What do you WANT & EXPECT from a vet?

amy104

* Continuity of vet - I would prefer to follow up my cases and not take over another vets case halfway through so we try to offer continuity. Vet rotas and clients diaries do not always merge but if you can be flexible and ask when you book in, this should be possible a lot of the time, even in big practices.

I think this is probably true of all vets. Obviously its not possible in an emergancy situation but for routine stuff and follow up consults I always make a point of asking the receptionist to book me in with a particular vet.

* Communication / patronising - some people need to be told 10 times in simple terms, some people just once. I feel that my doctor over-simplifies things but my car mechanic is too technical but that is down to my knowledge. Simplification is probably safer but you need to be able to read people which is an art form not easily learnt. Younger vets are more likely to get this wrong and it is difficult. The best vets are excellent communicators and readers of people - just don't play poker against them!

I can totally understand that especially with new clients it is impossible to guage how knowledgeable they are and how detailed you need to be. I'm a big fan of asking questions. I consider myself a bit of a bunny obsessive, I read everything I can get my hands on and as a result I am probably a bit more knowledgeable than the average bunny owner but how on earth would my vet know that on first meeting me? If he spoke to me in depth chances are I'd understand but if my husband took the buns he wouldn't have a clue. In my opinion is much better that things are simplified, there is nothing worse than leaving a vets feeling confused. I don't think its patronising at all. In my opinon communication works both ways, once you start asking questions your vet will soon offer information voluntarily without you having to ask.

When I first moved to this area the first practice I registered with refused to spay a female rabbit. I gave them a long list of reasons why I wanted it done and basically got told I was talking nonsense. I even explained that I am a member of the rabbit welfare association and my info was in line with theirs so what did the vet do? Apologise? No, they contacted the RWA to assertain if I was lying or not. Now that is patronising. More fool them, they lost my business and with 12 rabbits thats a lot of money just from vaccinations alone.

* Honesty - this goes both ways. Don't tell me your emaciated dog was healthy just 2 days ago or that "money is no object". I know when a client is lying to me more often that they realise.

I honestly don't understand what is to be gained by lying to a vet. If you truely want the best for your pet the vet needs the full picture surely?

* Prescriptions / Internet prices - I can't buy some of these drugs for the price they are sold at on the internet so if I am more expensive, it is not always me being greedy. When it is a level playing field, I might price match more. This has been discussed at length elsewhere.

Why is this? For example Lapinject is advertised online at £8.50 a vial. Now this can only be administered by a vet and whilst my vet gives me a massive discount for bulk vaccinations he cannot meet this price. So who exactly can buy it, ie who are they selling it to if I can't buy it and my vet can't either.

sarah*a

Our vets are wonderful - they have bent over backwards to help us and Little Dog over the last 12 months. All the vets and receptionists know us by name and all of Little Dog's quirks - he now gets excited to go there rather than having to drag him up the steps to the door :rotfl:

The biggest bonus for us is that they allow us to do direct claims for our insurance. Although the general policy for the surgery is for the client to pay all costs and then claim them back from the insurers they do take each case on merit and will help wherever possible.

We built up trust with them (paid all bills on time, attended appointments on time etc) and were rewarded for it - thankfully as LD's treatment in the last 3 months alone has been almost £3000 :eek:.

We also know that when it is one of our pets 'time to go' they will be honest with us instead of 'dragging it out' just for a few more pennies in the till.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is: should I (heavens forbid!) have to find another surgery I would definately look for one that
(a) doesn't have a high turnover of staff so we can get to know them and they us
(b) understands that each animal is different - in capability and personality (My mother says her vet would have recommended we have LD PTS by now - my vet recognises the inner strength he has and that although he is 'sick' he is not suffering in anyway)
(c) has flexibility within it's own guidelines where possible.

Not sure if all that makes sense (I got distracted by the phone and lost my train of thought )

catkins

I have an absolutely brilliant vet who I have recommended to family and friends. Why do I think he is brilliant?

He is always friendly and welcoming both to me, OH and our pets. My dog has an underactive thyroid so has to see the vet fairly regularly for blood tests. The vet remembers me, OH and our dog (ok maybe he just reads the computer screen before calling us in but he certainly seems as though he remembers us all). He listens to what we say and never rushes us even if it means our appointment overruns. He explains everything clearly and makes sure we are happy and understand before we leave.

I have had vets before who almost seem as though they dislike animals. They barely acknowledge the pet at all other than when they examine it. I even had a vet who when I walked into his room with my dog said "oh no not an afghan, I hate afghans"!!! Needless to say I never went back to him and my dog obviously sensed the guy disliked him and played up like crazy which he never did for any other vet.

As I said my dog has an underactive thyroid. About 5 years ago I mentioned to my previous vet (different practice) that I thought my dog had an underactive thyroid and he asked me why I thought that. I explained that he seemed to have a few symptoms which, having read about it on the internet, I thought was down to his thyroid. The vet laughed (not a friendly laugh) and said "Oh another one who believes all they read on the internet. I can assure you that the symptoms you describe are now down to his thyroid". Well obviously I thought the vet should know better than me so carried on using him for over a year after that. I then had an argument with him over my dog's microchip which had moved (long story will not go into now) and so decided to change vets.

At the initial consultation I mentioned to the new vet my thoughts about my dog's thyroid and, rather than laughing at me, the vet listened and agreed that the symptoms could be down to that. He said he would do a blood test to check his thyroid and, when the results came back, his thyroid was underactive, in fact very much so. He said he could not believe the previous vet was so rude or that he did not do a blood test. As he said, even if he thought I was a neurotic owner he could have offered to do a blood test which obviously I would have had to pay for.

Sorry, I seem to have rambled quite a bit but for me the important things are: to listen to me, to be friendly and actually seem to like and care about animals and to be honest.

jfh7gwa

Fee transparency.

I don't mind paying a lot of money for treatment, but I want to be treated as if I'm not a complete moron. I like to research the hell out of anything I spend money on (a bit of a hobby - I quite like learning about things I don't know about, unless it's an emergency of course) so I instantly warm to people such as vets if they present their professional opinion with a totally clear, no nonsense idea of what things cost, the risk, the alternatives.

I've yet to find a local vet that I'm truly happy with, which means that I literally drive back home 50 miles away for non-emergency treatments for our animals - I just haven't found one which seems totally up-front and transparent about fees - in fact one local one that I went to register had a slight air of disdain when I enquired about (non emergency) fees for vet treatment during the initial check up - I was 100% prepared to pay whateer it was if I got a clear explanation - but seeing the attitude put me right off - I ended up making up an excuse that money was tight (it is, but I had the money for that) and I'd have a think about it. Again, I ended up having the problem dealt with by my vet local to my parent's house 50 miles away.

Really poor experiences of vets around where I am now, tbh.

paddypaws101

Snowman....the mere fact that you are interested enough to ask this question proves to me that you are probably an exceptional vet!
Keep up the good work.

DavidF

Snowman no one expects you to know ALL food brands. But to be fair i as a complete "layman" do know what brands of food my dog would need if he were to suffer from certain allergies/intollerancies. I also would love to see more vets at least read up (If not actually study) animal nutrition......even if this is just for Dog's and Cats as I am sure they are the mainstay of most vet practices.
Be able to advise the Pros and Cons of a Raw/BARF diet would be a good start.......I feel pet nutrition should be a big part of a vet practice......even to the extent that any bigger practice should even have a fully trained nutritionist (Spelling ?) on hand to offer help/advice and consultations as and when required.
Apart from that I have found that the majoritory of Vets do what they are trained to do and they generally do it very well. People cant really ask for more.

Hoof_Hearted

We have a large well-equipped vetinary practice. The vets are well-trained and competent. However, this is a business and the charges for a consultation are very high. I can accept this as the dog is generally healthy and sees the vet rarely.

However, what I really object too is being overcharged for routine medicines. Our vet stocks non-prescription medicines which can be bought from the receptionist. I stupidly bought some Frontline from the vet at a 200% markup compared with an online supplier. This is taking the mick.

So I would like vets not to rip customers off with overpriced medicines and special food.

Katiehound

snowman2 wrote: »

* Prescriptions / Internet prices - I can't buy some of these drugs for the price they are sold at on the internet so if I am more expensive, it is not always me being greedy. When it is a level playing field, I might price match more. This has been discussed at length elsewhere.

This is what I don't understand. Why don't vets have a group purchasing scheme like the shops Londis & Spar? Who does manage to buy the prescription drugs at lower prices?

A few years ago a friend had a dog on an expensive drug which she was struggling to buy- perhaps it was Rimadyl- and asked her vet for a prescription. He asked her how much she would save and she foolishly said £8, so he said that was the price of the scrip! This was since the ruling that vets were only supposed to charge a reasonable amount for the scrip. This is not my vet I would add.
It's things like that which make me angry. I have heard that if vets cannot charge for the drugs (at a profit) then consultation charges will go up.

melbury

Snowman - whereabouts in the country is your practice? If it is near me I will consider switching:)

gettingready

Katiehound wrote: »

Who does manage to buy the prescription drugs at lower prices?

Only idividuals who manage to get a reasonably priced perscriptions from their vets....