Incompetence at the vets! Help

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Sophie - L

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Just wondering if anyone can give any advice please...
I had to have my beautiful rottie girl aged 10 PTS last monday due to lymphoma. We requested a private cremation and her ashes be returned to us, however, i have discovered that due to the incompetence of one of the vet nurses my dog was cremated with other animals and her ashes disposed of at the land fill site! This is not what i wanted for my girls remains and i am deeply saddend by the thought. Without going in to all the details of events over the course of 2 days...basically they hid this from me. She was PTS at 10 am, she was taken to the crem at 2pm and cremated and i called them at 5.30 to settle up my bill and enquire when i could collect her. It was only 2 days later when i hadn't heard from them that i called again to enquire when i could collect her that i was told, despite them knowing when i had spoken to them 2 days previous!
I have (had) a really good relationship with the people who work there as i've been going there years and as i breed dogs i take all my puppies there - so i'm there quite often with all my various dogs. They know all of my contact numbers and have never failed to get in contact before and i live 5 mins from them so a courtesy visit could have been done.
Today the final insult came in the form of their offer of £55! I'm insulted that they think money (esp such a small amount) can rectify this! I know nothing will bring her ashes back but the lady who i initially made my complaint to advised they would get me a memorial at the very least but there's no mention of this in their letter to me. They have advised all staff will be retrained on this aspect of vet care but this seems like closing the door after the horse has bolted!
My concern is that this could be happening daily/weekly and it goes undetected. I am considering taking legal advice and complaining to the RCVS.
I'm still very emotional over the whole situation and may be ranting for which i apologise but i do not know what else to do. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks
 
Firstly, I know this is not what you need to be going through at a time like this, so condolences.....

Just checking have you made the Veterinary Practice Manager and the Senior Partner aware of what has happened and your complaint? I would personally take that step before proceding any further.

As I am sure you are aware, NOTHING, can bring you the solution you desire....namely, the return of your girls ashes.....I would just try and ensure that any complaint you make is as factual as possible and as free of emotion as possible. Easier said than done I know, but in my experience it often helps for the greatest gain if you get my drift.

Take care.
 
Thank you for the advice.
Yes after speaking with the head nurse she advised my complaint had to be made in writing and i had to make a formal statement of events, both of which have been sent directly to the head of and practise manager's.
As you have said nothing will bring her ashes back i just hope no-one else will have to endure this. There should be some sort of results/audit of vets which can be made available to the public so that you can select a practise based on this.
It has already made me doubt my decision to take her in there that day - we could have taken her later in the day which would of meant we avoided this situation but she would have suffered for those extra hours and i could not stand the thought of her being in pain.
Thanks again for the kind words.
 
You know that you did the right thing taking her in as soon as you had decided it was the time; you weren't however to know that it would result in the pain you now experience. However, IMO it is better that they are free of pain ASAP even if it means that we have to endure.....harsh as that may sound to you now. Sorry. :(
 
SusieT said:
a mistake was made, the wrong form filled in. Human error. how did they try to hide it?
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They admitted they realised their error on the monday afternoon at around 2 pm. I called them at 5.30 that day and again on the weds morning - they failed to tell me on both occasions! That's them hiding it?????
 
Tone down the sympathy SusieT - you're going over the top with it again!!

Sorry for your loss OP, you are right to complain and hopefully they will make sure that this kind of mistake doesn't happen again, not much comfort to you I guess :(
 
What a horrid situation :(

Tbh I am not sure that the RCVS will be able to help you as I think the only sanctions they can hand out are suspension/removal from the register of a vet/vet nurse?* I could be totally wrong on this though, and suggest you give their Professional Conduct department a call - details are here: http://findavet.rcvs.org.uk/complaints/contact-the-professional-conduct-department/

In the meantime I would continue as you are with the practice and press to have your complaint taken more seriously. Not sure what else you can do tbh, but perhaps the RCVS can help.

ETS I added the asterix above because I wanted to clarify that I imagine suspension etc is not the sort of solution you are looking for.
 
I would ask them to make an ex-gratia payment of a significant amount, say £1,000 to a charity of your choice, then you have done your best by your dog.
If they don't, find another vet.
It is their responsibility to do the paperwork correctly, you pay for a professional service [they bang on about this often enough], and did not get it.
 
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Unfortunately we are all human and we all make mistakes. No doubt the person who ticked the wrong box, is feeling pretty bad about it too. Try to remember the happy days you had with her, rather than grieving over what happened to her ashes.
 
Im so very sorry to hear about what has happened to you:( Having had 2 dogs pts in the last 18 months, one very young and one elderly, I really sympathise with you awful this must be for you.

When I had my young dog PTS there were some awful mistakes made by the vets, bottom line, they didnt read her notes and went ahead and operated without my consent causing her pain and suffering she wouldnt have endured had they known her history.

I found it very very difficult to deal with this as you have said, without emotion and I wasn't actually sure what it was I wanted from them. I wrote a letter stating the facts and requested a face to face meeting with the practice manager and vet who had dealt with the case. This DID help me as they took time to talk to me, apologised and accepted fault and basically showed compassion and shared my grief. The partner was in tears with me.

After that I moved all my animals from that practice elsewhere.

I found planting a tree, with all my other dogs to help ( :D ) for each of my dogs has helped.
 
Miss L Toe said:
I would ask them to make an ex-gratia payment of a significant amount, say £1,000 to a charity of your choice, then you have done your best by your dog.
If they don't, find another vet.
It is their responsibility to do the paperwork correctly, you pay for a professional service [they bang on about this often enough], and did not get it.
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Thank you that's such a brilliant idea! Never thought of that before! Brilliant way of remembering Xena! Esp if i can get a donation made to a rottie charity! Thanks again!
P.s your horse looks just like my Arab x cob! Uncanny!
 
BigRed said:
Unfortunately we are all human and we all make mistakes. No doubt the person who ticked the wrong box, is feeling pretty bad about it too. Try to remember the happy days you had with her, rather than grieving over what happened to her ashes.
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I agree but problem is no-one ticked the box on the form, they put her in a colour coded bag just (and i quote them) "guessing" what we wanted and her body was still taken so there are a series of "human errors" which leads me to believe they are all incompetent!
 
Sophie - L said:
I agree but problem is no-one ticked the box on the form, they put her in a colour coded bag just (and i quote them) "guessing" what we wanted and her body was still taken so there are a series of "human errors" which leads me to believe they are all incompetent!
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No - there was one error only. They 'guessed'.
 
NeverSayNever said:
Im so very sorry to hear about what has happened to you:( Having had 2 dogs pts in the last 18 months, one very young and one elderly, I really sympathise with you awful this must be for you.

When I had my young dog PTS there were some awful mistakes made by the vets, bottom line, they didnt read her notes and went ahead and operated without my consent causing her pain and suffering she wouldnt have endured had they known her history.

I found it very very difficult to deal with this as you have said, without emotion and I wasn't actually sure what it was I wanted from them. I wrote a letter stating the facts and requested a face to face meeting with the practice manager and vet who had dealt with the case. This DID help me as they took time to talk to me, apologised and accepted fault and basically showed compassion and shared my grief. The partner was in tears with me.

After that I moved all my animals from that practice elsewhere.

I found planting a tree, with all my other dogs to help ( :D ) for each of my dogs has helped.
Click to expand...

I'm so sorry to read of your terrible ordeal - much worse than what i have had - at least Xena didn't suffer as result of their actions! Can't imagine how ou must have felt! I've done as you did and writen various letters, met with the people responsible and slowly am coming to terms with it. Also have registered my animals elsewhere.
Love your idea of planting a tree - what a thoughtful way of remembering my girl! May get a plant that reminds me of her and keep it on my desk - venus fly trap! That'll make me smile when i think of her!
 
Just want to say a big thanks to everyone whose taken time to post reply's here for me. It means a lot to be able to vent and not to have had negative responses also means a lot. I posted this then read some other threads and was quite shocked to read some things people say - i know its a free country and all but sometimes people just need help and don't need to be patronised etc. So thanks everyone for your support and suggestions! Glad horses and dog's can bring us all together in difficult times!
Thanks again!
 
BigRed said:
Unfortunately we are all human and we all make mistakes. No doubt the person who ticked the wrong box, is feeling pretty bad about it too. Try to remember the happy days you had with her, rather than grieving over what happened to her ashes.
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Such a sensible reply and one I totally agree with.

TBH I'd have far more trouble reconciling it if they had forgotten to put her down or something but they didn't, they ended her pain for her when you wanted it done. Their only error was to tick the wrong box which luckily was not a life or death situation, they'll be more careful next time I'm sure.
 
I understand how you feel. You just want her home with you. I hate being gushy but hand on heart, she is at home with you. Everytime you think of her, that bark you think you heard, those footsteps on the stairs or that glimpse from the corner of your eye, that's her.
 
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