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Absolutely fuming.

toffee

Mama Doe
I had to take Teddy to the emergency vets last night as he had a bad bout of stasis. The vet kept me waiting for half an hour even though there weren't any other patients there. When she did see us she didn't know what was wrong and suggested an X ray. I told her it was stasis and he needed Metaclopromide and metacam which she prescribed. They then had the cheek to charge me £125 out of hours consultation fee :shock::shock::shock: when I'd diagnosed the problem myself!!!!:censored::censored:

Oh, and she stuck a thermometer up his bum. :oops::oops: I'm sure that wasn't necessary for stasis.

The drugs cost £15.

I've written to them telling them I want the £125 back as their vet is incompetent and copied in RCVS. I've also informed Trading Standards (I work there) as their paperwork does not comply with business names act.

Grrrrrrrr. How can they get away with this?:censored::censored:

Teddy's fine now.:D The Metaclop and Metacam combined with a few doses of Infacol and some syringed baby food sorted him out. :D
 
:censored: what a useless :censored: grrr to think if u hadnt known what he needed and everything teddy would have suffered so much and theyre charging you for that?? let us know how you get on hun x
 
I know its really annoying and ive had the same happen to me before in the middle of the night with a vet who doesnt know what they are on about, but I really dont think you will get the money back :(

Hugs x
 
Frustrating yes, but what time did you take him to the Vets? If it was out of their normal working hours, I can't see what they've done wrong in charging an out of hours consultation fee :?.
 
Nothing wrong in taking the bun's temperature - they lose temperature when they are in stasis.

It's frustrating when an out of hours vet doesn't know much, but I do think we have to expect to pay a premium to cover the unsociable hours vets have to work.
 
In all fairness, when you have to visit an out of hours vet it is luck of the draw whether or not you get a rabbit savvy vet.

I took George in once for stasis and already had the meds at home, I just wanted to make sure that's what it was...still was charged £115. The insurance covered all but the excess. It is frustrating that it costs so much.... it cost £450 to stitch up Phoebe after a nasty fight, and if I wasn't insured I would possibly have cried!!
 
In all fairness, when you have to visit an out of hours vet it is luck of the draw whether or not you get a rabbit savvy vet.

This is very true, think yourself lucky that you knew what was wrong and could ask for the correct treatment. I have never yet seen my rabbit vet out of hours i've always had another vet and i think im lucky that i usually know what they need and the vet just prescribes it.
 
I wouldn't have minded paying the out of hours fee if the vet had done something, but I'm so mad that I had to diagnose him myself and still get charged.

I really think that if a vet is going to be out of hours they should know what they're doing with any animal, especially with something as common as stasis in a rabbit. My usual vet is a jack of all trades, he's not a rabbit specialist but he always gets it right.

What would have happened if it wasn't me? What if someone with no experience took their pet and the vet just looked and went, "erm...dunno". That person would end up with a very sick or dead rabbit on their hands and have paid £125 for the priviledge. It's not like I'd taken an animal that was especially exotic, you'd expect vets to see rabbits every day.
 
I would report it, ask for some form of compensation but not expect a great deal.

Hopefully if someone else complains they will listen.

Good luck anyway.
 
I have written to them saying that I am happy to pay for the medication but that, under the circumstances, i.e. having to diagnose my pet myself as the vet was not capable, I would like them to refund the out of hours fee.

If they won't do anything I will try to claim on my insurance with Petplan, but I am fairly sure that Petplan will not reimburse out of hours fees, only treatment costs.
 
It's not like I'd taken an animal that was especially exotic, you'd expect vets to see rabbits every day.

But this is the problem, vets don't see rabbits. Not that many rabbit owners will take there rabbit to a vet if it gets sick, some may not even recognise that it is sick. I asked my rabbit vet once about how much she was taught at uni about rabbits and she said 2 lectures worth. Everythig else she knows she has learnt over the years and after me joining the practice. She is also one of only three vets out of 12 that take a real interest in the buns.
 
Metaclopromide and metacam (arent these the same drug? sorry if being incompetant here but i thought they were?
i hope that you get a better vet next time and do write and complain as they do need to know if the vets are mis-diagosing x
 
Metaclopromide and metacam (arent these the same drug? sorry if being incompetant here but i thought they were?
i hope that you get a better vet next time and do write and complain as they do need to know if the vets are mis-diagosing x

No metacam is an anti-inflammatory pain killer and metaclop is a gut stimulent.
 
Unfortunately rabbits are classed as exotics to most vets. They are not given much training on rabbits as veterinary students and it's up to them to gain further knowledge once qualified.... and as already said, not many people bother to take their rabbit to the vet. They just put them away thinking they are 'off colour' and are then surprised to find their pet dead in the hutch the next day. My own rabbit vet says most vets are actually scared of treating rabbits because they don't know much about them. My first vet treated my rabbit appallingly and his treatment was barbaric....

Petplan will cover out of hours fees if it is classed as an emergency....and obviously stasis in a rabbit is.
 
The ability of vets to deal with rabbit cases can vary massively between vets at the same practice.

Although it does sound silly and you were really lucky that you knew what to ask for and had already diagnosed the problem. You were paying for their time and ability to dispense the medication you needed. They don't have to work all night, and when they do they should be given money that reflects their time and worth.
 
The ability of vets to deal with rabbit cases can vary massively between vets at the same practice.

Although it does sound silly and you were really lucky that you knew what to ask for and had already diagnosed the problem. You were paying for their time and ability to dispense the medication you needed. They don't have to work all night, and when they do they should be given money that reflects their time and worth.


£125 for the consultation that was 5 minutes long.....Thats £1500 an hour. Really worth it.:?
 
£125 for the consultation that was 5 minutes long.....Thats £1500 an hour. Really worth it.:?

It is a flat rate charge per consultation, steep though it might be :/ As they're the ones licenced to prescribe the medication they can charge a premium for the service.

Is there any way you can get some of the medication and keep it at your house incase it happens again, so you don't have to pay for the vet to do it? It might save on consultation fees.

I'd check with petplan too, I'm sure they do cover consultation fees in emergencies. :) Good luck
 
I know we all have to make money, but it seems unfair to take advantage of an emergency health problem with a pet. Most pet owners will do just about anything to help thier pets when conceared about them. They might well have told you it was going to cost his ammount before treating your bun also. I would not expect to be charged this ammount if had to take my buns to emergency vets...I wouldn't be able to afford that on the spot most of the time either!!
 
That is so unbelievable!! I hope you get your money back cus that is down right wrong! But Im glad your little guy is okay
 
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