Vets, bills and anger

Originally Posted by CoolGirl

by comparison, does anyone know the list price for a private human consultation of similar duration?

About 4 years ago I was in hospital and had consultation with a doc that lasted about 5 mins, I told him I had private cover and he said he would do the operation tomorrow. That cost £680 for those 5 mins! well it cost the private cover.

[appollo1]

My dog has had a skin allergy almost all his life and every time it flames up we have to go to the vets for pills and potions. Luckily we are insured and as it is a recurring problem the insurance covers the cost.

Last year my dog had a twisted gut which was caught in time and he was operated on and stayed in the vets for about a week. Just under a grand for that operation.

A couple of months ago I noticed he was dragging his back legs a bit. Off to vets for xrays then referred to Glasgow vet Hospital. MRI scan then in for surgery following week to repair 6 slipped discs. Total cost for this one 4 grand. It would have been more but due to his fast recovery we didn't have additional hospital fees for him. Admitted wednesday, operation thursday, home sunday (considering he should have stayed in hospital for at least a week to recover) as he was well enough to come home.So 4 grand in fees, 2 hours drive there and 2 hours home not to mention the cost of fuel. 6 weeks later back to Glasgow for a check up and it was the same a quick look at him and yes he is fine!!! That check up alone cost me just under 50 pounds.

My dog is a German Shepherd and was bought in Germany, he is now 8 years old and if we were not insured I would have found the money from somewhere even if it meant selling the wife's car (well I would not sell my bike)

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde

why do my vets bills always creep just under the excess, or a tad over, so I can't or can't be arrsseed to claim it back......
Damn annoying, but hey. I can just about afford the insurance every month, but I wouldn't have it any other way with my two pooches


BTW Neio, do you have a pet?

Yes i have an English springer Spaniel who is 5. and yep he is insured. Never had to claim luckly but i am glad i have the cover for piece of mind. As a Broken leg could cost thousands from start to full recovery.

Originally Posted by DoubleD

About 4 years ago I was in hospital and had consultation with a doc that lasted about 5 mins, I told him I had private cover and he said he would do the operation tomorrow. That cost £680 for those 5 mins! well it cost the private cover.

remind me never to send you out to negotiate a deal!

[rowdy]

Originally Posted by neio79

here is a question for you.

If you are stupid enough not to insure your pet and it gets a serious ilness how much would you be preared to spend before you cut your losses and had the pet put down??

Stupid is a bit harsh, the cat I mentioned earlier turned up in my back garden as a stray kitten and after lengthy searches for it's owner and visit to the vets she wasn't claimed by anyone so we took her in and booked an appointment for her to be spayed but when she went to the vets for her to be done they couldn't do it because she was already carrying kittens, so the insurance would probably not have paid out anyway, but as I mentioned she was a stray so we hadn't really planned anything like insurance etc.

Originally Posted by ooger

So the dog gets poorly and starts pooing blood. (sorry, but its relevant)

So we take her to the vet. We get told that we've just caught it in time, and its an intestinal infection of sorts that hasn't yet spread to the bowel.

We get prescribed a carrierbag full of drugs to flush out the nasties and start building gut flora back up from scratch. Cost? £96. I believe this (cos I am not a vet) and we go home to administer the drugs, after booking a check up on the Monday to make sure shes getting better, not worse.

So poorly girl starts feeling better on Saturday and Sunday and goes back for a checkup Monday PM.

"all appears well" says the vet, in 3 minutes flat, and ushers us out of the room, back to reception where we are billed an extra £22 "consultation" and shown the door.

Am I annoyed? Yes.
Is this normal? I don't know.

I'd have assumed the post checkup would have been included, given it was just straightforward? I could have done what was done at home, without vet qualifications. No listening, poking, feeling or anything. Just looking.

I'm thinking of changing vets, just because of this. 3 minutes.

Thats £440 an hour...at that rate (literally)

I understand vets have to cover costs, and you're paying for their knowledge, expertise and expensive training, but this is taking the ****, isn't it?

Before it is said, yes, I know that without the correct prescription she could have died, all I'm getting at is what is "reasonable".

(That equates to an annual income, before tax of about £839,142p.a, by the way)

I know it seems unfair but you have to remember that any professional person running a practice has to calculate their fees in relation to the the cost of their overheads (building, staff, equipment etc etc).

[Stingo]

Originally Posted by ArtyLady

I know it seems unfair but you have to remember that any professional person running a practice has to calculate their fees in relation to the the cost of their overheads (building, staff, equipment etc etc).

Beat me to it. This is particularly true in the case of the veterinary service. Some vets provide 24hr coverage and so the wage bill is clearly higher. Vet drugs are also not cheap - I believe they are very costly to get licensced (if indeed they are liscenced at all). What you can't do is base the income of a vet on what you have been charged - if only things were that simple, we'd all be doing it. Another outgoing is the fees to a professional body (RCVS) which helps protect them during various legal processes (litigation etc)...it's a complex business and like many things, the true cost of the service that is provided is well concealed, often unintentionally - for instance, council tax, business rates, staff wages, phone bills, uniforms, training, paperwork etc etc all has to be paid for somehow. Anyways...big hugs to your pet - he/she is clearly worth it!!

[appollo1]

Vetinary medicine.

Don't forget that medicine for pets is calculated by the animals weight.
So if you have a Jack Russell then tablets will be cheaper but if you have a German Shepherd like me who weighs 52kg then tablets are really really expensive.

Not all medicine is animal only - when my dog came out of hospital he was on the same tablets my wife takes. Hers costs about a fiver on prescription, the dogs for the same amount was 20 pound.

Quoted from a GP on another site.Typical cost for private consultations from GP is about £25 for 10 minutes.

Per patient, per year, I am paid approximately £50, regardless of how many times I see them. That's a year's unlimited cover. The cheapest policy I could find for pet insurance - for a hamster - was £65 a year, plus £50 excess. So your health care costs less than your pet rodent's

£120 for my rabbits teeth to be filed only for it to die in their care still having to part with the readdies. Sucks but i wouldn't be able to live with my self if we didn't try for him.