Terms and Conditions
In line with advice from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, we have decided to introduce a document explaining what we shall provide for you and your pet(s), and in return what we expect from you.
- We shall provide 24 hour care for your pet(s). When our surgery is closed, we have an arrangement with Medivet Veterinary Clinic (at Hendon or Richmond depending on which practice you are registered at) to provide an emergency service for your pets. You will be charged separately by them at the time.
- Our staff will always be courteous to you and try to help. We will treat your pet with kindness and respect. We will listen to you and explain everything involved in your pet’s treatment as we go along. We shall keep all your details confidential. In return, we expect our clients to be polite to us. Rude or aggressive behaviour to any of our staff will not be tolerated.
- We ask that you keep your cat in a basket in the waiting room. We also ask that dogs are kept on a lead. If your animal is exceptionally nervous and possibly aggressive, we ask that you warn us in advance so that we can make arrangements to minimise stress to all parties.
- We ask that you pay your bill with us at the time of consultation. In order to keep our costs down and therefore our fees as low as possible, we do not run accounts. We are happy to estimate the cost of any course of treatment or procedure. We shall make every effort to stay within the estimate. If unforeseen circumstances arise we shall discuss these with you before proceeding further.
- In the case of insurance claims, we will fill in the veterinary section only and send off your forms at no charge. Under FSA rules it is essential that you complete your section of the form, we are not allowed to do so. We ask that you pay your account before we do so. We are unable to submit “direct” claims as the insurance companies are not able to deal directly with us due to data protection rules.
- We routinely dispense drugs from our own dispensary. However, if you so wish, you may take a prescription to another dispensary. The charge for a prescription is £11.75 for the first item and £5.88 for each additional item on the same prescription. We would like you to bear in mind that a proportion of our income is generated from the sale of drugs. In return we keep our professional consultation fees as affordable as possible. We feel strongly that veterinary care should be available to all animals and are therefore reluctant to increase our consultation fees.
- If your pet is on long-term medication, we need to check him or her over at least every 3-6 months on advice of the veterinary surgeon. For long-term prescription diets, we require that we see you every six months. For this consultation we charge £30.00. We can only prescribe relevant veterinary medicinal products following a clinical assessment of animals under our care. Further information on the prices of drugs is available on request.
- We ask that you switch off your mobile phone during consultations. Occasionally we may need to prescribe a drug that is not licensed for use in your species of pet. If this is the case, we shall explain it to you, and we shall ask you to sign a form of consent.
- If we need to admit your pet to the surgery, we will ask you to fill in a consent form. We ask that you give us a telephone number where you can be contacted at all times.
- Please give us as much notice as possible if you are unable to attend an appointment or a pre-booked procedure.
- If you are unable to bring your pet in to the surgery yourself, please call the surgery in advance to inform us of who will bring your pet in. Please be aware that we require written consent or that of your agent (who cannot be a minor) for treatment of your animal.
