Cost of vet treatment petition for animal NHS

[Speakeasy]

Everyone is suffering from the cost of living crisis and it is hitting pet owners too, especially with the cost of vet treatment rising rapidly. There are two petitions running asking for an Animal NHS, one on the UK government site and one of the Welsh government site. People in Wales can sign both but everyone else can only sign the UK one.

Please consider signing and sharing the petitions because it might just help people to keep the pets they consider to be their family.

The UK petition is at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/635352
and reads:

Create an Animal NHS for pensioners, those on low incomes, and for emergenciesIntroduce an Animal NHS for the animals of pensioners, those on means tested benefits and for animals who present with emergencies. Creating a national service to meet the needs of these animals would allow veterinary charities to help a new range of clients who are struggling to make ends meet.
More details
No animal owner could be unaware of soaring veterinary costs. One of the most common reasons that the SHG sees for animal welfare prosecutions that is failure to seek veterinary advice, either at all, or quickly enough, even if the animal is booked in for when the next pay cheque arrives.
A recent survey found that nearly all UK vets that responded have seen animals during the last 12 months that should have been presented earlier. Financial problems were given as the main reason in 91% of cases.
We can and must do better.

The Welsh petition is at https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245403
and reads:

Create an Animal NHSIntroduce an Animal NHS, if only for the animals of pensioners, those on means tested benefits and for animals who present with emergencies.
If private vets could access general government funding it would allow the veterinary charities to help a new range of clients who are struggling to make ends meet.
More details
No animal owner could be unaware of soaring veterinary costs. One of the most prolific reasons for animal welfare prosecutions that come into The SHG is failure to seek veterinary advice, either at all, or quickly enough, even when the animal is booked in for when the next pay cheque arrives. Nearly all vets have seen animals during the last 12 months that should have been presented earlier.
www.vettimes.co.uk/news/report-shows-growing-number-of-clients-delaying-treatment-for-their-pets/
Financial problems were given as the main reason in 91% of cases.
Times are hard and there are many calls on government finances but the proven benefits of animal companionship means that an Animal NHS would pay for itself many times over, if only by reducing demands on the courts and legal aid.
Wales can and must do better.

Actually, the subject was loneliness. You sidestepped to the idea that funding a pet NHS would be a better use of money than mental health professionals. You know who takes up the majority of mental health professionals' time? People with serious mental illness. Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, other psychotic disorders, severe depression, severe OCD, serious difficulties diagnosed as personality disorder, that kind of thing.

Why are you repeating my point about pets being good for heart health as though you thought of it and as though it helps your argument?

My point was that yes, stroking and walking pets is good for loneliness, just as it's good for heart health.

But pets can't replace qualified mental health professionals delivering psychiatric care, just as pets can't replace quadruple heart bypass surgery or defibrillators.

We both acknowledge that pets can help with maintaining good heart health and maintaining good mental health.

We differ in that I believe people with the serious psychiatric illnesses need actual healthcare, just like people with serious cardiovascular illnesses need actual healthcare. Whereas you decided to trivialise the needs of the people who need resources like mental health professionals, by suggesting those resources could be replaced by free vet care so people can have a kitty to stroke. You didn't suggest that free vet care could replace getting a pacemaker.

If this is something you care about OP then give some money to the PDSA, who are doing exactly what you ask for.

Your only complaint about them is that they don't work everywhere: if they had more money they'd have more hospitals.

If you're a taxpayer then if you giftaid your donation then other taxpayers will top it up for you, whether they want to or not.
https://www.pdsa.org.uk/

This, this and thrice this!

I no longer support the PDSA because they have joined forces with the RSPCA. They report their own clients. They refuse to help people, sometimes even when they offer to pay because they have an injured or sick animal and nowhere else to go.

The reduction in people who actually need to use the NHS is what would save it money. You can try to claim that because it can't cure extreme illnesses it is useless, but you know that is wrong.

HABRI have been documenting the benefits of the Human Animal Bond for years.

https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/why-older-adults-best-investment-might-just-be-a-puppy

Oh, and April 30 is National Therapy Animal Day in the US.

national-therapy-animal-day

Not what you claimed. Sorry.

@OP
Please get your facts right. The PDSA do not report their clients. They are prohibited from doing so unless they actually witness cruelty being inflicted on their premises.

If the PDSA report people then it would be for a good reason. You sound irrational OP. More so with every post.

OP does come across like they have an axe to grind .

And how would you fund it? I'm afraid that pets are a luxury and a lifestyle choice, so it's not the responsibility of taxpayers to subsidise pet owners.

They don’t cover all treatments or ops actually.

You should probably check your privilege here (and test your knowledge).

Well, nor does insurance. I'm not sure how you've formed the idea I am privileged.

I’ll sign.

Vet costs have increased through greed. Partners greed. Profits.

Total lack of understanding from so many posters.

Why should people who pay privately for treatment subsidise those who don’t? @Hbh17 if you decide to have children, you pay for them 😊 it’s a lifestyle choice!

Most vet salaries max out at about 60k. A quick google of job adverts will tell you that.

@Suzi888 What exactly do you mean when you say " check your privilege" to @PussBilledDuckyPlait ?

PDSA, cat protection league, blue cross, rspca, dispensary of sick animals, dogs trust, animal trust

Just some of the many places that either offer cheap/free treatment or can provide financial support

The creator clearly didn’t bother to do a quick google search to find out what help is available in various areas.

Nhs treatment is often unaffordable for people like dental services. Now that is a petition I would sign.

It's an all-purpose insult used when you've run out of rational arguments.

Totally agree.
Would happily sign for properly funded dental services for humans. We would all benefit from that.
The OP is spewing nonsense like owning a pet cures paranoid schizophrenia or some such rubbish. And can’t read the room that almost no one is signing that petition!!

😂 yea I read that absolute tripe.
My cats have owned me for 8 years. They must be the wrong type of cat as I still need professional mh help.

They don’t always help either with my stress, anxiety or blood pressure when during the night, running round the house, jumping on and off my bed, down the stairs and back up again, like the hounds from hell are chasing them 😂

If I got a dog the poor bastard would be neglected as there would be weeks it wouldn’t be taken for walks due to mh.

The difference is that, as soon as those children exist, they are human citizen stakeholders, independent of their parents' rights to make claims on society's resources. We've decided to treat children, not solely as the property and responsibility of their parents, but as individuals with their own separate independent right to healthcare as members of this society. Which means that as a society, we can't take a pure "you got them, you pay for them" stance like we can with animals, because unlike the animals the children have an independent legitimate claim on our collective resources, whether their parents can afford the child's healthcare or not.

It’s unbelievable you have to explain to anyone that children exist in their own right as humans entitled to resources in our society! For the hard of hearing, we also need new humans so our society works! This is not rocket science. Of courses taxes must pay for the health education and support of the next generation- and more is needed after the last decade + of underfunding both.

Society doesn’t need pets!!

Absolutely not

Don't own a pet if you can't afford it!

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. The rising cost of veterinary care can be a significant barrier for pet owners, and an Animal NHS could help ensure that pets receive the care they need, regardless of their owners' financial situation. I encourage people who support this idea to sign the petitions and share them with others who may be interested. It's important to advocate for policies that promote the well-being of both animals and their owners.