It shouldn't happen at a vets.

Mojisola

ninky wrote: »

out of interest, what are the rules on who can take human blood samples? how much training is needed and what qualifications?

I don't know.

As this is off topic, it would be worth starting a new thread to find the answer.

lilibeth

aliasojo wrote: »

Cruelty is a subjective term. The programme would have gone by the legal definition of cruelty I assume, which talks of 'deliberate' and malicious' intent.

As much as I deplore the actions of certain staff, I can accept their intent was neither of those. However the broad sense of the word cruelty to most of society means causing unnecessary pain or suffering. Imo, that was very much in evidence.

I disagree with that bit. There were a number of incidents that were clearly deliberate and malicious. They were also in some cases sustained.

hayley11

Hintza wrote: »

Personally I thought the BBC had really struggled to find examples of bad practice and blew it all out of proportion.

Although some scenes were possibly distressing to some, animals are unpredictable and a bit of wrestling might ensue.

The guy hitting the dog on the head was naughty and the company didn't try to duck that one.

No so instead they promoted him, much better

ninky_2

Mojisola wrote: »

I don't know.

As this is off topic, it would be worth starting a new thread to find the answer.

it's not really off topic. because if a trainee is allowed to take a blood sample from a human then perhaps we shouldn't be so horrified about medivet's stance.

ninky_2

can't police take blood samples (if you consent?). are they medically qualified?

lilibeth

ninky wrote: »

can't police take blood samples (if you consent?). are they medically qualified?

They use a police doctor don't they.

ninky_2

lilibeth wrote: »

They use a police doctor don't they.

ah right. never needed to find out!

mutley_muppet

Hintza wrote: »

Personally I thought the BBC had really struggled to find examples of bad practice and blew it all out of proportion.

Although some scenes were possibly distressing to some, animals are unpredictable and a bit of wrestling might ensue.

The guy hitting the dog on the head was naughty and the company didn't try to duck that one.

Did you actually watch the whole programme?

To say hitting the dog on the head is "naughty" is a bit of understatment IMO!

The company promoted the lad to head nurse at another of their branches?

I hope he is sacked after this expose!

When you say "animals are unpredictable and a bit of wrestling might ensue..." Yes I agree that animal can be unpredictable, especially when they are in pain. That is why vets, veterinary nurses and kennel staff should be trained to restrain animals in the proper way.

I have worked with dogs in rescue kennels and boarding kennels for many years and have worked with some severly traumatised and injured dogs.

In no way is the handling and hitting of that shar-pei acceptable. If the lad didn't feel confident to remove the catheter he should have sought assistance from a properly trained member of staff.

If I was his boss his feet wouldn't have touched the ground!! :mad:

The only person properly disciplined was the vet who tried to scam the owner of the lurcher with cancer. And he was only struck of by the RCVS because the owner had the sense to report him!

It makes me wonder how many other people this vet had scammed over the years? Not only robbing people of their money but also subjecting animals to unnecessary procedures?

manda1205

ninky wrote: »

out of interest, what are the rules on who can take human blood samples? how much training is needed and what qualifications?

I used to be a senior care worker in a residential home, I was doing an NVQ in Care Level 3, If I had been working in a Drs surgery I could have taken the unit that would have given me the certificate to say I could take human blood. I know that in my local Drs that healthcare assistants can take blood and you can join a surgery with little experience to become one, although you have to be willing to partake in training etc. (Just to add this was 6 years ago, so there may have been changes but Im certain healthcare !!! can do it)
I was really shocked by the show, particularly the amputated dog and the way the anesthatized cats was terrible and IMO I was more worried about how lax they are about anesthetic rather than drawing blood. As they said on the show, the slightest error in anesthetic can kill, yet they were quite happy to just give more (and quite a lot more from what they were saying).
It made me very grateful for my vets, my dog is so excited to go to the vets, she loves all the nurses and vets and is so pleased to see them, even after being hit by a car they said she was still so happy to see them and for them to be with her, so they must do something right.

FabSascha

I've had cats all my life and currently have five, all of whom are registered at the Medivet Hendon branch so I am very familiar with them. Whilst I don't condone some of the things that were shown in the documentary - especially when Aron hit the dog, I actually know him and was incredibly surprised - I have to jump to their defense and say that they have never been anything other than amazing to me and my cats. Firstly, I have a very sick cat who has diabetes, among other things, and he is so well treated there. He spends so much time at the Hendon branch (last year he had to stay in for about 3 months due to a skin problem - at my request as I couldn't handle all the blood) and once they hit the insurance maximum they stopped charging for any more treatment. Baring in mind he hit it within weeks as my insurance max is £4000 and this was I believe his 4th visit there in that year. He is treated like a king there and all the staff look forward to his visit - he's literally refered to as 'the king'! He becomes a mascot when he's staying there as they love him so much. Now he's at the age where I have to pay a percentage of the fees as well as an excess and Medivet NEVER chase me for this. They let me pay whenever I'm ready. I had an outstanding bill of around £300 which I've only just paid and that was from last year.

Another good example is that whenever they get homeless, motherless kittens in, the vet nurses volunteer to take them home with them and nurse them until they're ready to be homed. I know of one nurse who was working full-time there, whilst nursing a kitten. This meant that she was waking every two hours to feed him, then getting up in the morning and going to work whilst continuing to nurse the kitten. I know this because the kitten is now mine

I just wanted to mention these examples because they really have been so amazing to me and I was upset that the documentary didn't really show any proper examples of people like me. It was very one-sided and the result will be that Medivet will get a reputation based on a few isolated incidents. I will never leave Medivet as I can't imagine I'll get the care and understanding from any other vet.