Man of Honour
Neither can the NHS to be fair, fakes these days are very good as it's a massive money spinner
Ever refused to pay for medication at the vets?
- Thread starter shifty_uk
- Start date
My other half is a Vet and trust me they don't earn a fortune. She has a stressful sometimes dangerous job, can be on call several nights per week and 1 in 2 or 3 weekends, can end up working 80 hour weeks yet still earns less money than her dentist friend she went to uni with who only works 35 hours a week.
Yes there is a good markup on some drugs sold by vets (although some are very tight) and they will never be able to compete with online box shifters but the profits from the drugs helps covers the things you don't get charged for properly. Perhaps it needs to change and a consultation and any time spent should be charged at its true cost. There is all the equipment and support staff and huge insurance to cover as well.
I always remember a dog walking coming in one Sunday after their dog had swallowed some fishing man's bait with hooks. He was charged £450 which I dont think was too bad considering it involved several hours by a skilled surgeon plus anesthetist on a Sunday. Equally my other half can travel out to see an animal, take two hours including travel and only charge £50.
Same accusation can be made about the prescription fee for the NHS that its a rip off when the drugs cost 50p.
Appologies, I should have been clearer. When I stated "vets" i meant the practice not the individuals who work there. My comment still stands.
Ask her how much they charge for a cesarean on a dog and i'll tell you how much I pay at 3am on a ewe including all the drugs. A few here who've had to fork out will choke on the difference.
Soldato
It's expensive, it's really expensive that's for sure. When we moved our dogs from the UK to India the vet consultations and relevant paperwork was more expensive than the flight.
This is the nature of any private based medical service through, in the UK we take the NHS for granted and in some cases we remain ignorant to the actual costs involved.
In respect of obtaining medication without a prescription...I am a total hypocrite with this. They need to be controlled.....antibiotics especially. However in India I can get pretty much anything I want without it (methadone, anabolic steroids etc) and the first sign of an ear infection ( I am prone) I am down to the medical store to buy amoxicillin. I am part of the problem.
This is the nature of any private based medical service through, in the UK we take the NHS for granted and in some cases we remain ignorant to the actual costs involved.
In respect of obtaining medication without a prescription...I am a total hypocrite with this. They need to be controlled.....antibiotics especially. However in India I can get pretty much anything I want without it (methadone, anabolic steroids etc) and the first sign of an ear infection ( I am prone) I am down to the medical store to buy amoxicillin. I am part of the problem.
Again do you not think that they cross subsidize each other and there is a huge difference in actually doing them? A ewe will be quick and easy, a single vet, no recovery time with support staff, no need to be so nice with how tidy it looks and stitches, no use of the practices facilities and regular check ups day and night by nurses etc. Yes I know a cesarean will be only around £90 on a ewe. Trust me there will be zero profit for the practice in this but will be just part and parcel for offering the whole service and having the farmer as a client. I would expect that if the ewe was brought into the practice and given the same time and number of staff needed and the use of the operating theatre then the charge would be much more than a ewe costs.
Yet it seems to be farmers who complain about vet's costs the most.
And this mentality is why 90% of feline poisoning incidents involve canine/human medicines (usually canine flea treatments)
Wow - that sounded like a "my opinion is the only one that matters - anyone not agreeing with me is wrong" kind of post.
Trust me every farmer i have ever met says Vet fees are too high and they much less than pet owners. Many farmers would love to be able to buy prescription medicine and administer it themselves to save on Vet fees. Once they have qualified as Vets they can, until then they should accept it.
There are good reasons why legally a Vet can treat a human but a doctor can't treat an animal in the UK.
"Zero profit", come and pull the other one, it's lambing season one of the busiest peroids for vets and sheep farmers alike, the vets will be flat out with farm visit's, sorting drugs and middle of the night call out's or in house ops and you are telling me they are making no money from it?
I'm not suprised farmers are the most complacent about vet's, you have to laugh when your local one turns up to farms in his bright yellow porsche, not exactly a practical vets car in wales.
When I take the dog into the vet's, mention its a "farm dog" the costs are dropped significantly, I did'nt realise the biology of a dog changed when it was from a farm. The same applies to cat's (although we dont have any).
It's not an opinion when your talking from years of experience and knowledge.
Caporegime
Ditto. Even the follow up "ear looks better" was £20.
Soldato
Yeh vet prices are just a joke.
My cat needs special urinary food to stop crystal build up. Used to buy it from the vet but the price seemed to go up every time i ordered some.
In the end i refused to pay what they were asking and started ordering it online from petdrugsonline. Massively cheaper price and exactly the same product.
My cat needs special urinary food to stop crystal build up. Used to buy it from the vet but the price seemed to go up every time i ordered some.
In the end i refused to pay what they were asking and started ordering it online from petdrugsonline. Massively cheaper price and exactly the same product.
"Zero profit", come and pull the other one, it's lambing season one of the busiest peroids for vets and sheep farmers alike, the vets will be flat out with farm visit's, sorting drugs and middle of the night call out's or in house ops and you are telling me they are making no money from it?
I'm not suprised farmers are the most complacent about vet's, you have to laugh when your local one turns up to farms in his bright yellow porsche, not exactly a practical vets car in wales.
When I take the dog into the vet's, mention its a "farm dog" the costs are dropped significantly, I did'nt realise the biology of a dog changed when it was from a farm. The same applies to cat's (although we dont have any).
It's not an opinion when your talking from years of experience and knowledge.
Yep Farmers are almost lost leaders. It can be a case of needing the volumes to keep their total drug spend high to get bigger discounts etc. At my gf practice the Farm side of the business was the worst performing by a huge margin compared to Equine and Companion departments. Companion is the biggest margin mainly cause the owners bring the animals to the vets and then its one after the other after the other.
Farmers never get charged to true costs or they wouldn't bother ringing the vet out in the first place. My lass has to cover an area an hour from the practice so that can mean she can driver two hours from one visit to the next in the middle of the night, spend an hour with the farmer and drive back another hour so 4 hours total yet the bill with drugs might only be £70. It doesn't even cover her wages never mind practice overheads.
Have a look at some of the online accounts of the biggest Vets in the country. They have millions invested in assets - property, equipment etc and their net profit margins arent that great and neither is the return on capital employed.
Yes there are good and bad vets out there and some overcharge. Equally sometimes if its a drug they don't buy much of, you might think they are charging a huge markup but they aren't. Its like the local corner shop who buys their Kellogg cornflakes in from the cash and carry for more money than the big supermarket sells them for retail.
Why don't you buy your fuel in bulk. It'll be loads cheaper too. But you have to store it. Bricks and mortar shops can't compete with the internet. Your local vet will supply to the local area. Your internet based shop will supply a much larger area.
Volume discounts and special orders will also make a massive difference to purchase costs.
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once our dog pops his cloggs there will not be any more pets in our house just because vet bills are too much.
Pretty much this. I visited a vet once with my then cat and the women was scathing about the fact I didn't know what his poo was like. Excuse me lady but this is a cat and I don't keep track of that stuff, its important she says, being as I visited about something other than his internals I didn't think so.
Soldato
Basically, the moment you step foot through the door with a dog / cat, expect to part with at least £100.
My local vet just wrote to me to advise they are now charging a £20 "admin fee", whenever you pay for any treatment via insurance.
The only way to avoid this "admin fee" is to pay yourself and not go through the insurance company.
I think our local vet is possibly having a laugh, being a city centre vet and all. £40 to write a prescription; £100 for a basic checkup, admin fees for everything.
The only way to avoid this "admin fee" is to pay yourself and not go through the insurance company.
I think our local vet is possibly having a laugh, being a city centre vet and all. £40 to write a prescription; £100 for a basic checkup, admin fees for everything.
Think ours charges about 15quid for a prescription.
As with everything yes some stuff will be available elsewhere cheaper and in most circumstances for a larger volume, shop around.
If it needs a prescription the need to take into account that cost also.
Never refused to pay, normally use insurance if its over 70 which is my excess.
As with everything yes some stuff will be available elsewhere cheaper and in most circumstances for a larger volume, shop around.
If it needs a prescription the need to take into account that cost also.
Never refused to pay, normally use insurance if its over 70 which is my excess.