Vet price check
Discussion
Superleg48 said:
2. Drugs are expensive. All drugs, including human drugs. We have the NHS to shield us from these expensive costs. There is no NHS for dogs, so we have to pay the market rate for drugs.
3. You can save money just getting a script and sourcing your animal’s drugs online. If, like ours, your vet is fair with their pricing, you will not be stripped of the shirt off your back. It is, in my view, important to support your local vet as far as possible because….
If you can, find a good independent vet practice, even if it is not immediately local and strike up a relationship with them. They really appreciate it and makes a massive difference to the “how much?!”
I agree with much of your post. We are all very grateful when they fix Tiddles and we hand over our credit card. We're not looking to buy the cheapest vet. But in recent years the amount has sometimes surprised me and once shocked me. As for a 100ml bottle of thryronorm that's £103 at the vet and £47 online, which price would you say is 'market rate'? Some margin yes, but not over 100%.3. You can save money just getting a script and sourcing your animal’s drugs online. If, like ours, your vet is fair with their pricing, you will not be stripped of the shirt off your back. It is, in my view, important to support your local vet as far as possible because….
If you can, find a good independent vet practice, even if it is not immediately local and strike up a relationship with them. They really appreciate it and makes a massive difference to the “how much?!”
I'm also surprised by your comment that if you 'strike up a relationship' you'll get a better deal. The partner I try to see is excellent; we get on well because I have some science, and I even found him a new member of staff who just qualified as a VN. But the bills are still vastly higher than they were not so long ago.
Sheepshanks said:
In name only. It's a vets' practice not a hospital.Thevet said:
Superleg48 said:
All of the above does not apply to corporate VC backed group practises who all may as well wear masks, berets and striped tops.
If you can, find a good independent vet practice, even if it is not immediately local and strike up a relationship with them. They really appreciate it and makes a massive difference to the “how much?!” Brigade who have no idea about the realities of running a practice and the small fact that yesterday they saved your animal’s life.
The first line is incorrect, mainly due to its generalisation. It is also insulting to me and my team who work for a corporate business, saying we don't care about our patients as much as money. There may be vets, independent or part of a larger business who don't care about individual relationships, but it is not all of us by any means.If you can, find a good independent vet practice, even if it is not immediately local and strike up a relationship with them. They really appreciate it and makes a massive difference to the “how much?!” Brigade who have no idea about the realities of running a practice and the small fact that yesterday they saved your animal’s life.
I have been running, building and investing in this business for over 30 years and I am proud of how "my" practice performs. It is more to do with the people who now bwecome vets than who owns the business that you find the care or don't care attitude.
New graduates don't want to do on-call work, they don't want to work weekends, they want a 4 day week, and they expect £40k starting salary. It's sometimes hard to get the public to understand the overall difficulty of running a business like this, and it was even harder through covid. There is a national shortage of vets, driving up wages which, now that we have a parent company, means that the financial deficit no longer needs to come out of my house or pension.
BTW £40k is peanuts.
Mr Spoon said:
The national shortage of vets has been superb in the Locum world. The way I see this, had practices had paid their vet surgeon staff an appropriate level, not expected them to work ridiculous hours and not overload them with consultations then we wouldn't be here.
You make it sound as if locums are striping it up 'because they can' - and Joe Petowner is paying the price.£40K is a king's ransom for a new graduate.
Simpo Two said:
In name only. It's a vets' practice not a hospital.
Did you read the page? It's a "Tier 3 Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Small Animal Hospital" - it also has a referral centre for more specialised stuff: https://www.oakwoodvetreferrals.co.uk/Yes, there is a 'standard vets practice' there too, but they're not generally open 24x7 like this one is.
It's not the practice we usually go to - you get directed to this location for out of hours or for anything that requires the animal to be kept in.
Mr Spoon said:
The national shortage of vets has been superb in the Locum world. The way I see this, had practices had paid their vet surgeon staff an appropriate level, not expected them to work ridiculous hours and not overload them with consultations then we wouldn't be here.
BTW £40k is peanuts.
what do you mean by this that the national shortage has been superb? For locums yes, they cost a lot, which has to be passed on and some of them are "not worth the cost" there is liitle filtering of locums, you're not allowed to pass on negative reports. BTW £40k is peanuts.
And what on earth do you think ridiculous hours are??? I'm not working this weekend but still have turned out to see a dog with a sore eye, is that ridiculous or just someone who cares?
And is £40k peanuts? I started on £6500, and am now on £65k and still do this job, why should I? especially when people think that charging for services is disgraceful. What does your lawyer charge per hour with no cost of products? Bear in mind that an internet pharmacy has few overheads or staff. So for now, I'm off, fed up with this constant complaining about making a decent living.
Simpo Two said:
I agree with much of your post. We are all very grateful when they fix Tiddles and we hand over our credit card. We're not looking to buy the cheapest vet. But in recent years the amount has sometimes surprised me and once shocked me. As for a 100ml bottle of thryronorm that's £103 at the vet and £47 online, which price would you say is 'market rate'? Some margin yes, but not over 100%.
I'm also surprised by your comment that if you 'strike up a relationship' you'll get a better deal. The partner I try to see is excellent; we get on well because I have some science, and I even found him a new member of staff who just qualified as a VN. But the bills are still vastly higher than they were not so long ago.
There will, like any product, always be cheaper sources on line. But sometimes that is a false saving. I am not sure if your thryronorm experience was from an independent vet or a group practise. Somewhere in the middle of those two price points would be reasonable to me. I know I can get it cheaper, but I really rate my vet and want to support her where I can, so I know she is there when I need her. I'm also surprised by your comment that if you 'strike up a relationship' you'll get a better deal. The partner I try to see is excellent; we get on well because I have some science, and I even found him a new member of staff who just qualified as a VN. But the bills are still vastly higher than they were not so long ago.
If everybody bought everything online, there would be no need for bricks and mortar to exist. Where would be then for expert advice and efficient back up?
I don’t believe I stated that by striking up a relationship you would get a better deal? Although I can see the implication in the statement. Costs are going up everywhere.
Thevet said:
The first line is incorrect, mainly due to its generalisation. It is also insulting to me and my team who work for a corporate business, saying we don't care about our patients as much as money. There may be vets, independent or part of a larger business who don't care about individual relationships, but it is not all of us by any means.
I have been running, building and investing in this business for over 30 years and I am proud of how "my" practice performs. It is more to do with the people who now bwecome vets than who owns the business that you find the care or don't care attitude.
New graduates don't want to do on-call work, they don't want to work weekends, they want a 4 day week, and they expect £40k starting salary. It's sometimes hard to get the public to understand the overall difficulty of running a business like this, and it was even harder through covid. There is a national shortage of vets, driving up wages which, now that we have a parent company, means that the financial deficit no longer needs to come out of my house or pension.
It was a massive generalisation I admit. There will always be exceptions. Apologies if I caused you personally offence. I have been running, building and investing in this business for over 30 years and I am proud of how "my" practice performs. It is more to do with the people who now bwecome vets than who owns the business that you find the care or don't care attitude.
New graduates don't want to do on-call work, they don't want to work weekends, they want a 4 day week, and they expect £40k starting salary. It's sometimes hard to get the public to understand the overall difficulty of running a business like this, and it was even harder through covid. There is a national shortage of vets, driving up wages which, now that we have a parent company, means that the financial deficit no longer needs to come out of my house or pension.
The fact remains though that more often than not and in my experience with talking to many people with l pets and my own experiences with group vet practices, they do charge excessively within my aforementioned context.
Thevet said:
Mr Spoon said:
The national shortage of vets has been superb in the Locum world. The way I see this, had practices had paid their vet surgeon staff an appropriate level, not expected them to work ridiculous hours and not overload them with consultations then we wouldn't be here.
BTW £40k is peanuts.
what do you mean by this that the national shortage has been superb? For locums yes, they cost a lot, which has to be passed on and some of them are "not worth the cost" there is liitle filtering of locums, you're not allowed to pass on negative reports. BTW £40k is peanuts.
And what on earth do you think ridiculous hours are??? I'm not working this weekend but still have turned out to see a dog with a sore eye, is that ridiculous or just someone who cares?
And is £40k peanuts? I started on £6500, and am now on £65k and still do this job, why should I? especially when people think that charging for services is disgraceful. What does your lawyer charge per hour with no cost of products? Bear in mind that an internet pharmacy has few overheads or staff. So for now, I'm off, fed up with this constant complaining about making a decent living.
Simply put, if vet practices hadn't tried to exploit vets then there wouldn't have been mass walk outs and consequently a shortage.
£65k isn't that much either, not when a medivet JVP is twice that.
Locum vets not worth their money? So advertise a decent rate that is comparable with what the locums are happy to get and guess what, you will solve your problem.
Or keep paying the locum rates you are.
Regarding the relevance to this thread, the cost of the vets now is attributed to this pattern of under valuing over years, increasing wage costs and consequently the cost of the visit.
Mr Spoon said:
Thevet said:
Mr Spoon said:
The national shortage of vets has been superb in the Locum world. The way I see this, had practices had paid their vet surgeon staff an appropriate level, not expected them to work ridiculous hours and not overload them with consultations then we wouldn't be here.
BTW £40k is peanuts.
what do you mean by this that the national shortage has been superb? For locums yes, they cost a lot, which has to be passed on and some of them are "not worth the cost" there is liitle filtering of locums, you're not allowed to pass on negative reports. BTW £40k is peanuts.
And what on earth do you think ridiculous hours are??? I'm not working this weekend but still have turned out to see a dog with a sore eye, is that ridiculous or just someone who cares?
And is £40k peanuts? I started on £6500, and am now on £65k and still do this job, why should I? especially when people think that charging for services is disgraceful. What does your lawyer charge per hour with no cost of products? Bear in mind that an internet pharmacy has few overheads or staff. So for now, I'm off, fed up with this constant complaining about making a decent living.
Simply put, if vet practices hadn't tried to exploit vets then there wouldn't have been mass walk outs and consequently a shortage.
£65k isn't that much either, not when a medivet JVP is twice that.
Locum vets not worth their money? So advertise a decent rate that is comparable with what the locums are happy to get and guess what, you will solve your problem.
Or keep paying the locum rates you are.
Regarding the relevance to this thread, the cost of the vets now is attributed to this pattern of under valuing over years, increasing wage costs and consequently the cost of the visit.
There is a fairly substantial gap between what the public expect a vet to be paid and what prices a practice can charge to sustain that.
Having seen what a JVP has to go through to earn the 'rockstar wages', that's not a life that I'd wish upon anyone.
There is a reason why suicide rates amongst vets are upon the highest of any profession.
Mr Spoon said:
Simply put, if vet practices hadn't tried to exploit vets then there wouldn't have been mass walk outs and consequently a shortage.
Locum vets not worth their money? So advertise a decent rate that is comparable with what the locums are happy to get and guess what, you will solve your problem.
Or keep paying the locum rates you are.
Regarding the relevance to this thread, the cost of the vets now is attributed to this pattern of under valuing over years, increasing wage costs and consequently the cost of the visit.
1. Tried to expolit vets?? Crap. Locum vets not worth their money? So advertise a decent rate that is comparable with what the locums are happy to get and guess what, you will solve your problem.
Or keep paying the locum rates you are.
Regarding the relevance to this thread, the cost of the vets now is attributed to this pattern of under valuing over years, increasing wage costs and consequently the cost of the visit.
2. Locum vets not worth the money? Some have done significant damage to the practice and patients, few are beneficial irrespective of cost.
3. What do you think locum rates are, when there is no on call duties? Mostly about £400/day now. Paying high fees does not always bring good vets. We are now lucky to not be too short of staff but it is a difficult market, and there are few good vets available as free agents, irrespective of cost.
4. Cost of employing vets has gone up, Brexit prompted +500 vets to head back to europe from our parent company alone!
And yes you and many other complainers have touched a nerve with me because many complain with no idea of what the "costs" financially, mentally, and physically are. If I were to do this all again, I would still pick being a vet, but I would be far more cynical about what the public are actually worth.
Thevet said:
Mr Spoon said:
The national shortage of vets has been superb in the Locum world. The way I see this, had practices had paid their vet surgeon staff an appropriate level, not expected them to work ridiculous hours and not overload them with consultations then we wouldn't be here.
BTW £40k is peanuts.
what do you mean by this that the national shortage has been superb? For locums yes, they cost a lot, which has to be passed on and some of them are "not worth the cost" there is liitle filtering of locums, you're not allowed to pass on negative reports. BTW £40k is peanuts.
And what on earth do you think ridiculous hours are??? I'm not working this weekend but still have turned out to see a dog with a sore eye, is that ridiculous or just someone who cares?
And is £40k peanuts? I started on £6500, and am now on £65k and still do this job, why should I? especially when people think that charging for services is disgraceful. What does your lawyer charge per hour with no cost of products? Bear in mind that an internet pharmacy has few overheads or staff. So for now, I'm off, fed up with this constant complaining about making a decent living.
Please do not leave this area of PH.
The comments by yourself and your fellow vets and nurses have been very much appreciated over the years.
Exactly!! This constant complain about professional fees.
In general you get too hooked up on t HD e time and think like a salaried person. Time is almost irrelevant. What you pay professionals is to resolve a problem as quickly as possible. They charge for their experience and knowledge not necessarily for the time.
New qualified dentist may take 1-2h to take a wisdom tooth out and may get stuck. I can do it painlessly in 20 minutes with no drama but I do charge for it. Should I charge less because I can do it well?
On another side for sure there are many professionals that charge but don’t deliver! Indeed that would be extortionate.
In general you get too hooked up on t HD e time and think like a salaried person. Time is almost irrelevant. What you pay professionals is to resolve a problem as quickly as possible. They charge for their experience and knowledge not necessarily for the time.
New qualified dentist may take 1-2h to take a wisdom tooth out and may get stuck. I can do it painlessly in 20 minutes with no drama but I do charge for it. Should I charge less because I can do it well?
On another side for sure there are many professionals that charge but don’t deliver! Indeed that would be extortionate.
The corporates have a lot to answer for. Their rapid expansion in search of increased profits has depleted the pool of available vets.
The fact that they take 10-15% of turnover needs to be accounted for elsewhere.
Their approach to pricing - ie be cheap for all the routine stuff that owners are aware of / might check, and then charge far more for non routine procedures doesn't sit well with me.
But equally I do not think that the public are realistic about the cost of healthcare, largely due the "free" (at point of service) NHS.
How much do people think vets should earn for the average 42h week?
The fact that they take 10-15% of turnover needs to be accounted for elsewhere.
Their approach to pricing - ie be cheap for all the routine stuff that owners are aware of / might check, and then charge far more for non routine procedures doesn't sit well with me.
But equally I do not think that the public are realistic about the cost of healthcare, largely due the "free" (at point of service) NHS.
How much do people think vets should earn for the average 42h week?
I've just taken my dog for orthopedic surgery.
I'll have him back tomorrow if there aren't any complications. The consultation, advice and a plan going forward will be worth every penny. It's worrying and stressful as an owner but I needed a qualified vet, an expert in his work. It's not work I can do withy a few mates and it's not a skill I quickly learn.
I'll have him back tomorrow if there aren't any complications. The consultation, advice and a plan going forward will be worth every penny. It's worrying and stressful as an owner but I needed a qualified vet, an expert in his work. It's not work I can do withy a few mates and it's not a skill I quickly learn.
Boosted LS1 said:
I've just taken my dog for orthopedic surgery.
I'll have him back tomorrow if there aren't any complications. The consultation, advice and a plan going forward will be worth every penny. It's worrying and stressful as an owner but I needed a qualified vet, an expert in his work. It's not work I can do withy a few mates and it's not a skill I quickly learn.
Hope he recovers quickly.I'll have him back tomorrow if there aren't any complications. The consultation, advice and a plan going forward will be worth every penny. It's worrying and stressful as an owner but I needed a qualified vet, an expert in his work. It's not work I can do withy a few mates and it's not a skill I quickly learn.
^ Thank you.
They've sorted his RH patella and I can collect him tomorrow, poor little sausage :-) x'rays show a milder issue with the LH knee but the plan will be to wait and see what happens in due course.
It's going to be gentle things for the next 6 weeks while he recovers. He'll be a pocket rocket after that.
They've sorted his RH patella and I can collect him tomorrow, poor little sausage :-) x'rays show a milder issue with the LH knee but the plan will be to wait and see what happens in due course.
It's going to be gentle things for the next 6 weeks while he recovers. He'll be a pocket rocket after that.
Boosted LS1 said:
^ Thank you.
They've sorted his RH patella and I can collect him tomorrow, poor little sausage :-) x'rays show a milder issue with the LH knee but the plan will be to wait and see what happens in due course.
It's going to be gentle things for the next 6 weeks while he recovers. He'll be a pocket rocket after that.
Hi MikeThey've sorted his RH patella and I can collect him tomorrow, poor little sausage :-) x'rays show a milder issue with the LH knee but the plan will be to wait and see what happens in due course.
It's going to be gentle things for the next 6 weeks while he recovers. He'll be a pocket rocket after that.
didn't know that your pooch had been for surgery, hope it went well and that he is home asap.
Thanks Tim.
He had a flying crash down the stairs (zooming) which injured his patella but there may have been a weakness there already. The vet said it may have started developing after he was 5 months old.
It goes someway to explaining the things that we spoke about. I'll call you sometime.
He had a flying crash down the stairs (zooming) which injured his patella but there may have been a weakness there already. The vet said it may have started developing after he was 5 months old.
It goes someway to explaining the things that we spoke about. I'll call you sometime.
These are skilled, trained 'doctors for animals' and as such I don't think their payment for their services is up for debate. We are all so glad to pay for their expertise when our loved ones need help, however, I don't think the practices do themselves any favours for popularity when they massively overcharge for goods. My recent visit was tainted not by the excellent service from the vet but having to pay 100% over the price of over the counter goods which I later found at Petsathome without prescription.(£23.60 for some Pro-Kolin as opposed to a tenner at Petsathome). Wouldn't have minded if it was a couple of quid but this just takes the p**s !!
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