UK Review of Veterinary Services

[DogsAndTheMob]

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has released a plan calling for reforms to the veterinary sector, to prevent pet owners being surprised by unexpected bills.

 

i have mixed feelings about this, and the possibility of similar reforms here in Australia. Vet bills can quickly add up to thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars, which could be financially devastating… or emotionally devastating, if the alternative Is euthanasia. On the other hands, I don’t think most vet practices are making large profits, so imposing additional regulations might force some practices out of business.

 

https://www.vettimes.com/news/business/practice-developments/cma-unveils-plan-for-major-reforms-of-veterinary-sector

[tdierikx]

Different clinic setups will have different running costs. A clinic with all the latest diagnostic equipment and multiple vets and nurses will have much higher upkeep costs than a smaller one man clinic with only an xray machine, a basic blood testing machine, and only one or two nurses. Something as basic as rent in whatever area the clinic is situated in can make a difference in what prices must be charged to cover the outlay also.

 

I do support making it known if a clinic is part of a big chain company though, as those clinics are generally much more profit driven than a smaller one man operation.

 

I don't think that the problem is actually so much about the costs of treating our pet... it's that expectations from owners can sometimes be unrealistic if wanting gold class service/treatment options for bargain basement prices (which may be all they can afford).

 

For anyone who may still be confused about the realities of working in the veterinary industry, I suggest you read some of the submissions made to the 2023 NSW Inquiry into the veterinary workforce shortage... https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/inquiries/Pages/inquiry-details.aspx?pk=2964#tab-submissions

 

WARNING: Some of the submissions in the link above may be confronting and distressing to read.

 

T.

[Little Gifts]

I've been using the same privately owned vet hospital for years and know there are expectations that they have the latest equipment and technology, but of course then people say they are too expensive! Strangely, as a long term customer who listens to what they tell me and respects their skills and hard work, I often get little freebies from them - extra tests they want to run but didn't ask for approval for don't get charged and they might give me a free cream they've made up themselves to try on a rash. I even have a 10% off VIP card! I was shocked though when I had to use one of those big mobs for Albert  (they'd done work on him while he was in rescue and I thought it might be a related issue). I came out of that appointment upsold in ways I have never been upsold before AND I drove and hour to get there. Silly me! I've also used specialist vets - one charged through every orifice they own (and the first so called specialist I saw there misdiagnosed something life threatening) while the other was always minimising costs wherever they could. They even told me about a dermatologist specialist and my doggo could have skin things burnt off in batches rather than repeated surgeries to remove once they got bigger. That actually saved a huge amount of money and a lot of trauma and healing time for my boy. But of course it is hard to shop around when you are in a crisis and at your closest emergency after hours vet dealing with a life and death situation, not being sure you can afford the bill. So maybe some standards could be good. I'm assuming a business will get categorised based on the services they can offer and hospital types with all their fancy equipment will be acknowledged as different to some of the hole in the wall types around where I live.

 

I'll be honest too - why do after hours cost so much? Apart from staff wages that will  be different, does it cost more in power, equipment or supplies? I do feel like they take the piss a little. The difference in cost between when my girl was pts first thing upon opening by my usual vet and my boy at the emergency vet (which was his specialist centre during the day) was about 3 times the cost for the same assessment and euth services. Both used the same equipment to assess and 'treat' and likely number of staff. Maybe it is a question I should ask my vet at some stage so I can understand more. I certainly don't begrudge paying for skilled services by supportive professionals but fairness is also important.

[tdierikx]

I don't know about where you are LG, but in Sydney, nearly all of the emergency vet clinics are now owned by one corporate or another... purely profit driven, so any excuse for a markup is applied... *sigh*

 

That said, when Zeddy decided that midnight on a Sunday was her time, I took her to ARH in Homebush and actually ended up paying a few dollars LESS than my local vet would have charged during business hours. Maybe because I was not hysterical or mumbling about cost, and after leaving the consult room with only a collar and lead, I chatted with some people with a cat with some scary neurological issues and convinced them that it would be best for them to leave her in the clinic overnight... maybe any one or more of those factors came into play when my bill was tallied up?

 

Far different story with Pickles at VSOS in Miranda... the concerted effort to upsell when clearly she wasn't going to get better was atrocious, and they charged more than double what ARH had charged for Zeddy when they finally realised I wasn't going to capitulate to futile and expensive experiments on my clearly very poorly dog, then the next day I got an email AND a text asking me how Pickles was going after her visit... someone clearly forgot to mark her as deceased on their system... grrr! No apology when I called and informed them either.

 

T.