Vet Bills…..Panorama….BBC 1

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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The vet CAN'T get it for 29p, they are tied to buying it from specific licensed distributors as per many of the replies above.
 
Gamebird said:
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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I understand, as ive said its not vets fault. It is the system. However, the pet owning public only see what they are paying. I feel sorry for vets at the moment but its also understandable that people get annoyed.
 
Quite a few years ago now, our vet suggested paracetamol for our old dog. Said would be cheaper to buy it in the supermarket. Am guessing the law changed since?

We have a dog now who is on rheumocam long term. He has to see the vet every 3 months for a prescription, it used to be 6 months. I have no problem with that, or blame the vets. Luckily, a bottle lasts us almost 5 months.

He loves going to the vets, and the receptionists love seeing him. They get quite disappointed when I walk in with one of the others 🤣
 
TheresaW said:
Quite a few years ago now, our vet suggested paracetamol for our old dog. Said would be cheaper to buy it in the supermarket. Am guessing the law changed since?
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Same for me.

Two of my dogs have been given daily paracetamol alongside Veterinary prescribed drugs on the advice of two different vets.

Both just told me the amount to give and I sourced myself at the supermarket.

We are looking about five years ago, so not hugely long ago.
 
I get vets bills are expensive but I just accept thats it part of pet ownership.

Pets are such an incredible privilege. I don't have loads of money sat in savings (maybe 2k at a push right now, thanks cost of living crisis 🤨) but I make sure all my dogs are suitably insured with a comprehensive, quality policy with a high limit. I have a credit card, if needed. I make sure my credit score is kept good so that if I do need more money, I can access it.

Money comes and money goes. I don't begrudge a single penny spent on my animals.
 
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Jenko109 said:
Same for me.

Two of my dogs have been given daily paracetamol alongside Veterinary prescribed drugs on the advice of two different vets.

Both just told me the amount to give and I sourced myself at the supermarket.

We are looking about five years ago, so not hugely long ago.
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Yes, prescription rules changed and it is now illegal for a vet to do this.
 
Fullers1845 said:
I think a lot of the posts in this thread highlight how vitally important it is that we don’t allow our human healthcare to be dragged into an American style commercial/insurance system.
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At least in America people don't moan about every vet bill because they are used to paying for their own healthcare.
 
Sandstone1 said:
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.
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I think I am correct in saying that Pardale also contains codeine so not a like for like comparison.
 
ester said:
Maybe that's where I struggle to get it, I don't only see what I am paying I'm seeing everything else that the vet is bringing to the table like knowing paracetamol is appropria
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Gamebird said:
And knowing that while it's often appropriate for your dog/horse, it's likely to be fatal for your cat.
I mean, google could tell you that, but...
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I understand that, but surely you can see why people are asking questions? If not why is there the whole investigation going on? You must see why questions are being asked. The big chains taking over most vets is one issue. Another is fees increasing so much. One question I have is why small animal vets charge so much more than farm/equine vets?
 
Sandstone1 said:
I understand that, but surely you can see why people are asking questions? If not why is there the whole investigation going on? You must see why questions are being asked. The big chains taking over most vets is one issue. Another is fees increasing so much. One question I have is why small animal vets charge so much more than farm/equine vets?
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I'm not sure if the cost of medicines is as much an ssue as vets fees. The examples in this programme and other investigations seem to focus on cost for euthanasia; out of hours charges, very expensive procedures with limited benefit (I think of this as the supervet effect) , and complex conditions with long investigations which mounted up and the owners locked into just one more test or scan to see what is going on.

druid said:
Yes, prescription rules changed and it is now illegal for a vet to do this.
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I thought human pharmacies were not allowed to sell you human medications for animals for a long time.

Paracetamol you can just get at the supermarket but a lot of things you have to ask and I can remember people not knowing and being refused things at least 15 years ago.
 
Fullers1845 said:
I think a lot of the posts in this thread highlight how vitally important it is that we don’t allow our human healthcare to be dragged into an American style commercial/insurance system.
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funnily enough this thread made me think of the time I was prescribed iron pills, some years ago. The GP said he could only prescribe 30 days' worth at a time, so I had to pay the prescription charge of £8ish once a month rather than, say, once every 3 months for 3 months' supply. Oh well.

Then I discovered that I could buy a pack with 3 months' supply over the counter at the pharmacy, for about £3! I mentioned it to the GP when I next saw him and he said he didn't know anything about the price (and it didn't particularly interest him either).
 
criso said:
I thought human pharmacies were not allowed to sell you human medications for animals for a long time.

Paracetamol you can just get at the supermarket but a lot of things you have to ask and I can remember people not knowing and being refused things at least 15 years ago.
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It is illegal for a vet to tell you that you can go buy the medication OTC/in a human pharmacy and provide a dose. As soon as the medication is for an animal (i.e. not the licensed species, human) it becomes a POM-V and has to be treated as such by the vet. Doing anything else is a risk to their license. This is something vets have NO CONTROL over, the issue is the government legislation not the vet!
 
druid said:
It is illegal for a vet to tell you that you can go buy the medication OTC/in a human pharmacy and provide a dose. As soon as the medication is for an animal (i.e. not the licensed species, human) it becomes a POM-V and has to be treated as such by the vet. Doing anything else is a risk to their license. This is something vets have NO CONTROL over, the issue is the government legislation not the vet!
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Yes I know but aside from that that, if I go to Boots on my own initiative and say I want antibiotic eye drops for a horse, they will refuse to sell it to me. Another example was Hydrogen peroxide for feet. That's without the vet saying anything.

New owners get coached in what they need to say
 
Jenko109 said:
I get vets bills are expensive but I just accept thats it part of pet ownership.

Pets are such an incredible privilege. I don't have loads of money sat in savings (maybe 2k at a push right now, thanks cost of living crisis 🤨) but I make sure all my dogs are suitably insured with a comprehensive, quality policy with a high limit. I have a credit card, if needed. I make sure my credit score is kept good so that if I do need more money, I can access it.

Money comes and money goes. I don't begrudge a single penny spent on my animals.
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I agree. I may scan my vets bill but I accept that’s the price and pay it without much thought.

People will quite happily pay thousands of pounds on a holiday that lasts 10 days but then begrudge a vet bill for their pet that “should” bring them love and happiness everyday.
But I’m that person that pines for home when I’m away because I want to see the cats and horses 😂
 
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