Is £700 per night normal for Vet’s bill?

ripplyuk

My partner’s dog is 15yo now and has a lot of health problems, including suspected Cushing’s syndrome, arthritis, stomach and thyroid problems. She’s also had urinary incontinence for years. It has cost a lot of money investigating and treating these issues (latest bill was £650 two weeks ago).

On Saturday evening, she had multiple seizures which has never happened before. We rang the vet and they use VetsNow for out of hours care. When we arrived they said it would be best to leave her in for observation in case of any more seizures. They also put her on a drip as they said seizures can cause dehydration. The cost per night was £700! We were shocked but felt we had no choice. No other treatment was given and thankfully she didn’t have another seizure so they let her come home after one night.

We’re feeling a bit like we’ve been taken advantage of. We were very stressed out and worried about the dog and there was no other options. Could anyone tell me if this is a normal, average price for an overnight stay? I could understand it if a lot of treatment was given or a procedure carried out but it was basically just to watch the dog.

We have an appointment with our own vet tomorrow but now we’ve no money left to investigate these seizures. My partner has paid these last bills with his credit card, which is now maxed out and it will take a long time to pay it off.

KxMx

I'm sorry to hear what your Dog has been going through.

Vet care is expensive, out of hours vet care is even more so and this what you had.

There would have been a consultation charge (often £100-200) on top of the overnight stay fee, so you maybe didn't get charged the £700 just for the stay.

I believe from memory when I had my late cat the charge to see (so excluding tests/treatment/monitoring) the OOH Vet was £139 or £179 depending on whether it was late evening or early morning.

You are right, there is no other option, but part of being a pet owner is making sure you know these things in advance and prepare for them happening.

My cat was insured but I knew they only covered OOH under certain conditions; so I made sure money was set aside in case it was needed and the claim was declined.

sheramber

You should have been given an invoice detailing the charges . If not, ask for one.

OOH services from these companies is very expensive. They are a private company who hire the surgery and pay vets to be available for these unsocial hours Most people get paid extra for working night shift.

If there are not many patients they still have to pay all theses expenses so charge accordingly.

Are there any local vets who do their own OOH cover? If so it might be worth changing to them.

One advantage of living rurally is my vet surgery does their own OOH cover .

stripeyfox

Sorry to hear about your dog. In my own experience of owning dogs my whole life, there comes a point where I have to consider if continuing to spend seemingly endless amounts of money at prolonging the life of a dog who had already lived a "good" age.

So difficult as it may be, with all of the health problems you describe and the fact that you have exhausted your funds, it may be the time to consider if the best course of action is to put the old girl to sleep?

I'm sorry if this sounds insensitive, it really is not meant to. I've been faced with this call a few times in my life and it's never easy.

ripplyuk

sheramber wrote: »

Are there any local vets who do their own OOH cover? If so it might be worth changing to them.

One advantage of living rurally is my vet surgery does their own OOH cover .

Our local vet was at a loss with all her health problems and didn’t know what else to do so we now have been taking her to a referral centre which is a veterinary hospital. There is another vet locally but if we swapped to them, they would probably also just refer her on to the veterinary hospital. They only do out of hours care for those who are registered.

I’ll ask for an invoice from VetsNow. They did give us something but it just had our details and listed charges as ‘£700 for overnight care’ with a box to tick.

ripplyuk

stripeyfox wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your dog. In my own experience of owning dogs my whole life, there comes a point where I have to consider if continuing to spend seemingly endless amounts of money at prolonging the life of a dog who had already lived a "good" age.

So difficult as it may be, with all of the health problems you describe and the fact that you have exhausted your funds, it may be the time to consider if the best course of action is to put the old girl to sleep?

I'm sorry if this sounds insensitive, it really is not meant to. I've been faced with this call a few times in my life and it's never easy.

I know the dog doesn’t have long left but our vet has not yet mentioned euthanasia. They have suggested doing more tests and trying anti-seizure drugs. Then when she is stable, getting a brain CT scan. It’s important to me to do everything possible to prolong her life, as long as she is not suffering. Sadly, I think she now is suffering. I’ll see what the vet says tomorrow.

KxMx

Oh I do sympathise, our local Vet couldn't diagnose my cat so we were referred to a Small Animal Hospital for diagnosis, TBH it was only due to the insurance that I could afford that.

The final bill was £3k, my share after insurance was £715 (20% of bill as per insurance policy terms, plus an excess as policy renewed between local vet and specialist). Which was still a lot of money for me but I had savings put by.

My cats illness was terminal and I decided she wouldn't accept the treatment, but it progressed quite quickly anyway after diagnosis and she definitely reached a point where she had had enough and was beginning to suffer.

It is the best decision you can make for a pet but even knowing that it is still pretty terrible.

elsien

My quote for an out of hours appt (£120) and an overnight stay with tests (blood tests and scan) if needed was between £900 and £1200. I signed to agree this before I was able to leave Gitdog with them.
He ended up staying two night but didn't need the scan so the final fully itemised bill was £1200.
The downside of my vet using an expensive specialist hospital to provide the out of hours service.

ripplyuk

elsien wrote: »

My quote for an out of hours appt (£120) and an overnight stay with tests (blood tests and scan) if needed was between £900 and £1200. I signed to agree this before I was able to leave Gitdog with them.
He ended up staying two night but didn't need the scan so the final fully itemised bill was £1200.
The downside of my vet using an expensive specialist hospital to provide the out of hours service.

Thanks. At least I know these charges are normal. I do think it’s overpriced but there’s no option in an emergency.

We’ve been back at the vets and they’ve suggested a brain MRI which costs £1500. They told us if there is any tumours present, they can’t operate to remove it. They’ve started the dog on anti-seizure drugs and we’re taking her back next week for more tests, which she’ll have to stay in all day for. At this rate, we’ll both end up bankrupt!

easy

ripplyuk wrote: »

Thanks. At least I know these charges are normal. I do think it’s overpriced but there’s no option in an emergency.

We’ve been back at the vets and they’ve suggested a brain MRI which costs £1500. They told us if there is any tumours present, they can’t operate to remove it. They’ve started the dog on anti-seizure drugs and we’re taking her back next week for more tests, which she’ll have to stay in all day for. At this rate, we’ll both end up bankrupt!

Oh Ripplyuk, the emergency vets fees are high, but they are to make sure that there are specialist services available to us at unsociable hours - including qualified vets and trained vet nurses, a suitable surgery (with operating theatre in case it is necessary) and all the professional insurances that they need. So taking all their costs into account, I'm not sure itis "overpriced".

That aside, I am concerned that your lovely old dog is 15 years old, and having seizures. Do you really want to put her through all the stress/upset of the tests etc? As you have said, if they find a tumor, she is too old to have surgery for it, so the very expensive process of a Scan (for which she will need sedation, a risk in itself) seems unecessary stress for the old lass, and unecessary stress for you - both financial and emotional.

In your shoes, given all her other problems, I would be spending a couple of nice peaceful days with her, lots of cuddles, give her favourite foods, and then ask the vet to put her to sleep. They will come and do it at home if that is easier for you (my vet charged us £100, but my girl was sitting happily in her favourite place, not shivering in the vet's consulting room as she dozed into the end). I know it's a desperately hard decision to make, but in your circumstances in sounds like the kindest decision for all of you, especially your dog.

Thinking of you and your partner.

sheramber

Remember, just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.