Fuming with my vets - rightly so or not, some advice before I call today

suki1964

MJNewton wrote: »

I was disputing the likelihood that a seed could germinate as the OP thought. I took your apparent disagreement with me to mean you too thought they could.

My apologies for the confusion.

Mathew

Not at all

No I was just trying to say that its not really a medical emergency and trying to calm the op's fears.

Having been a cocker owner all my life Im all too aware of grass seeds and their tendency to get stuck in all sorts of weird places. Many a nasty lump has appeared on cheeks or paws to burst and a grass seed emerge - sometimes many weeks after being picked up.

Where I live now we dont have that particular grass seed to worry about ( its the type that looks like barley and grows everywhere in London), now we just have the wee sticky bead type ones that are like velcro. Don't enter the body but I can spend hours picking them out of his coat after a walk in the fields

KVet

blue_monkey wrote: »

The point is KVet, if the scope was broken they should have told me this and referred me for treatment elsewhere 2 weeks ago. Moreso they still have no definate date for the scope being back so why have I still not been referred elsewhere? Why should my pet have to suffer because of this?

I am paying for this op, if they could not do it then they should not be fobbing me off with medication until they get the equipment back. With the amount of money they are charging me I should not be expected to wait no, especially if my dog is in discomfort.

No-one would expect their dog to wait for an x-ray because the machinary is expensive. If you are operating as a vetinary practice then you should have the equipment necessary to treat those animals or you should be referring elsewhere.

I find it kind of scary that if you are a vet, as your username suggests, if you think an animal should have to suffer because a vet practice cannot afford the equipment to do the correct procedure to put that animal out of pain or suffering.

When on earth did I say the animal had to suffer simply because the vets couldnt afford a specialist piece of equipment as that is what an endoscope IS a specialist piece of equipment that costs thousands of pounds. I am very offended by your comments.

An xray machine is the norm in most veterinary practices yes, an endoscope is most definitely not.

I guess I have learned something today though. I still cannot fathom how a vets cannot have the equipment to make your pet better if they are sick, nor have the equipment to see what is wrong in an emergency. I understand they are a business but no business can run without the tools to make it work operationally. That would be like a dentist, who is also a business, not having a drilling machine for fillings, surely? Most bizarre.

Complete and utter nonsense. Drs and Dentists are paid and funded by the NHS hence why they can have such advanced equipment. Most veterinary surgeries in the UK are regarded as General Practice IE quite like a GP surgery. Would you berate GPs for not having an endoscope there and then if you walked in off the street demanding a scope? No, of course you wouldnt as you would go to the Hospital where specialists are and where all the specialist equipment is. Even there you may need to go do a different hospital or a specialist referral. The exact same goes for vets as well. There is only so much a normal Vet can do in a normal practice and hence some cases need to be referred to specialists/hospitals etc.

I dont know why you are complaining so much. If the same had happened to you, you would be waiting months on the NHS for a referral/investigation and the Dr would just keep giving you antibitiotics. People with pets dont realise how spoilt theiy are for their pets healthcare comparedd to Doctors and the NHS. Vets are self funded so we do not make loads of money as people seem to think we do and have large overheads hence why non-essential equipment like endoscopes, fluroscopy, laser surgery etc are not purchased unless we use them a lot as they are not financially viable.

In some ways I can see why you are annoyed but if you were THAT worried 2 weeks ago why didnt you PUSH for or ASK for a referral instead of going "why didnt my vet refer me?" If they didnt think it was that bad they wouldnt have unless you asked for it and pushed for it, same with human doctors.

tux900

suki1964 wrote: »

now we just have the wee sticky bead type ones that are like velcro. Don't enter the body but I can spend hours picking them out of his coat after a walk in the fields

I know the type. One of our cats seems to have found a source for these (which I have been unable to do!) and seemingly finds it almost impossible to remove himself hence he is very appreciative of the grooming assistance!

Mathew

supersaver66

KVet wrote: »

In some ways I can see why you are annoyed but if you were THAT worried 2 weeks ago why didnt you PUSH for or ASK for a referral instead of going "why didnt my vet refer me?" If they didnt think it was that bad they wouldnt have unless you asked for it and pushed for it, same with human doctors.

Because thats not HER job, she went to the vet for help which she didnt receive.

Personally I think her treatment by the vet has been very poor to say the least. To the OP - I think you have every right to complain and should do so.

suki1964

Of course its the OPS job, shes the owner and has the responsibility of her pups health. If she was not happy with what the vet decided back then she could have voted with her feet and gone to another practice

Missconduct

Ruby_Moon wrote: »

It seems as though you are not happy with your Vet no matter what your Vet says or does. As you say, you have already fallen out with one vetinary practice in your town.
Is it really so difficult to accept that your puppy has a cold? Or are you anxious for an endoscope because you know differently?
The equipment is expensive. You are lucky your Vet even has use of one, never mind owning one. What would you do if they didn't have one at all?
At the end of the day, if you are that concerned about your puppy, take him to another vet for a second opinion.
As for the insurance, seems like that doesn't run too smoothly either. Wonder why things don't run smoothly for you?

I suspect that the original poster simply expects a degree of competence and, unfortunately, that seems hard to find these days as good customer service is a rare thing. They also said that they had left behind a very good veterinary practice. By the way, in my experience, South African vets are usually very good, if there any in your area.

The practice should have told you at the outset what the actual situation was with the endoscope and outlined your options. Our vet always discusses all the options thoroughly with us and involves us in the decision (and the treatment, having spent several hours recently helping our vet x-ray and ultrasound and take bloods and urine samples from our newfie!)

Finding a vet that you like and trust is important, the same as with a doctor and lawyer. As in any profession, some are better than others (even within practices). And some practices have better policies than others - we left a practice that would charge for filling in insurance forms. You could ask to speak to the Practice Manager and explain your complaint and see what they have to say. The mark of a good business is how they deal with a problem when it arises. If you're not happy, find another practice.

It may just be a cold but it may not and it could quickly escalate in young animal. You can get referred to a specialist over the weekend, by the way, if the referring vet feels it is urgent.

Missconduct

suki1964 wrote: »

Of course its the OPS job, shes the owner and has the responsibility of her pups health. If she was not happy with what the vet decided back then she could have voted with her feet and gone to another practice

I disagree - she is entitled to rely on the vet's advice - it is their expertise that she is paying for. If their advice falls short of the expected standard (and I don't know whether that is the case here or not), they are professionally negligent.

And, to be fair, her original post was to seek objective opinions on whether she was being reasonable, as I understood it.

MrsTinks

I think expecting any vet to hold all the equipment they may be likely to need to help all pets with all health problems is simply unrealistic - they got no funding help, they get no minimum equipment supplied - they - PERSONALLY - pay for every piece of kit in the surgery from the tables to the lab equipment. Most vets don't have a full set of lab equipment because the cost is restricting - and so we complain over the cost of getting blood tests done quickly when the vet DOES have the equipment because it's a "rip off" that they charge that much - forgetting the maintenance costs and running costs not to mention purchase price originally too...
Endoscopes - something that compared to lab equipment would be used very little to be honest. And NOT standard equipment - I'd be impressed if my local vets (large surgery) had one to be honest - I'd certainly not have expected them to have one...

Ultimately you have the choice of remaining with your current vet or changing again - if you don't feel they operate in a manner with which you agree then change... Be aware however that another vet may not do any different and they may infact have a lot less equipment...

If you think your dog is getting worse then call them and arrange an emergency appointment - abcesses are horrid and yes they are painful (had one myself once...) but if they have burst and you can keep it clean with saline till monday then so long as your dog is eating well, otherwise seems happy and healthy, then wait for the endoscopy on monday. It is entirely possible that they will find nothing when they do it - it could be the seed has come out already, it could be a million different things...

Glad you got your insurance sorted though - I'm guessing that endoscopy isn't going to be cheap...

MrsTinks

Jasandjules wrote: »

I disagree - she is entitled to rely on the vet's advice - it is their expertise that she is paying for. If their advice falls short of the expected standard (and I don't know whether that is the case here or not), they are professionally negligent.

And, to be fair, her original post was to seek objective opinions on whether she was being reasonable, as I understood it.

I think "professionally negligent" is slightly over reacting here... Unless you're a vet, have seen the dog in question and are therefore qualified to make such a judgement?

suki1964

Jasandjules wrote: »

I disagree - she is entitled to rely on the vet's advice - it is their expertise that she is paying for. If their advice falls short of the expected standard (and I don't know whether that is the case here or not), they are professionally negligent.

And, to be fair, her original post was to seek objective opinions on whether she was being reasonable, as I understood it.

She got the vets advice, she just didnt agree with it. Therefore if she felt her dog wasnt getting the treatment it needed then it was up to her to go get that treatment elsewhere THEN argue negligence