that you think you are an expert on alternatives to the drugs industry for animals?
  • hieveryone
    hieveryone Posts: 3,830
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    My vets won't even write out a prescription without seeing my dog first - my dog has been on the same medication for years but the vet insists that instead of a repeat prescription, he must see her, adding the consultation fee on too.


    Bought is to buy. Brought is to bring.
  • *Chattie* wrote: »
    Just a quick question about your signature foreign correspondent, does it mean that you think you are an expert on alternatives to the drugs industry for animals?

    not as all chattie, I know nothing about the subject, and medical advice is not allowed on here as giving wrong information could have tragic consequences.

    My sig was something someone said (not as a compliment, but because I am opinionated!!) and it made me laugh, so it became my sig...
  • orlao
    orlao Posts: 1,090
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    hieveryone wrote: »
    My vets won't even write out a prescription without seeing my dog first - my dog has been on the same medication for years but the vet insists that instead of a repeat prescription, he must see her, adding the consultation fee on too.


    And vets wonder why they they are often accused of greed:mad:

    If you bought the meds for your dog from them would they still insist on seeing her so often?It might be interesting to find out.....because the RCVS and consumer direct have issued guidelines that clients who buy a prescription should not be treated any differently to clients who buy the meds from the vets....both are asking to be informed if this happens and promising some as yet unspecified action.
  • hieveryone
    hieveryone Posts: 3,830
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    orlao, I didn't quite understand your post - are you saying that I *should* be able to walk in and buy medication from the vet? I've tried that before (i.e going in to pick up some tablets when she has ran out) but the vet has said I MUST bring my dog in, they have left us without tablets for 2-3 days before because they insist on seeing her.


    Bought is to buy. Brought is to bring.
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