Vet Charges ???

[LongVVing]

My pup fractured his leg badly yesterday while getting his foot caught in a rabbit hole.

Took him to University of Bristol vet clinic (where vet school was filmed) as this was closest.

1. Rapid Examination (5 minute wait)- bandage/anti-inflammatory jab/Pain killing jab = £65.00
Which i thought was very reasonable.

2. The taken to my usual vet - 4 xrays/aneasthetic/re-bandage then referral back to the UoB hospital above as needing specialist repair = £370.00 ???

3. Back with UoB vet this morning (no waiting) - In for 3 days for complex pinning operation/hospital care and monitoring = in the region of £1500.00, which for what is going to be done and the care he is going to get seems a fair price.

Does item 2 above seem disproportionately expensive compared to 1 and 3 ?
I would appreciate any opinions especially from a practising vet. This is in no way a dig just more of a query.

At the end of the day the pups recovery is what matters.

I know vets do some brilliant work and I have paid for 1 and 2 so far but I am considering moving to the UoB vet service completely.

Cheers,

Mark

[Rapt0r]

I do agree that that sounds a lot....i'm sure a lot of vets (good and bad) will up their prices a little once they find out you are insured.
Maybe not up their prices but certainly might carry out more work than they would if you were on a budget.

My dog has been in and out of the vets for the last month after eating some rat poison.....i'd have been complaining about all the visits and seemingly pointless examinations if i was the one paying for it!

I'm not knocking vets in any way...i'm sure 99% of them are VERY good.

Alex

[Kevin Massey]

Im sure you understand there is more to the charges than the vets back pocket... Nursing staff...building overheads all that equipment on hand all of what needs maintaining and paying for.

And also If I was a vet I would wand a good salary aswell

[LongVVing]

Im sure you understand there is more to the charges than the vets back pocket... Nursing staff...building overheads all that equipment on hand all of what needs maintaining and paying for.

And also If I was a vet I would wand a good salary aswell

Kevin,
you are right and as I said Im not knocking any of the vets. It just seems in this case though that the one which did the most work and has the much higher running costs seemed to be better value for money.

The pup is insured upto a certain amount which I dont think will cover everything but Im prepared to meet any costs to put the poor dog right.

regards,
Mark.

[Kevin Massey]

I would'nt know the true answer...maybe some proceedures are more demading...or incure a higher lever of trainning to be able to carry them out....
I can also see that "Falconry" being a isolated occurance for some vets that its gets a rate of its own (higher rate)...

But with this in mind there is even more need in a way to seek out and sorce your Avian Vet that has all the experiance with raptors, then true value for money would be had for this higher rate

[Gos702]

Price seems about right to me. I know the aneasthetic alone is over £100. When our bitch needed a c section it cost us over £500 including the scans etc. Cost us over £300 to have our 10 yr old ess euthenised after having a blood clot to the brain. I think you'll find it it the aneasthetic which has knocked the price up. But I may be wrong.

ATB

Jo

[Kitana]

Hi Mark,

Costs are high in veterinary medicine, especially when a vet try to do everything by the book: using modern, state-of-the art drugs, equipments and employees, doing continuous education for the vets and employees, anesthetic monitoring, etc... The exact same procedure can be very cheap, or very expensive, depending on how the vet works.

As an example, to spay a 40 pounds female dog, I charge 3x the price of my closest competitor. To give distemper shots, I'm 4 times more expensive than them. And believe me, my profits are lower than their, but I feel better at the end of the day cause I know I am working with the most secure, proven anesthetic protocols and vaccinations. I would never, ever let them lay their hands on my animals because I know where they have to cut to be so inexpensive, and I don't want to cut on things that could mean the difference between a live animal and a dead one.

The best thing to do would be to directly ask your vet why they charged you that much for these procedures, what do they do special compared to other clinics to have high prices like that? You might be very surprised and appreciate them a lot more after that.

And a last thing to take into consideration: I don't know how it works in the UK, but here in Canada, vet schools charge way less than private practitioners so their students have a lot of exposure to many different problems.

[FalconMistress]

Some vets are very expensive but on the other hand the medication used is very expensive after all do you think about how much human medican costs???:!:

[Mr_Colin]

vet bills are a nessasary evil, and so is insurance. I have never claimed on my German Shepherd in 5 yrs, my Beagle on the other hand is up to around 5 grand for a cough:evil: , that includes two visits to bristol and tonnes of tests and result is he still coughs and the dionosis is he's either ellergic to something or he has assmah. I'm not complaining as insurance is picking up the bill:supz: and I have only paid 65:lol: . He's not on medication which cost's 50 quid a month again insurance:supz:

We also have a horse who is on medication but is too old for insurance to pay up. It was costing 2.65 a day for the pills. We got told about an online site and if you have a valid prescripsion from your vet that you can fax to them then you can get the medication cheaper. It now cost's us 89p a day. Phew. I will ask Jo what the website address is for those interested. HOW-EVER NO PRESCRIPSION NO MEDICATION. Their rules.

Col

[Sprout]

And also If I was a vet I would wand a good salary aswell

I would too;-) ;-)

The fee doesn't seem too disproportionate - but as with everything, if not happy with fee's then feel free to phone around and get quotes - its your perogative. However, compare like with like - not all vets use the same equipment/quality of anaesthetics etc etc. As with all things, you pay for what you get.
As I';ve said before, there is a lot to be said building a good relationship with your vet before you need them - especially with birds!!

[HalkyWalky]

yes once you have found a good vet stick with them through thick and thin they get to trust your experience and learn through you ,you can then help each other out to find the best solution for each problem.

[Mr_Colin]

got that website for you I mentioned earlier, it might help and they sell the exact drugs you want and got from your vet, you need a prescription though.

www.vetmedsplus.co.uk (http://www.vetmedsplus.co.uk)

[LongVVing]

I would too;-) ;-)

The fee doesn't seem too disproportionate - but as with everything, if not happy with fee's then feel free to phone around and get quotes - its your perogative. However, compare like with like - not all vets use the same equipment/quality of anaesthetics etc etc. As with all things, you pay for what you get.
As I';ve said before, there is a lot to be said building a good relationship with your vet before you need them - especially with birds!!

Thanks for the info from Kitana also as you are both qualified vets (and every one else too!). Maybe I look at things too simply and not take into account all the variables.

Getting quotes however is a difficult thing to even think of when all thats on your mind is getting the dog seem to immediately.

Well I got the pup back today - 72hrs after a 4hr plus operation and just cant believe he isnt even limping.
He's got anti-inflammatory and anti-biotics, Stitches out in a weeks time then checkup in 4 weeks unless anything occurs in the meantime.

Just need some cheap pain killers for my wallet now !

I would just like to mention that the University of Bristol Langford small animal hospital is the dogs b#ll#x.
Chris Shales, Veronica Lu and their team as far as Im concerned walk on water! :supz:

Thanks for everyones replies on hear.

Mark.

[Pendleside]

my Beagle on the other hand is up to around 5 grand for a cough:evil: Col


would have been cheaper to put him on the nicorette patches .:yawinkle:
is he still on 20 a day ?:D

[LongVVing]

got that website for you I mentioned earlier, it might help and they sell the exact drugs you want and got from your vet, you need a prescription though.

www.vetmedsplus.co.uk (http://www.vetmedsplus.co.uk)


Thanks Colin

[Sniper]

i had a quite a big vet's bill this year as my hen Harris for some odd reason her digestive system stalled and would not recover, she would eat the food but would throw it back up a minute later, she did this for two days and thankfully she was at fat weight so i had a bit of leeway with her, she did not act sick tho??, so took her to the normal vets but they could not do anything with her condition so they recomended an avian vets in Tarporley which dealt with lots of BOP disorders, cost me £400 but that was with two days/nights at the vets, xrays, medication, worming and a camera put down her, the vet actually let us see the video of the inernal camera going through the crop, gizzard and stomach and liver ect..really fascinating and he was very thorough, it was not sour crop as i looked myself and there was no smell and the crop was empty and this was confirmed by the vet, she had just picked up bacterial infection within the gut and thankfully she was ok after the treatment.

[Pete Kent]

You never see a poor vet !

My mate is a vet, he's got money to burn.

[Dan Paradis]

You never see a poor vet !

My mate is a vet, he's got money to burn.


...money is not for the poor ppl anyway...

[Talon]

You never see a poor vet !

My mate is a vet, he's got money to burn.

i think if dick turpin was alive today he would be a vet.
as he would make a hell of a lot more money.and wouldnt have to wear a mask.
to have ppl over.;)

[Sniper]

they are a neccasary evil tho.

i think if dick turpin was alive today he would be a vet.
as he would make a hell of a lot more money.and wouldnt have to wear a mask.
to have ppl over.;)

[Talon]

so are lawyers,and ppl dont like there prices.
but as you sa what can you do.

[Rabbit Killer]

You never see a poor vet !

My mate is a vet, he's got money to burn.

I agree, they all got BMW's, Mercs etc, their fees are extortionate.
They wouldn't get that sort of money out of me I'm afraid.
Got to be cruel to be kind sometimes. I wouldn't dream of paying any vets fees for ferrets, rabbits and other small valued animals.

And I'd even question paying their fees for a range of the smaller valued birds too !
IBR birdmart springs to mind !!!

Maybe I'm just heartless, or does common sense prevail ?

[Sprout]

I agree, they all got BMW's, Mercs etc, their fees are extortionate.


I wish!!!!! Believe it or not, vets are the poorest paid of all the professions - if I wanted to make money I'd definitely not be a vet again - if you want to complain about fees then look how much plumbers or roofers charge!!!! Just we don;t complain about that because we don;t have the emotional attachment to a pipe as we do an animal!!!! And if you think vets are expensive - just wait til ther NHS collapses and you have to pay your own medical bills!!!!

[AvianManagement]

I agree,

I've written software programs for Vets and know what their profit margins are.

When you look at the investment they have to make in equipment, time etc then a plumber is far better off

[Kitana]

When you look at the investment they have to make in equipment, time etc then a plumber is far better off

I think I would have made much more money if I invested in stock auctions, even poor ones, rather than investing in my clinic! I wish I knew how these elusive rich vets manage to make money, because here in Canada the profits and salaries are absolutely ridiculous! Really have to be sick in the head to do this job...

[Rabbit Killer]

I wish!!!!! Believe it or not, vets are the poorest paid of all the professions - if I wanted to make money I'd definitely not be a vet again - if you want to complain about fees then look how much plumbers or roofers charge!!!! Just we don;t complain about that because we don;t have the emotional attachment to a pipe as we do an animal!!!! And if you think vets are expensive - just wait til ther NHS collapses and you have to pay your own medical bills!!!!

And if i had my time again I would be a plumber too ! My job isn't badly paid but nothing compared to a vet. I know you have to do 6 years at College, but hey, I cant afford the Luxuries of a vet !
You want to try my job and you would realise how just well off you are !

[Rabbit Killer]

I think I would have made much more money if I invested in stock auctions, even poor ones, rather than investing in my clinic! I wish I knew how these elusive rich vets manage to make money, because here in Canada the profits and salaries are absolutely ridiculous! Really have to be sick in the head to do this job...

If its that bad in Canada, dont ever dream of coming to this sesspit of a Country. The UK is finished, on the downward slope im afraid.

[Finnish]

I wish!!!!! Believe it or not, vets are the poorest paid of all the professions - if I wanted to make money I'd definitely not be a vet again - if you want to complain about fees then look how much plumbers or roofers charge!!!! Just we don;t complain about that because we don;t have the emotional attachment to a pipe as we do an animal!!!! And if you think vets are expensive - just wait til ther NHS collapses and you have to pay your own medical bills!!!!


Leave the Plumbers out of this Sprout....lol

[Natch]

I wish!!!!! Believe it or not, vets are the poorest paid of all the professions - if I wanted to make money I'd definitely not be a vet again - if you want to complain about fees then look how much plumbers or roofers charge!!!! Just we don;t complain about that because we don;t have the emotional attachment to a pipe as we do an animal!!!! And if you think vets are expensive - just wait til ther NHS collapses and you have to pay your own medical bills!!!!how about a male pole dancer:-P

[Hacker]

trouble is when you go to the vet the biggest part of the bill is the medication bill, the actual labour part is small in reality compared to a lot of trades.
just look at your local garage bills, lol:D

[Kennelre]

I wish!!!!! Believe it or not, vets are the poorest paid of all the professions - if I wanted to make money I'd definitely not be a vet again - if you want to complain about fees then look how much plumbers or roofers charge!!!! Just we don;t complain about that because we don;t have the emotional attachment to a pipe as we do an animal!!!! And if you think vets are expensive - just wait til ther NHS collapses and you have to pay your own medical bills!!!!

Yep!!!! I frequently look at how much plumbers, electricians, chippies, reclamation yards, builders, skip hire etc charge!!! I can't believe that people are prepared to hand out the sort of money quoted for a conservatory or blocked driveway because I know how much the basic materials cost...and the chunk that's added on in the quote for a job is mind blowing. I don't know how some people can look you straight in the eye when they say it.:roll:
I resent vet's bills in the same way that I resent solicitor's bills...but when you break them down you can at least see where the money has gone. If I try to break down any of the builder's bills then I'm left feeling that my money has gone behind the now dead buddleia, where he secretly urinates!!;)


...Rene.