To think that the vet chain that charges £1800 to keep your dog in overnight on a drip is ripping caring dog owners off?

[FizzAfterSix]

A week ago my poor little 8-year-old dog vomited a few times, refused to eat all day and that evening began emitting bloody diarrhoea. I called the nearest emergency vet in a panic (I thought he was haemorrhaging!) and asked if I should bring him in.

The vet took some details and told me it would cost £1.800 to keep him in overnight. I was all set to bring him in but when she took my details she discovered I was registered to the wrong surgery. I then called another emergency vet who was brilliant and explained that these symptoms were not an emergency and that I should call back in the morning which I duly did.

The diarrhoea and vomiting had stopped so the vet suggested that I syphon chicken broth into his mouth regularly and make sure he was drinking water.

2 days later he still wouldn’t eat so I took him to the emergency Medivets, who I had originally consulted on the phone, on Saturday morning. They took an x-ray (which didn’t show up anything) and prescribed some antibiotics. They charged £450.

It’s 3 days later. My dog hasn’t eaten for a week now and is subsisting on chicken broth and a digestive probiotic support gel I am squirting into his mouth once a day. He's drinking water.

The vets don’t have anything else to offer me. I’m worried that they have fobbed me off with antibiotics which aren’t doing anything and which maybe supressing my dog’s appetite. How can it be reasonable to charge £1,800 (one thousand 800 pounds) for an overnight stay, especially in these awful times with so many people suffering financial meltdown?

I’m so depressed that small local vets have been taken over by these horrible greedy amorphous chains who care more about the bottom line than animals they are treating. Has pet insurance given them license to overcharge? And more pressingly, how can I tempt my dog to eat?

This is what pet insurance is for.

I see so many people complaining they can't afford pet insurance but then are furious when highly trained professionals using specialist tech, equipment and medication charge a fair price for their work (and no, I'm not a vet!).

Keeping a pet in overnight might require - paying overtime to a qualified staff member for 12 hours work (could easily run to a few hundred quid), plus any required medication, use of single-use equipment, heating, lighting, etc, food if your pet is eating, you're contributing to their insurance for overnight stays and their knowledge and expertise.

If you don't have insurance, don't want to pay upfront, and want to try crystals and herbs instead, then I hope you weren't that fond of your dog.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but people are so blind to the real costs of pet ownership - it's not just some food and the occasional groom, that animal relies on you to keep it alive.

@FizzAfterSix

YANBU, and I am really sorry your doggo is poorly.

I know vets train for 5 years and so on and so on, but no WAY can anyone say these kind of costs are justifiable. I get sick of this lame argument, and think that vet costs need to be capped.

A woman I know paid 2 grand for a tiny op on her dog's ear (where he was nipped by another dog.) He was in the vets for an hour, and not even kept in overnight. Two thousand pounds it cost. I am not going to believe a single soul who tells me that cost is justifiable. No matter how they blather on about extra costs, nurse bills, receptionist etc...

It doesn't help either, that pet insurance is so shady, and anything that costs more than the low 3 figures is conveniently excluded from many policies.

Glad we don't have a dog actually. I know SO many people who are charged extortionate fees for their treatment.

The vet apologists will be on here pretty soon. They can ramble on til Christmas, they will never convince me that vet bills are justifiable. NEVER.

@anotherlittlechicken “train for five years and so on”. May as well just do it yourself. 🙄🙄

@yelyah22

That's what pet insurance is for.

All the LOLz. see my post above. SO MANY things are conveniently excluded in many pet insurance policies, and it's always the stuff that costs more than 3 or 4 hundred pounds.

Also, many insurance companies now make pet insurance virtually unaffordable for people. So they can afford it when first have the pet, but 6, 7, 8 years later, their £20 a month becomes £150 or £200 a MONTH.

Most people cannot weather the extortionate hike in cost, so have no alternative but to cancel the insurance. As as I said, many insurance policies exclude expensive treatment anyway (like dental or 'eye' treatment.) AND they have a cap on ongoing treatment (like diabetes or epilepsy.) They tailor it so they aren't paying out for more than 9 to 12 months.

As I said, the VET bills need to be capped!!!

I know vets train for 5 years and so on and so on, but no WAY can anyone say these kind of costs are justifiable. I get sick of this lame argument, and think that vet costs need to be capped.

Wait until you find out how much it costs for a human in those same circumstances.

The UK is so lucky to have the NHS. But one of the effects of it is that you don't appreciate the true cost of things and therefore think everything else is overpriced when it isn't.

@MsMD

Wait until you find out how much it costs for a human in those same circumstances.

Another tired argument people come up with to justify extortionate vet bills.

You need to try a LOT harder than that.

I feel like you're like, a vet bills conspiracy theorist, anotherlittlechicken? It's fascinating. Some things cost a lot of money - performing medical care on animals is one of them. Insurers are known for excluding things and generally trying not to pay out in lots of industries - there's not some shadowy Big Vet conspiracy to fuck you over.

Some vets take the piss with charges, £1800 for an overnight stay is one of those examples.

My friend was quoted £550 to get her cat's tooth out and a clean. I paid £130 at my vet so she went there.

People need to shop around, it is a shame that small practices are getting fewer and more far between because they are normally better.

Homeopathy in general is bullshit but when it comes to animals it’s even more bulkshit. At least humans could possibly benefit from the placebo effect.

I don’t care what nationality your vet is or what she’s “trained” in; homeopathy has NO benefit beyond placebo.

We go to a chain and find prices very fair, cheaper than the independent one in fact. I also have insurance though up to £10k so I'm not stuck with an unexpected bill

I do think some vets do take the piss with charges.

Our old vet was about double the cost of my current farm vet. The treatment at the cheaper practise is much, much better. No unnecessary follow-up appointments, no over-priced treatment - just basic, down to earth vet treatment.

At our old practise my cat needed to be spayed. They got her in, spayed her, sent her home. No issues. Until her stitches split. Three times. We had to take her back four times in total and they charged us for every single appointment. They even charged us to have her staples removed at the end. Overall, a simple spay procedure cost me way over £600 in total. We did get our money back after we complained to the practise manager but our treatment was shocking.

Conversely at our current practise, we got charged £106 for a spay and that was it. That included surgery, antibiotics, painkillers and a free follow-up appointment ten days later.

The former practise had no business charging us after the stitches came out - after we'd been back once they should have stapled her wound, not let us put her through the trauma of four vet visits first!

My understanding is that Medivet HAVE to give you a costed treatment plan during your consultation. You either got this and didn't read it (so no sympathy for that) or they didn't give you one to sign and therefore they're at fault.
Vets are expensive. If you don't like the fees then you don't have to have a pet...

This does seem excessive, one of my dogs had hemorrhagic gastroenteritis and was taken to vets at 2am and on a drip for 3 nights in total ( she nearly died ) It cost me £600 in total including medication to take afterward. This was 3 years ago but even so!

I am a vet. The price you would have been quoted would have been an estimate based on your dog's symptoms and it would have been with the out-of-hours vets given it was at that time of night. Unfortunately, but inevitably, the costs for this are higher than normal daytime clinics because of the increased staffing levels and unsociable hours.

The price will likely have included various investigations and treatment options. For example, blood tests, scans, x-rays, even potentially surgery. There would also have been drips, medications and regular monitoring overnight for the staff.

I absolutely understand that this is a large amount of money that not many people will have easy access to, but that doesn't mean it is unreasonable for the level of care your pet will receive, especially overnight.

However, right now what you need to do is take him back to your vet as soon as possible. A week with these symptoms is a very long time and he will likely need blood tests, probably a drip and supportive medications at the very least.

Please do not pursue any sort of 'alternative' therapies until he has been treated and diagnosed properly. Then you can crack on with as much magic water as you like. It won't do any good but it also won't do any harm, unlike if you use it right now and delay actual medical treatment which will help him.

Vets are expensive. If you don't like the fees then you don't have to have a pet...

What I want to know is why some practises get away with charging triple what others' do for exactly the same procedure. I know location will have some impact but I think it's understandable people feel ripped off sometimes.

Vets often give an overestimate of charges because they don't know exactly what investigations they need to run until they have examined the animal and done some initial tests. Veterinary medicine is expensive plus it has VAT added to it. We have little idea how much medical care costs having the NHS for us humans.
Our 2 year old cat was hospitalised at Medivet for 3 nights back in August, he had a thorough ultrasound, two smaller ones, blood tests, fluids, medication pain relief and antibiotics plus the human side and the final bill was £2500. Thankfully we only paid £100 excess!
As an aside I do agree that I don't like how all these vet practices are being bought by big corporates. Ours was one of three in a group and sold to Medivet when owner retired. I like the staff there and they seem to have kept they're values as they were. We have little options where I am as another small group also got bought by Medivet when owner retired. Trouble is younger vets can't afford to set up or buy practices.

before I went down the herbal or homeopathic route. There really isn't a lot of science to support its effectiveness

For homeopathy, there is NO science. Because it is a load of bollocks quackery which couldn't possibly ever work beyond confirmation bias effect. Pay me £900 and I'll come and waft crystals around and chant at your mutt - will have exactly the same effect.

As for the bills - you are expecting highly paid staff to work overnight and keep a facility open. They don't do that free of charge.

And isn't this what insurance is for?

OP you need to get your dog back to the vet and let them try to find out what is wrong. Yes it will cost money. You cannot judge a vet on whether they tell you what you want to hear. Why do you think a vet is great because they told you your dog just needed chicken broth? They were clearly wrong. Even if the advice was free.
The cheapest way to sort the problem is to stick with one vet and attend in daytime hours, and follow their advice. By all means ask about the price and ask them if there are cheaper options. But swapping around between vets and not doing as they advise will just lead to more confusion.

Vets are scammers but you are willing to pay for magic water? More the fool you.

The vet apologists will be on here pretty soon. They can ramble on til Christmas, they will never convince me that vet bills are justifiable. NEVER.

Exactly this. I got charged £10 for one Piriton tablet.

OP you need to get your dog back to the vet and let them try to find out what is wrong. I wish we could 'like' posts.

Those symptoms could be several different problems and its not fair on your dog for you to try one thing then another. You need to get a definitive diagnosis.
Your animals should have their own, regular vet who is close enough that you can get to in an emergency. You nursed your dog through the night, and he should be seen during the day if at all possible.

1800 is a lot

We paid £700 for a Sunday night emergency overnight stay, on a drip, last month

Lots of dog-stomach bug going around at the moment, apparently

Hope your dog is ok

What I want to know is why some practises get away with charging triple what others' do for exactly the same procedure

Partly because each practice has their own pricing structure - they may charge a bit more for some things, less for others. They may do cheap neutering as a loss leader.

Also because some practices are doing things to a higher standard. They may for example have better monitoring equipment to make anaesthetics safer, have higher staffing ratios meaning animals get better care, or use more expensive drugs. On the other hand some practices cut corners to keep costs low. It is not like the NHS where things are done in a similar way no matter which hospital you go to. There is a huge variation in standards between vet practices.

Has pet insurance given them license to overcharge?

Yes.