Complaints to the Royal Vetainary - anyone done this?

Gingerwitch

Gingerwitch

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Well have you, if so did anything happen, was it worth it ?

I know my current aim is to naviage the big lad through his illness but has anyone ever made a complaint to the RVCS ? was it worth it? how did you do it? did you get any satisfaction?

or am i just better off telling everyone i can about what has happened - and yes I am bitter - how many times did i ask if it was lami ? at least 8 and i have texts to prove that the arrogant concieted belittling ejit said NO, No No - he was even darn right sarcastic in his one set of relpies
 
I have no experiance of this but think you should definatly consider it , are you. BHS gold member I would use there legal helpline if you are for a bit of advice.
 
Yes i am a bhs member - gold -

This is not about a refund, or getting compensation, no amount of money will EVER put this right- this is about getting an incompedent vet struck off - his arrogance astounds me !
 
Thats good, speak to them before you do anything, you are entitled to free legal advice and they will help guide you through the process of complaining making sure you arent just fobbed off, by the practice
 
The RVCS will give advice if you contact them, they will help you if you want to take it further, they offer impartial advice on the correct procedure.
A client of mine sued a vet, in very different circumstances to yours, his insurance company paid out to stop it going to court.
 
I dont know if she complained, but I know someone who had a very, very complicated sick border collie that was referred there and they were awful.
 
My story was so simular to yours & MY ONLY REGRET(other than trusting my instincts) was that i paid my bill & never took it any further! ....i am still very bitter about it 10 years later!
At the time i made it known to all my horsey friends what had happened & if ever this vets name is mentioned i make it known of my opinion!! Im now told he does cushings tests on everything that is slightly lamanitic...which winds me up even more!!!! ....but perhaps he learnt a lesson?!!?
I think you have to give the practice/ vet a chance to put it right/compensate you & if you dont get a satisfactory result from them then yes you should go to the Royal vet.You should put everything in writing and keep copies of all correspondance sent.I do hope your boy is showing signs of improving and you are doing a fab job,as is your OH in supporting you through all this.I soo know what you are going through & if you ever want to PM me then please do..Xxx
 
Just for the record, RCVS - Royal College of Vet Surgeons. Nothing to do with the RVC or Royal Vet College, as I interpreted your thread.
 
Gingerwitch said:
BP - you know - i think i want this to go to court - so the world his wife and dog know what this vet has done
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The problem being that the vet will not want to go to court so it would be a very long drawn out procedure that will cost you £££s and at the end of it you are unlikely to really win.
If you do go ahead the insurance are likely to make an out of court offer, as they did for my client, which if you do not accept will actually go against you if it got to court.
 
im not going to go into depth on a public forum, but I had grounds to make a formal complaint against a vet. However against my better judgement I allowed myself to be talked out of it.
To this day i regret not taking it further and getting this vet struck off.
Do It and dont let yourself become subject to doubt.

There is a certain time-frame in which to do it.

Good luck to you.
 
be positive said:
The problem being that the vet will not want to go to court so it would be a very long drawn out procedure that will cost you £££s and at the end of it you are unlikely to really win.
If you do go ahead the insurance are likely to make an out of court offer, as they did for my client, which if you do not accept will actually go against you if it got to court.
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You are perfectly entitled to take them to task over whats happened, but agree it will probably end in an out of court settlement, that said you can be assured itll cost the practice in large increases in their insurance payments in future, im pretty sure he'll need to up his practice skills to ensure its less likely to happen again
 
DQ - could you pm me a few more details - fully understand if you dont want to, or maybe e-mail me your address and i will contact you away from the forum.

If the man had not been so arrogant i would not even be thinking of doing this - but he is and has been very very rude to me, and to be honest I wish we had gone to Liverpool for an MRI scan as i for one would have liked to see the smug expression wiped off his face when they would have said LAMINITUS YOU IGNOROANT FOOL!

but i would have had to risk my wonderful boy to do this !
 
It would be very hard to get someone struck off for a mis-diagnosis vets mainly get struck off for being dishonest or doing something illegal.

They could get conditions perhaps put on their registration though maybe they might have to undergo more training or could only practice supervised by a senior vet for a certain amount of time etc. Unless he has a history of complaints about him to the RVCS he will probably only get a reprimand.
 
Gingerwitch said:
DQ - could you pm me a few more details - fully understand if you dont want to, or maybe e-mail me your address and i will contact you away from the forum.

If the man had not been so arrogant i would not even be thinking of doing this - but he is and has been very very rude to me, and to be honest I wish we had gone to Liverpool for an MRI scan as i for one would have liked to see the smug expression wiped off his face when they would have said LAMINITUS YOU IGNOROANT FOOL!

but i would have had to risk my wonderful boy to do this !
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Will do. Again, if that is your decision do not allow yourself to be talked around. Only you know how you feel and how you feel your horse was treated.
 
They gave one top vet a year off after he mal-practiced on some racehorses, he remained a partner and is back at work, a slap on the wrist, and that was a very high profile case, so really it will do you no good compared to costs and stress.
Any vet will say "In my professional opinion"...... and that is his get out.
 
Dancing Queen said:
im not going to go into depth on a public forum, but I had grounds to make a formal complaint against a vet. However against my better judgement I allowed myself to be talked out of it.
To this day i regret not taking it further and getting this vet struck off.
Do It and dont let yourself become subject to doubt.

There is a certain time-frame in which to do it.

Good luck to you.
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We all think they will be struck off, but in practice they look after their own.
 
JFTD said:
Just for the record, RCVS - Royal College of Vet Surgeons. Nothing to do with the RVC or Royal Vet College, as I interpreted your thread.
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Yes I was confused by that too - OP if it is possible it would be good to amend the thread title so it is clearer you are talking about complaint to RCVS about an individual vet rather than a compaint about the Royal Vet College (sometimes known for short as RVC or the Royal Vet)...
 
Poor you and poor horse. Sadly I know all about complaining to the RCVS and whether to take a vet to court or to go via his indemnity insurers.
It is essential that you do take the trouble to complain to the RCVS and this link gives you full guidance on what to do, a complaints form to fill out and an idea of what the college can and cannot do.

http://findavet.rcvs.org.uk/complaints/i-want-to-make-a-complaint/

Their advice about contacting the vet and outlining what you see as the problem/failure of care etc is useful as you should start to gather all evidence for whatever line you decide to take.

Going to court sounds good but seldom happens unless the vet is involved in some kind of criminal activity and then, of course, the police will need to be contacted; for most people the risk of losing and having to pay costs means that you just daren't start via that route. Small claims court deals with disputes where the sum involved is below £5000 I think, as is more usual for problems with the dealer/trader who sold you a horse and then the purchase price is what is in dispute.
I did ask the BHS legal team but I ended up using a solicitor to act against the vets indemnity insurers. It can be a difficult process as the insurer's case handler will be another vet and they do tend to look after their own, and of course they want to pay out as little as possible. At least you can have a chance to get vets fees, livery charges, and other losses settled but dont expect to feel that you have 'won'! Please pm me and I will lead you through exactly what I was advised to do.
Hope your horse is soon better.
 
When my girl was a yearling she had an accident and went through electric fencing, uprooted the fence post (wooden, yes, I'm no longer at that yard) and ran around the field with the post bashing her. I was on holiday at the time. She was dog lame but despite asking three partners from the practice I used then whether the leg could be fractured and would they please x ray it I was told 1. Not to be stupid, 2. Don't be ridiculous and 3. You're fussing. Then a young vet told me she had damaged her knee overnight and the fluid which had been leaking from her upper leg for three weeks was synovial fluid. I'm no vet but I did get a biology A level and know where synovial fluid lives!
Eventually got her referred to a horspital, first thing they did was x ray and guess what...? Fractured leg.
I spoke to the RCVS who said I would have to prove wilful negligence and at the time I was so wrapped up in my girl's recovery I didn't have the emotional energy it would have taken to pursue the case.
However, if I had my time again I would have for sure. It makes me so angry that some vets don't listen to owners' gut feelings. The vet I use now is brilliant and will always ask what I think- he is of the 'you know your horse better than I do' school.
 
You should definitely take this further, having experienced some pretty shoddy diagnoses from a vet I think it's important that vets who are not up to scratch are not allowed to practice!
 
Look through the guidance notes on the RCVS website. Decide what/if any of the code of conduct has been broken. Write to offending vet pointing this out, and see what they respond with.
 
If you wish to make a complaint then you need to write a letter of serious complaint regarding the vet concerned and asking for the matter to be refered to the disciplinary committee. There will initially be a period of arbitration but if matters can not be settled the matter will be passed up to the disciplinary committee who will investigate the matter further and may decide to have a hearing. If the vet is found to have been deamed to have carried out serious malpractice then the vet can be permanently erased from the register.
 
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