£12.50 Charge For Perscription From Vet

simontheiceman

orlao wrote: »

the general consensus was that they were pricing themselves at a Harrods level but only providing a Tesco service!

I quite like Tesco and have never had poor service from them! Have not experienced Harrods though. I do get the point tho..

As to an earlier point ref closeness of family and pets leaving:

Its quite difficult to be exact but the loss is as great an impact as say losing a grandparent / uncle / cousin etc. Parents / child / spouse - thats a much harder thing to bear but in some cases I guess that people can become as attached to their pet.

All I actually wanted to do was highlight that it is not simply a case of : pet dies, hey ho, on we go, tra la la.... For the majority of clients they have created a bond and the loss will be greater than this - some vets fail to acknowledge this (to their loss)..

MrsE_2

missbargain wrote: »

Hehe, really interesting replies :T !
I didn't believe that anyone's cat drank out of the crystal glasses (OK, maybe Elton John's), but there you go, I was wrong :rotfl: !

Mine wasn't lead crystal, just a glass bowl:p (I don't really like lead crystal anyway, much of it is aimed at the older market).

But if Teds water was in a cat bowl, he only wanted to drink out of glasses so we got him a glass water bowl to go with his harrods food bowl.

orlao

simontheiceman wrote: »

The RCVS GTPC states:

A veterinary surgeon must not discriminate between clients who are supplied with a prescription and those who are not in relation to fees charged for other goods or services.

The latter part of that sentence is critical to this latest change to the rules.

I would say that what you describe clearly breaches this. Complain to the RCVS - I would. At the very least a rattling of the cage from the governing body will make them think about how they operate. I can only see that they will get a phone call so well worth a phone call to:

Professional conduct department:
020 722 22001

BTW ref prof conduct dept at RCVS.

They are really helpful and very approachable by the public - you cannot be anonymous though - I had to "shop" an alcoholic I worked for (he was very dangerous), I never regretted it for one second as he would have killed someone whilst driving.

Thanks Simon

Filled out the complaint form and sent it back today.
I got a friend who is/was also a client to ring them yesterday and query the situation over the phone and they were also told the same:eek: as I wanted to make sure it was practice policy not just an old witch winding me up on Sunday:rolleyes:

Also spoke to Your Vets in Rayleigh today....what a different attitude!
Explained about having a cat on long term meds and that I needed to source them as cheaply as possible, no problem they said, they'll issue a script for 3 months for £5 once they've seen her ( she's due a bloodtest soon anyway) but they also try and pricematch the internet pharmacies and while their OOH service is further away than I'd like, it's only 30 minutes drive at the kind of times I might need it....so it all sounds good so far.

Thanks to OP for mentioning them:beer:

missbargain

O.K. it might not have been crystal, but it's still Harrods Wowweee, what a posh kitty (well he certainly looked posh) I am not surprised he didn't want to drink out of the "common" cat bowl, hehehe.

MrsE_2

missbargain wrote: »

O.K. it might not have been crystal, but it's still Harrods Wowweee, what a posh kitty (well he certainly looked posh) I am not surprised he didn't want to drink out of the "common" cat bowl, hehehe.

We got Bodum, he had Harrods:rolleyes: :rotfl:

stirlo_2

orlao wrote: »

Also spoke to Your Vets in Rayleigh today....what a different attitude!
Explained about having a cat on long term meds and that I needed to source them as cheaply as possible, no problem they said, they'll issue a script for 3 months for £5 once they've seen her ( she's due a bloodtest soon anyway) but they also try and pricematch the internet pharmacies and while their OOH service is further away than I'd like, it's only 30 minutes drive at the kind of times I might need it....so it all sounds good so far.

Thanks to OP for mentioning them:beer:

let me know how you get on! Once you see our building and facilities I think you'll be pleasantly surprised too!

lowis

stirlo - does YourVets deal with any illness / problem, or just the common issues? for example, i recently had a cat who had lymphoma who underwent chemo, and then was under close supervision of my vet for the 16 months that she remained in remission, is this something you guys could do as well? would your staff consult with outside orgainisations in order to keep informed of latest developements in treatments / medicines etc? for example, my vet regularly consulted with a leading oncologist at Uni of Cambridge (amongst others) whilst treating and caring for my cat.

your prices seem so reasonable, your service seems thorough too, so i am just wondering whether there are things you don't do in order to keep costs on the common stuff so competitive.

ta

stirlo_2

Hi lowis, thanks for your question!

It would be true to say that YourVets/ the pet vaccination clinic are more of a 'primary veterinary care' set-up, in that we specialize at doing the basics (fleas, neutering, boosters etc) at a very affordable price and with excellent service and large, smart facilies.
At our Rayleigh, essex branch, we are equipped to do high-level surgery, but I would say that in general for people who have very technical, ongoing veterinary care needed, or chemotherapy, we often do point them in the direction of the really serious specialists in the field required! However I am unaware of your exact circumstances & drugs required, so you could always phone the rayleigh branch and ask them in more detail!

lowis

thanks Stirlo - she passed away in June so nothing required now sadly.

The chemo drugs were Doxyrubicin, Cyclophosphamide and Vincristine on a cycle over 26 weeks (known as Madison Wisconsin protocol) then Leukeran after that, which was supposed to be her on-going maintenance protocol - but it made her nauseous, so we stopped giving it to her and hoped and prayed it wouldn't affect her longevity - it didn't, she lived for twice as long as predicted! (Recent research suggests that leukeran used as a maintenance protocol may not actually make much difference after a cat has already undergone the intensive Madison Wisconsin protocol).

louise_1981

I have read through this with interest. And being here I am money saving as the next person, but I have to say that given the choice of having my much loved buns in pain and waiting for a postman, cos I wanted to save a bit of money, or getting it there and then and pay 12 pounds extra I know what I would do!

I have insurance, but I also put money aside every month, as I know vets want paying upfront, and I wouldn't want to think I would have to deny my rabbits treatment as I couldn't pay there and then.

I have to say I am vey lucky with my vets, and there are many Simons around you just have to look for them! but when you find one they are :A in disguise!

Although they do have consultation fees, mine never charge them, they just charge me for the medicine they prescribe, unless you go in wasting their time, I would think.

I had a spay go wrong on one of my rabbits and she had to be put to sleep. I went every day for a week, knowing she was not right, fighting to get her better. However, it was not to be, but as Simon says, someone grieving for their pet, doesn't want a bill. My vet didn't charge me anything for that week, knowing that I want the best for my remaining bunny, I went out and bought two more!