vet charges

Nomad25

Snowman2: Circa and upwards 40K in a salaried position, self-employed - depends on your turnover, but potential for BIG bucks. I do understand about the hidden costs, however there is a massive mark-up on things like vaccinations, which in general incur a minimum amount of time once a year, revolving door work. I am sure you are not one of them, but I deal with pet owners, whose vets don't even give the animal a quick MOT on this annual visit. They just do a quick jab and that's it. It really ticks me off! Very short-sighted business practice too. I have said on this board before I would have no hesitation in consulting my vet and have every confidence, but likewise I would ask for a prescription for on-going meds and order on-line [they only supply licenced pet medications, as I am sure you are aware]. There are a lot of vets who have a reputation for tearing the !!!! out of certain categories of owners and loading bills that are paid by insurance companies. Spiralling vet fees are quoted by insurance providers, such as M & S, as being a major factor in massive increases in policy charges.

andymish

Well the point of this thread was to make people aware of the availability of a more affordable way of getting prescriptions rather than pay over the odds thats the whole point of this website isn't it ? so if I have helped one person it's been worth it.

Nomad25

and there are some good threads that ran on the pets board giving personal recommendations/experiences of buying med on-line for your pets.

snowman2_2

What do you think vets deserve to get paid? How much should we get?
The link is for a National Audit Office salary survey 2007 (latest available figures - using the median 50% wage) and vets earn approx £32,200 average for a full-time job . Some comparable medical jobs include (bear in mind vets do 5 or 6 years at uni and do continuous training).

• Doctors - £75,800
• Dentists - £32,000
• Paramedics - £36,200
• Optician - £42,200
• Pharmacist - £37,300
• Solicitors - £42,200

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=15050

Nomad25

Well .... stand back from flames, I'd knock bloody solicitors off the well paid list if I could, but I stand by my earlier figure of 40K and up. I am talking about a well experienced vet employed by a practice. Hard to say if you're a practice owner, so many variables, but defo a lot more if you are well established.

snowman2_2

Nomad25 wrote: »

Snowman2: Circa and upwards 40K in a salaried position, self-employed - depends on your turnover, but potential for BIG bucks..

In 2000 I was earning £16500 a year, £40K is currently top-end for a salaried position, maybe a little more down south but that is your limit without owning a practice. Most vet owners only achieve 6 - 8% profit margins on their turnover. I'll leave it at this as yes, the point of this forum is to save money, but it annoys me when people think vets are on mega money and ripping people off when we earn less than the comparable human medical profession. There are vets that rip you off but there are many more who are trying to give as good a price as they can. One other reasons costs have gone up is that the range of treatments that we can now do is far greater than it used to be 10 years ago. Maybe we need to be more upfront on our costs.

Nomad25

Better profit margin than Tesco snowman2! I do agree about the treatments now available, a good thing ... but the majority of people don't understand [and don't want to] that things like one blood test may not produce definitive results, and more may be required and will incur more cost. Just one example. I am lucky my vet explains at the outset [maybe because I keep asking questions] what the stages and cost will be. I think if you have a good base relationship with the owner and you know the treatment is going to involve more than a quick jab and some tabs, it's worthwhile taking time to give potential/probable treatment costs involved. You sound pretty upfront.

snowman2_2

I am a blunt Yorkshireman, I'll give the owner my honest opinion and I wont treat if I don't think it is in the animals best interest. I can also justify all my actions and costs to any client who asks. I am very against vets who carry out a battery of tests from the outset, I like to use my brain and work out a case but it isn't an exact science with a simple outcome. It sounds like you have a good vet and a good relationship with them. It is communication that is the key and most complaints can be boiled down to poor communication. As a practice we get loads of word-of-mouth recommendations and that is what I want. That will keep me busy and earning a decent wage without having sky-high prices.

I suppose what I am saying is that if you are at a vet that is very expensive and you feel is ripping you off, go elsewhere. Find a vet who will treat your animal in the same way they would there own, charge a sensible price (but be prepared to pay for some expensive treatments - we can't do it for free) and look after you. I want my clients to stay with me for life, none of this "churn" in other industries. Finally, remember that it is not price that is important but value-for-money and if these expensive, but fairly priced tablets work and improve your pets quality of life, the money should be worth it.

pboae

andymish wrote: »

Well the point of this thread was to make people aware of the availability of a more affordable way of getting prescriptions rather than pay over the odds thats the whole point of this website isn't it ? so if I have helped one person it's been worth it.

Nomad25 wrote: »

and there are some good threads that ran on the pets board giving personal recommendations/experiences of buying med on-line for your pets.

Maybe it would be useful if we could get a sticky with info on it?

Fleago

Hi Snowman2

It's good to hear things from a vet's point of view. It sounds as if your practice is run very much like the one that has treated our animals for twenty odd years. We trust them implicitly and value their services enormously. Plus, they're pragmatic and we like that in our vets.

Because my vets are so good and reasonably priced, I wouldn't ask for a prescription to take away, even if it did save me money, because any extra cost is worth it to have such a superb veterinary practice at our disposal. After all, an online pharmacy isn't going to rush out to meet me in the middle of the night if one of my gang was, for example, bloating.