Vet fees

[Sprockersmum]

AIBU to complain about an additional vet fee.. An extra £17:98 just to give a monthly injection in the scruff.This is in addition to the drug. The vet fees now are horrendous as it is but this additional charge came into effect a few weeks ago. I'd just like your thoughts please before I send in my complaint

Ask the vet if you can do the jab yourself. I used do this for my old Labrador. I’m squeamish as hell and even I could manage it… you just pull up the skin into a tent shape, push the needle in and voilà….

It will save the vet one appointment per month which they can give to another patient (and charge more for) so it’s a win-win. (Vet costs have rocketed recently. My dog has a regular medication which has gone up from £17 per bottle to £35 per bottle. Unbelievable).

Our dog is diabetic so we have the expense of his insulin. Of course insurance covers that and it can be bought cheaper online but once we’ve paid £20 for the prescription, £5 to the vet to fill out their part of the claim form and the cost of refridgerated shipping from the online pharmacy we might as well just buy from the vet.
Now we have the 3 monthly check up to factor in though and that involves blood tests and it all stresses him out so much, and stress affects his diabetes!

OP I’ve just read your update after I posted, it was cartrophen that I used to inject into my lab. Definitely ask your vet if they will show you how to do it!

Or maybe vets costs should not have soared in just a few years?
As I said I was charged nearly double for the same treatment for my cat as 3 years ago.
It is because of Brexit so there is a lack of com0petition and vets have got greedy.

No, it's because everything has shot up, or have you lived in a cave for the last couple of years? Wage increases so people can scrape by the CoL crisis. Increased rent utility bills, professional services, insurance costs, supplier costs, maintenance fees etc. Etc. Etc.

If they're so expensive, go somewhere else. Although you'll find that it's similar across the board because they'll all be in the same boat.

Although if you find a cheap vet, I'd be wondering where behind closed doors they were cutting costs.

Scandalous costs!! 😱

Do you bury the gerbil at home in the garden?

Just like everybody else's vets costs have soared. The cost of power, rent,compliance, the cost of consumables, and of course, the cost of staffing.

With care plan flea and worming treatment, they are required by law for a vet check of the animal once yearly to continue to prescribe. Our vet, so long as is solely for that, i.e. no other concerns or queries, will do this for free, if it isn't done during the annual vaccination and health check, which is also free under the care plan.

If you don't wish to do this, there is absolutely nothing stopping you buying OTC treatments.

Our vet is also more than happy to show you how to administer the injections yourself.

@SummitOfMountWashmore I buy mite treatment online. The cost has actually only increased very slightly over the last 3 years. If I bought it at the vet the cost of just the medication would have increased significantly. It is not just about costs rising.

@mbosnz have you missed that people are saying so many vets will not prescribe flea treatment without a 3 monthly visit?

Most vets charge an injection fee to administer a monthly injectable medication. It’s still time and equipment used so quite rightly should be charged. So normally meds + injection fee (normally much cheaper than a consult).

Are they also charging a consult fee each time? Are you seeing a vet or nurse? Normally with ongoing meds you can see a nurse if the dose is stable and your pet isn’t due a med review by a vet. But still likely to be a fee. How the vets price it will vary, it may be same or may be cheaper.

It would be worth asking if they’d be happy to do a written prescription so you can order it yourself and be taught to administer at home if you’re comfortable doing so. Speak to them about costs etc. you’d also have to source your own needles and syringes and sharps bin but it could work out much cheaper.

It's to do with how the vets interpret the guidance. Some see it as meaning they need to see the animal every time they repeat the prescription. Some are happy to do it once a year and effectively prescribe a year's worth and then release it every three months. From what I've been able to establish from talking to the vets, they're not happy about it either - they've got no interest in seeing healthy animals any more than I've got in taking them but what can you do when your governing body tells you that's what you have to do?

Those saying you can get over the counter flea treatment, you can, but it doesn't work. Don't ask me how I know 😬

OP sorry for the derail.....

I have never been charged an injection fee over and the cost of the drug - I thought it was kind of a given in the cost you pay for the medication.

Yes, we were always going to but they offered to dispose of the body for 80.

It took them less than 10 mins to look at him and suggest either an 800 operation which had a poor prognosis or to euthanase and then about 5 mins to pts - I expect minimal amounts are required to put a gerbil down.

Now I know why my vet has been encouraging (and supervising) me giving my dog her monthly librella injection. Perhaps they are going to start charging soon too.

Have you been living under a rock? ALL costs have soared in the last 3 years. Or did you miss the cost of living crisis? My mortgage has gone up by over 1/3. My car insurance has gone up by £200 in the space of a year and I haven’t claimed. My food shop has almost doubled. You expect vets to keep charging the same as before while ALL their costs have increased exponentially?? Have a word with yourself

The average cost to study for veterinary medicine (including tuition fees and living costs) is £32000 per year. The average student cannot work like some other students can, because they spend their holidays doing work experience placements in order to gain practical animal handling skills. It is a 5 year degree, meaning the typical vet will emerge from university with a debt of £160000. They are going to have to do a lot of injections at 17 quid to pay that little lot off!

Costs have soared in the last few years. And there are not enough vets. So there is no real competition.

Over the counter, non prescription treatment presumably? Not really comparable to prescription drugs.

Of course it's cheaper to buy an OTC product off the internet than it is to get medication prescribed by a qualified professional

It is exactly the same as the vet gave down to the brand. Bey charged way more for medication plus consultation fee.

You're not just paying for a drug off a shelf in a warehouse when you go to the vet though. Surely you can see that it's two very different things?

Yes you can buy medications online, I do it myself with a prescription. My dogs tablets are £18 a box online (+ about £25 for the prescription every 6 months) vs about £50 from my vet (after a 20% discount).

Unfortunately, vets are limited to sourcing their supplies from a small number of wholesale companies - they cannot buy them from online pharmacies like I do. My vet is a CVS practice, who also own Animed Direct - they literally aren't allowed to get supplies from the same company.

@Anonomom12 I think the point is vetinary fees have no regulator therefore are not consistent nationally. The small independent vets are being bought out by large and sometimes global (as in our case) companies who are trying to make profits for the shareholders therefore vets and vet nurses and supporting staff would be given a salary and probably targets to maintain or increase. It is not the vets who set the prices. They do a sterling job under very difficult restraints. My issue is the 'little'! add ons that were previously taken as included in the visit or procedures.
It is what it is and so we just pay up and shut up or move on.. Not ideal when you have such confidence and rapport with the practice

Have you queried the change with them though?

Yes of course. Everyone does seem sympathetic.. Apparently I'm not the only one grumbling.. Hey ho.. I'm asking our vet if I can give the injections myself. I was taught by them during covid... Our local chemist agreed to sort a sharps box and disposal for me as well as fill animal prescriptions.