Vet Bills…..Panorama….BBC 1

I quite recently had to have my mums cat pts .
Bob was a wonderful cat who had been in and out of our local rescue four times because his owners kept passing away .
When Mum died he came to us he was on the bed with her when her body was found .
He loved the stables had had a whale of a time here.
I paid for a pts at home a vet and a nurse came they where marvellous it was expensive at just under 550 including cremation and return of ashes.
But it was not expensive in terms of his experience and how much it made it on me .

I don’t know the answer to this but small animal bills have increased way more than inflation .
 

Government getting involved. Proposals to get vets to list prices, state whether they are independent or corporate and also for vets to have to have a license to operate. Obviously the latter will cost ££££s and is another tax raising measure. Of course the vets will pass on the registration fee to their customers...

Maybe I'm a sceptic but things never seem to get 'better' when a government gets involved like this. Roads and good intentions spring to mind....
 
Just to add to this, we got an email at the start of the month from our wholesaler. 80% of their inventory will undergo a price increase On Feb 1. These range from 4%-28%. I have no choice but to reflect these increases, as will other vets. These increase emails come through every 2-3 months like clockwork. Are there some reductions? Absolutely but they're few and far between. Can I order a backstock at lower prices? Again yes but it's a balance of the cost of holding stock, expiry dates etc

Vet prices aren't going to go down when wholesale prices are going up, up, up on almost all consumables
 
reynold said:

Government getting involved. Proposals to get vets to list prices, state whether they are independent or corporate and also for vets to have to have a license to operate. Obviously the latter will cost ££££s and is another tax raising measure. Of course the vets will pass on the registration fee to their customers...

Maybe I'm a sceptic but things never seem to get 'better' when a government gets involved like this. Roads and good intentions spring to mind....
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Most list prices anyway, for routine stuff. We've certainly had ours on our website for over a decade that I've been there, and we always give estimates (although this has been tightened up the last few years.) We have a price list in reception also, available on request. We also have a sign behind reception that we are part of IVC. This is also at the bottom of the home page for ALL IVC practices and subsidiaries. It still doesn't stop people who have been coming to us for years from being shocked when they realise we are not an independent, even more so when they realise that we were bought out 12 years or so ago.
I'm in no way defending corporates, but the BBC article I heard this morning implied that most vets are not transparent about ownership or prices, and that's just not the case. Most ARE, but I agree a small percentage do not have prices on their websites.
 
Landcruiser said:
Most list prices anyway, for routine stuff. We've certainly had ours on our website for over a decade that I've been there, and we always give estimates (although this has been tightened up the last few years.) We have a price list in reception also, available on request. We also have a sign behind reception that we are part of IVC. This is also at the bottom of the home page for ALL IVC practices and subsidiaries. It still doesn't stop people who have been coming to us for years from being shocked when they realise we are not an independent, even more so when they realise that we were bought out 12 years or so ago.
I'm in no way defending corporates, but the BBC article I heard this morning implied that most vets are not transparent about ownership or prices, and that's just not the case. Most ARE, but I agree a small percentage do not have prices on their websites.
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i dont think its a small percentage. i was looking for a price a few months back for PTS for a friend and couldnt find prices on the majority of websites.
 
The reporter on BBC breakfast this morning was saying that she , herself took her dog to the vets and had a £600 bill. She was shocked to find that the tablets she had were paracetamol {I guess pardale} Now I know about cascade rules etc but is it fair to charge people over the odds for a drug you can buy yourself for pence?
I know the £600 would have been for more than pardale but this is the sort of thing that pees people off.
 
I'm Dun said:
i dont think its a small percentage. i was looking for a price a few months back for PTS for a friend and couldnt find prices on the majority of websites.
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You are right for that particular thing. We DO have a fixed price depending on the animal type, and always let people know it and have an estimate including all the various options for cremation when they enquire (that's for pre planned PTS). We DON't have this on our website, and I've never seen it on a vet website - almost certainly because it really isn't an "off the shelf" item and apart from the sensitivity of the subject which could easily upset people if it were there on the list (we'd be called callous/insensitive/money grabbing I have no doubt), it's something much better discussed in person. Most people want to discuss the options, talk to the vet about whether it's the right choice at this point, whatever.
 
reynold said:

Government getting involved. Proposals to get vets to list prices, state whether they are independent or corporate and also for vets to have to have a license to operate. Obviously the latter will cost ££££s and is another tax raising measure. Of course the vets will pass on the registration fee to their customers...

Maybe I'm a sceptic but things never seem to get 'better' when a government gets involved like this. Roads and good intentions spring to mind....
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If you want to get REALLY cross and/or lose the will to live, read the comments on that article. Honestly, I'm beginning to think most people shouldn't actually be allowed to have pets!
 
ester said:
You saying it to them is different to ‘how many vets tell people that’
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And technically the pharmacy is not supposed to sell you something for animal use . Cue me inventing an elaborate story about an eye condition to get antibiotic eye drops in Boots.
 
Pretty unfair to gripe at a vet opting to keep their registration though, wonder how many of those who clients would willingly give up their careers so someone could get something cheaper 🤷‍♀️.

Hopefully they’re all spending their energies petitioning for the changes to the legal framework they want rather than getting grumpy at the wrong people who are just trying to treat their pets for them legally
 
Landcruiser said:
You are right for that particular thing. We DO have a fixed price depending on the animal type, and always let people know it and have an estimate including all the various options for cremation when they enquire (that's for pre planned PTS). We DON't have this on our website, and I've never seen it on a vet website - almost certainly because it really isn't an "off the shelf" item and apart from the sensitivity of the subject which could easily upset people if it were there on the list (we'd be called callous/insensitive/money grabbing I have no doubt), it's something much better discussed in person. Most people want to discuss the options, talk to the vet about whether it's the right choice at this point, whatever.
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I just checked 5 local practices. 2 had some general prices, 3 didnt. I am glad to see its becoming more common but its definitely not the norm. TBH I'm not sure how it can be given the reasons you gave. It just vsaries too much.
 
ester said:
Pretty unfair to gripe at a vet opting to keep their registration though, wonder how many of those who clients would willingly give up their careers so someone could get something cheaper 🤷‍♀️.
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Thats not what I said. But people are allowed to be annoyed that a 29p medicine costs £30. And tbh while I know that vets have no choice Id hazard a guess the majority dont.
 
ester said:
If you think, as in your previous post it is unfair, are you lobbying for that legal change?
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So, you think its fair for a vet to charge £30 for a drug you can buy for 29p without a prescription? I know vets are not supposed to use a human drug if there is a suitable vet alternative, I know about the cascade but vets DO prescribe paracetamol and I am not prepared to pay over the odds for a drug I can go to tesco and buy at a fraction of the price. Thats the sort of thing that is annoying people. I do have sympathy for vets and know how hard they work . I also know that people can simply not afford some of the prices vets are charging. I know its not individual vets faults. I know about all the expensive equipment etc etc but the paracetamol is just a example of how people are feeling ripped off.
 
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Sandstone1 said:
So, you think its fair for a vet to charge £30 for a drug you can buy for 29p without a prescription? I know vets are not supposed to use a human drug if there is a suitable vet alternative, I know about the cascade but vets DO prescribe paracetamol and I am not prepared to pay over the odds for a drug I can go to tesco and buy at a fraction of the price. Thats the sort of thing that is annoying people. I do have sympathy for vets and know how hard they work . I also know that people can simply not afford some of the prices vets are charging. I know its not individual vets faults. I know about all the expensive equipment etc etc but the paracetamol is just a example of how people are feeling ripped off.
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Because it is legal for us to prescribe paracetamol (under the cascade, and with informed written client consent for using an unlicensed drug where this is the case). It is illegal for us to tell you to go out and source it yourself.
The minute you use an over the counter human drug for veterinary purposes it becomes a prescription only medicine (POM-V), even if it is freely available for non-prescription human use.

None of us have to like it, but it's the law you need to take issue with, not the vets.
 
Gamebird said:
Because it is legal for us to prescribe paracetamol (under the cascade, and with informed written client consent for using an unlicensed drug where this is the case). It is illegal for us to tell you to go out and source it yourself.
The minute you use an over the counter human drug for veterinary purposes it becomes a prescription only medicine (POM-V), even if it is freely available for non-prescription human use.

None of us have to like it, but it's the law you need to take issue with, not the vets.
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I know its not individual vets fault and I feel sorry for the heat some of you will be getting about it all. However, the fact remains that selling a drug you can get for for a few pence for much much more is just a example of why people are unhappy.
 
Sandstone1 said:
I know its not individual vets fault and I feel sorry for the heat some of you will be getting about it all. However, the fact remains that selling a drug you can get for for a few pence for much much more is just a example of why people are unhappy.
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Ok, but it's not just not individual vets, it's the whole profession that is handcuffed into doing it this way by the laws of our country. Be unhappy with the government!!! Ask for reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act. We literally have no choice over doing this. I don't think we can explain it any more times.
 
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