UK Vet Reforms Plans to Tackle the High Cost of Pet Care. The Guardian 28/1/26

[Deeds]

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/jan/27/uk-vet-reforms-plans-tackle-high-costs-of-pet-care

[tdierikx]

I'm tipping a double-edged sword going to happen here... on the one side, clients will appear to have more autonomy in choosing the level of care their pets get (ostensibly based on cost to provide said care), but that may mean that certain expensive diagnostics/treatments may be shunned due to the price, which could actually compromise the care that the pet receives.

 

Lets not forget that the cost of virtually everything nowadays has risen more than inflation... food being the obvious one here. To even think that the cost to provide veterinary care hasn't also become more expensive is ridiculous... vets are paying more to provide diagnostics and treatments just like any other business, and that cost needs to be covered when setting fees.

 

I must say that some corporate practices of upselling virtually everything with the aim of making maximum profit margins is a bit rich, but the end result of legislation to "correct" the issue may mean that the smaller independent clinics won't be able to compete, and they may end up selling to those corporates instead.

 

Be careful what you wish for...

 

T.

[Little Gifts]

I can talk on this! So Albert became ill Thursday week in the evening with a shar pei type illness that I usually treat at home (and keep meds on hand for). I felt he  was deteriorating so took him to my vet on Friday at lunch and again on Saturday morning first thing. Sadly my usual  vet was not available and I had to use one of the new ones. Both times vet staff squeezed him in (very grateful) and did a range of tests and at the first visit also issued him several different meds to manage the condition (none of which were able to be used - I actually felt a bit upsold). Those 2 visits cost $900+.

 

We then had to go to an emergency hospital on Saturday afternoon and he was not released till late Tuesday. Because it was a weekend and a public holiday, but mostly because he had to have every test they could offer to even determine what was wrong with him it cost me $12,000+. That was money I was saving for my retirement. I don't begrudge it. My feelings were every test that was done only revealed a tiny piece of a big puzzle. He was 'we might lose him' sick on Saturday night. Without knowing why I couldn't be sure he was even treatable so said yes to all the new tests. I happily agreed to bring him  home when they offered it despite all the meds and skin washes he needed, not because of the ongoing cost but because I felt mentally he would heal better at home with his need for constant interaction and touch, which they couldn't give him. Something they didn't issue but was on his discharge list was panadol. They said get some from Coles because if they had to issue it it might cost $50 (which is quite silly an increase).

 

I have used that hospital before multiple times for their specialist services. They were brilliant. I used their emergency service for a doggo that need assistance to pass. I did feel it was a bit disjointed and minimal as far as interactive (with me) service went. Lots of sitting on my own not knowing what was happening. Same this  time around. I had to chase people for updates - different vet every single time I called so I'd have to ask lots of questions to make  sure they were up to speed. Often waiting with a sick dog for hours on our own. There is a last test result that was supposed to be in wed or thurs and I've heard from  noone. We were supposed to have a follow up dermatology appointment (but they are booked up until late March) or an internal medicine consult (can't get in till next wed). A dog who was critical and they weren't even sure they were treating the right condition, but once released into my care there is no follow up of any type, no check the meds regime they chose is working, no pre-booked appointment so we got slotted in when needed for that critical follow up. And the other thing that concerned me was he came home with meds due at 10pm and 12 midnight. Did I leave him with them so ill in the early afternoon but it took them  till late at night to start him on any treatment? I hate to think that might be the case, but I definately know he had no pustules when I left him but was apparently covered in them when they looked at him out the back that night. It makes me think he was just penned for quite a while. Probably monitored by someone, but still that makes me sad when he was so unwell and in  pain.

 

So while I am happy he was in the right place to get what he needed and to have  access  to  a range of  tests to try and  determine what was going on so he could be treated, it is a shit ton of money to pay and to be sitting at home stressed out and waiting for an update (even chasing it when you'd had enough). Every time we went up to visit (prearranged) there was one delay or another and lots of waiting to see him. So while I don't begrudge the specialist services Albert received I am still iffy about the logistics of how everything was run. Maybe that is normal  for emergency? Literally nothing was ever going on in the waiting room but I assume things were going on out the back. But did they have enough staff on for the number of patients they took in? Am I expecting it to be like a human private hospital service rather than just an emergency for pets service that has shades of our public hospital system? For me it is all about him and I felt there was some suffering and definately isolation (he was right out the back on his own because he is terrified of other dogs) that could've been avoided. And incredibly stressful for us waiting for news every single day. And it was new news and tests everyday, including on his last day there.  It wasn't like he was stable and things were the same  each call and we were taking up their valuable time.

 

Regardless, I am sure a large percentage of people could not have spent that much money on their dog and a young dog would've been put to sleep without them even knowing what happened to it. Oh and I don't have insurance because the breed attracts a higher cost because of genetic conditions. So while I don't have the answer I am  grateful they exist and think the staff are skilled an work incredibly hard, but for all the money involved I still think aspects of how it all functions could improve. The animals are there because they need critical care - that should be the focus of what professional staff are doing. Out of what I paid I'd also be interested to see a breakdown of where the costs went - salaries,  testing, dispensed medications, consumables, profits.

Edited 21 hours ago by Little Gifts

[Mairead]

Some time ago one of our part-time pathology lab workers was a very student. He said you only use pathology to confirm a diagnosis. I wonder if that method still applies? Or are there more unusual conditions and diseases now pets are living longer (same as humans). 

Since my vet retired, I haven't yet had to use a vet when I don't know what the problem is. 

[tdierikx]

15 hours ago, Mairead said:

He said you only use pathology to confirm a diagnosis. I wonder if that method still applies?

 

I think we are seeing more pathology (mainly bloods) being done more regularly as an early warning system. Most vets are now suggesting that annual bloods be performed as part of a pet's routine checkup... ostensibly to alert to issues before they become symptomatic. All well and good when that sort of thing is covered by Medicare in human medicine, but most people might not have the extra couple of hundred dollars to do it for their pet every year.

 

Diagnosing illnesses in our pets is not very straightforward, as they can't talk to describe their symptoms, and unless the vet has experience with certain issues/illnesses, they are running blind most of the time. Some diagnostics can be very helpful in helping find the root cause of a problem, but if you aren't sure where to even start looking, maybe the reliance of a whole raft of tests in case one of them gives a diagnosis is how they choose to do things nowadays. Personally, I think that too many vets are relying on the diagnostic tools way too much for fear that the owner may slam them all over social media for missing anything... unfortunately, they then get slammed for being overly cautious and ordering all those tests that cost money to provide... they can't win either way, can they?

 

As for Albert's recent hospital stay, we'll never know what other emergencies came in during his stay, whether they had plenty of staff to cater to those emergencies AND any animals in for hospitalisation/treatment, whether their shift changes were sufficiently appraised of all patients in care and what stage their treatments were up to. I'd say that in an emergency clinic setting, the main focus is on the animals requiring urgent care at any moment, and everything else may have been dealt with secondary to that. Obviously that is not necessarily optimal when an animal is in clinic for longer term care than a relatively quick turnaround situation of stabilise and move out to general practice care, like is done in human medicine emergency departments.

 

I must say that communication should be a priority when any animal is in care however. Too often we hear that owners are left clueless for long periods of time, and like LG experienced, there seems to be no communication between staff about patient care, especially when owners are trying to find out what's happening with their pet. Some clinics have specific staff just for liaising with owners, but even then, they can only go with what's been entered into the pet's records... and sometimes that part is not completed in a timely manner if other emergencies are coming in steadily and require all hands on deck so to speak... records get updated when they have the time to do it, and hopefully the charts have been recorded properly, or the person entering the info is relying on memory to fill in the blanks.

 

@Little Giftsyour regular vet can request copies of Albert's patient records from the emergency clinic, so you could have them go through it all and talk with you about what was done and when, and what follow-up is required and at what points, OK?

 

T.