Daylight robbery, just my vets or widespread practice?

trudij

Im not allowed to thank for some reason - but speaking as another veterinary nurse - Snowman has pretty much covered it all.

Morganarla

snowman2 wrote: »

If the prices for Advocate listed by the OP include delivery, I am going to buy some as it is cheaper than I can get wholesale. There are a few issues here.

1. It is not a level playing field. Some of these internet pharmacies are bigger than my 3-vet practice and get much bigger discounts from manufacturers meaning they can sell drugs to you cheaper than I can buy them. I can't get close. If I could get the same price as an internet pharmacy, I could reduce my prices

2. I have a much wider stock of drugs and dont just cherry pick the big sellers. I have over £20,000 of stock on my shelves available for IMMEDIATE sale, not reliant on the postal service. If you need your heart tablets urgently because you have dropped them in the toilet, an internet pharmacy is no use. Vets are delivering a quicker, more personal service than the internet pharmacies

3. It takes time to write a prescription, review the records and at the end of the day, my signature on the prescription is a legal device that makes me responsible for the drugs and a mistake could cost me my livelihood. Not something to take lightly. Just because yours is a flea treatment doesn't make it any easier. Plenty of cats have died from the wrong flea treatment and we charge the same for a prescription whether it is a wormer or advanced chemotherapy. I will charge for my time accordingly and £10 is a reasonable cost for 5 minutes of my time compared to an average 10 minute consultation

4. Why should I give 5 minutes of my time for free so you can give business to a competitor? Do Tesco's or ASDA tell you that Cornflakes are cheaper at Morrisons this week? I still have bills to pay.

5. Vets are actually excellent value compared to the NHS. The NHS budget for 2010/11 is approx £110 billion or £1830 per person. The average bill at a vets is about £250 per year. Try getting a private prescription from a doctor for less than £30.

6. The government, through the Competition Commission and Office of Fair Trading has been persuading vets over the past 5 years to reduce the charges for drugs and increase the charges for our professional time. When we try to charge for our professional time through a prescription charge we get accused of daylight robbery. We can't win.

7. There are many thousands of hard working nurses and receptionists who are on a very poor wage, close to minimum wage. I would love to put my prices up by 25% to give all my staff a 50% pay rise which is only what they deserve for the hard work and dedication they put in to a stressful job. Without these nurses and receptionists, we wouldn't have such excellent veterinary care in this country and I am proud to work with all my staff.

8. Vets get paid half of what doctors do for a very similar job (barring the species). If I wanted a job for the money, I would have become a GP but I sacrificed a huge extra income over a lifetime to become a vet. Yes, I do well financially but I could have done much better. Maybe vets aren't that intelligent after all

9. I have spent the last 20 years of my life helping animals and for 99% of everyone in vets practices, this is why we do the job. Don't you dare accuse us of being thieves, milking you or not caring about animals. I have been kept awake at nights thinking about cases and most of us have cried when we have just put to sleep a favourite patient. I can remember cases right back to my first month in practice, cases that mean something to me, be it the animal or the owner. Some owners are not just clients, they become friends. I love this job and wouldn't do anything else which is why you have to remember, it is not about the COST of veterinary care, it is the overall VALUE that you and your pets receive back.

snowman2, I love you. You are my new hero. Especially because of the highlighted bits (I'm a vet nurse) :T:T

If only all employers and vets thought like you!

andyo

snowman2 wrote: »

If the prices for Advocate listed by the OP include delivery, I am going to buy some as it is cheaper than I can get wholesale. There are a few issues here.

1. It is not a level playing field. Some of these internet pharmacies are bigger than my 3-vet practice and get much bigger discounts from manufacturers meaning they can sell drugs to you cheaper than I can buy them. I can't get close. If I could get the same price as an internet pharmacy, I could reduce my prices

2. I have a much wider stock of drugs and dont just cherry pick the big sellers. I have over £20,000 of stock on my shelves available for IMMEDIATE sale, not reliant on the postal service. If you need your heart tablets urgently because you have dropped them in the toilet, an internet pharmacy is no use. Vets are delivering a quicker, more personal service than the internet pharmacies

3. It takes time to write a prescription, review the records and at the end of the day, my signature on the prescription is a legal device that makes me responsible for the drugs and a mistake could cost me my livelihood. Not something to take lightly. Just because yours is a flea treatment doesn't make it any easier. Plenty of cats have died from the wrong flea treatment and we charge the same for a prescription whether it is a wormer or advanced chemotherapy. I will charge for my time accordingly and £10 is a reasonable cost for 5 minutes of my time compared to an average 10 minute consultation

4. Why should I give 5 minutes of my time for free so you can give business to a competitor? Do Tesco's or ASDA tell you that Cornflakes are cheaper at Morrisons this week? I still have bills to pay.

5. Vets are actually excellent value compared to the NHS. The NHS budget for 2010/11 is approx £110 billion or £1830 per person. The average bill at a vets is about £250 per year. Try getting a private prescription from a doctor for less than £30.

6. The government, through the Competition Commission and Office of Fair Trading has been persuading vets over the past 5 years to reduce the charges for drugs and increase the charges for our professional time. When we try to charge for our professional time through a prescription charge we get accused of daylight robbery. We can't win.

7. There are many thousands of hard working nurses and receptionists who are on a very poor wage, close to minimum wage. I would love to put my prices up by 25% to give all my staff a 50% pay rise which is only what they deserve for the hard work and dedication they put in to a stressful job. Without these nurses and receptionists, we wouldn't have such excellent veterinary care in this country and I am proud to work with all my staff.

8. Vets get paid half of what doctors do for a very similar job (barring the species). If I wanted a job for the money, I would have become a GP but I sacrificed a huge extra income over a lifetime to become a vet. Yes, I do well financially but I could have done much better. Maybe vets aren't that intelligent after all

9. I have spent the last 20 years of my life helping animals and for 99% of everyone in vets practices, this is why we do the job. Don't you dare accuse us of being thieves, milking you or not caring about animals. I have been kept awake at nights thinking about cases and most of us have cried when we have just put to sleep a favourite patient. I can remember cases right back to my first month in practice, cases that mean something to me, be it the animal or the owner. Some owners are not just clients, they become friends. I love this job and wouldn't do anything else which is why you have to remember, it is not about the COST of veterinary care, it is the overall VALUE that you and your pets receive back.

snowman2 you have restored my faith in vets by your informative and well written response. I had never decried the skills and dedication of the majority of your profession, but must admit that I had entered the camp of those who felt that we were being 'taken for a ride' when it came to paying for services such as medication. You have now returned me to the other side and I can now see why your pricing structures are as such. Thank you, and from now on, I will now look at this issue with a more balanced opinion

Paradigm

I had to take my girl to our vet one morning last week after a very severe reaction to some medication she was given.

The vet called on his mobile at 8pm the same night to ask how she was & to tell us we could call him at any time during the night if we were concerned!

He called again the following morning!

We all moan about the cost of just about everything but, to me, a good vet is worth every penny they charge & the service I had from mine was priceless!

Tropez

Paradigm wrote: »

I had to take my girl to our vet one morning last week after a very severe reaction to some medication she was given.

The vet called on his mobile at 8pm the same night to ask how she was & to tell us we could call him at any time during the night if we were concerned!

He called again the following morning!

We all moan about the cost of just about everything but, to me, a good vet is worth every penny they charge & the service I had from mine was priceless!

Absolutely.

When Angie's time came, the vet waived all the fees with having her PTS and cremated. It is hardly expensive but not having to discuss money when I'd just lost a much loved friend was a very nice gesture.