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Vets fees- why are they so high??

I have to say that i am intrigued as to why people who love animals enough to study so hard to be vets, charge high prices which often leads to people not looking after their animals to the best of their ability.

I fully agree that pets shouldnt be free or even cheap and i am happy to pay my vets bills as i really love my animals... but do they have to be so expensive? is there a reason why?



Im not wanting to start any arguments or debates but genuinely wanted to ask if anyone knew, i know we have such a diversity of people on here including some vets
 
I guess you have to think that they are a business, although they love their profession they still need to earn a living.

There is probably alot of overheads to running a vets i.e rent/bills/wages etc.
 
Vet training is long and costly, 5-6 years in uni in a very competitive area so you need to be the best - that can mean spending a lot on extra tutoring and literature too, as well as course material etc (if you look at the price of some of the expert bunny books around, you can imagine the price they may have to pay for all the different books they may need!). I can't remember the exact figure but I read the average amount of debt that veterinary students are in once finishing their studies and it was shockingly large!
Also vet bills don't just cover the 5-10 minutes you're in there. They have to employ a receptionist to firstly take your booking, then man the vet reception to book you in. Electricity costs money, as well as the cleaners that clean the vets daily so it's sparkly and hygienic for your visit, the rent for the building, telephone and fax bills, and all the other costs/overheads associated with owning a business property. Equipment needs to be able to be sterilised (so tends to need to be higher quality, which means pricier) or disposable (so throwing away money!), nurses available to help, e.g. restraining a dog that doesn't want its temperature taken.
Lots of medication is prescription-only, so they need a license for this, and I assume are at the mercy of whatever the supplier wants to charge, as they'll be more limited as to where they can source these from. I don't imagine there are too many choices in supplier for all their equipment too, which won't be cheap.
Vets also vary where they make their money - mine charge higher consultancy fees now but less for medication, meaning if you have pets with longterm illesses you save money (or if you practically live at the vets and they don't charge you the proper amount of consultancy fees.. ;) :lol:)
Also at the end of the day, pets are luxuries, and if you aren't prepared to pay the vet bills then you shouldn't get the pet.
 
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I can understand they are a business, but i was thinking they must see so many animals and the height of the fees are surely more than enough to clear costs easily?
my dh is training to be a dentist and i know that when we both worked there how the treatments were expensive privately in order to cover the basic expenses but even then the dentists were going home with extremely good wages... and they werent as expensive as vets fees.

As i said though, ive no problem with paying them to keep my animals happy and healthy xxx
 
Also at the end of the day, pets are luxuries, and if you aren't prepared to pay the vet bills then you shouldn't get the pet.

Totally agree - but circumstances change - no one has a crystal ball - I certainly didnt when I was retired from work due to ill health. I save a little bit each week for mine and budget carefully to make sure I can look after them:)
 
Totally agree - but circumstances change - no one has a crystal ball - I certainly didnt when I was retired from work due to ill health. I save a little bit each week for mine and budget carefully to make sure I can look after them:)

No I understand this, I read that OP was suggesting more than expensive vet bills would put people off treating their pets by choice (e.g. "£70 for a consult?! I'd rather buy a DVD player for that" kind of attitude) rather than circumstances changing
 
No I understand this, I read that OP was suggesting more than expensive vet bills would put people off treating their pets by choice (e.g. "£70 for a consult?! I'd rather buy a DVD player for that" kind of attitude) rather than circumstances changing

I would rather watch my buns than a DVD! :D
 
no im not meaning the basics such as neuturing, vacs etc... if you cant afford them then you shouldnt have the pet... end of
but some of the other fees seem so excessive. i know ops are costly, but its things like when i got charged £90 to tell me my cat had a broken toe simply by looking and feeling and that was it, meds were more on top of that and it was a weekday in the daytime. again i was happy to pay as he helped to sort Dante out, but just seems a bit much.

i guess its just the way it is, which is fine, ive found a new vets which is a hospital and they really seem to care and be experienced. all of my lot are now registered with them and im due to get the booster vacs again soon which will cost a pretty penny but is well worth it.
 
I have just got back from the vets, I really like my vet she is very good to me always give me discounts probably coz I am there so often lol but just had a £150 bill for 3 of them today so I dont think thats too bad.
 
I think Ben's Mum makes a good case. Fees, books, equipment etc for vet school is astronomical - when i graduate i will have over £50,000 in debt before interest! So yes, you really have to want it to do this profession. Having said that, i dont agree that clients should pay more to pay off my debt.

As said before, there are quite a few members of staff to pay - vets, nurses, receptionists, kennel maids, cleaners etc, so while you may only see the receptionist and vet on your specific visit there are still a lot of people around hard at work. Overheads in running a vet practice, even a basic one, are huge when you consider all the equiment, disposables, cleaning and sterilisation, lighting, heating, water, electricity etc all of which has to be maintained to a very high standard. For example, anaesthetic machines costs thousands new and several hundred to maintain. even a stethoscope costs £80 minimum!! It maybe seems unfair that every client/patient is helping to pay for all this when they may only want some worming tablets or a vaccination but should you ever need any of the other facilities you'd be pretty dissapointed if they werent available or not to the highest standard.

Most vets do have some form of system to try to keep costs down for owners - consultation fees often fall the more you go - i.e. say £25 for the first one, £22 for the second, £16 for each after that with the same animal for the same condition. also, many vets make little profit on vaccinations and worming and neutering in order to encourage people to do such things. if you lower consultation costs you have to start charging for every needle and syringe you use, every use of the scales, etc and it gets ridiculous.

So i agree that there are some vets that do take home rather fat pay cheques and dont think about the impact on the clients, but mostly these costs are a fairly genuine reflection of the costs of maintaining a modern clinic with the latest tools and well trained staff. its just a fact of life i guess!
 
Because they need to earn their wages :)

I have no problem with how much I pay the vet, its cheaper than bringing myself to the doctor. I just don't like seeing a vet that doesn't give correct advice or treatment :lol: Vets are definitely cheaper than healthcare/dentist for people
 
The overheads that veterinary practices have to cover are too numerous to list! Like most professions it can be a struggle to make ends meet and we are not immune to the effects of the credit crunch. It is a good idea for owners to consider taking out pet insurance to help prevent a nasty shock with vets bills.
 
That's what I mean though, that £90 isn't simply the vet looking and feeling his toe - whether or not they need a nurse for your appointment, they've had to pay one to be in the surgery just incase, if you're only in there 2 mins then they're still not going to have someone booked in for the other 8 so not making any more money by it being shorter, they've paid the receptionist(s) to be in there so they can be open to take appointments, electricity to open the vets, cleaners to clean it ready to open, a telephone system to receive calls to book appointments, general building maintenance etc - it costs them money to take your appointment too. OK, it may not cost them £90 to do what they do (or it may do, I don't know :lol:) but does it cost a hairdressr £90 for a cut, wash and dry? Plenty of people are happy to pay for that, and at least a haircut can be skimped on or done at home!
 
Btw not attacking you personally, just explaining why they charge more! Obviously you can get some who are just in it for the money and up their prices but the majority I've dealt with haven't :D
 
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