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different vets = different rules?

happypreso

Alpha Buck
Hi,
This morning, I had Holly & Angel booked into Vets A for a mixi jab each. Then I had Star booked in for a pre-op appointment at Vet B.

I was chatting to receptionist at Vet B and they have clearly said that Vet A (they spoke to them re star and her spray) will not treat Star in an emergency and that they wasn't too happy about me getting star sprayed at vet B (and I know this is true as vet A told me that too!). She then went onto say that Vet B is also doing this as a 'one off' and that I had to decided where I wanted the rabbits to be registered.

So I decided (been thinking about it since the whole thing came up!) that I would transfer Bugs & Star back to Vet B (as they had no treatment at vet A but need there jabs doing which is cheaper at vet B) and keep Angel & Holly at vet A and 'put up' with increased prices of jabs as they have both had history.

Then reception said that vet A might not treat Holly & Angel if Bugs & Star are registered with vet B!?! Does this seem too much? I kind of undertstand re the rule about one vet (although some of you seem to be able to get away with it!) but surley I can register different bun's with different vets? I can't see why that would be a problem?

I have to phone vet A up in a mo and explain that Bugs & Star are going to vet B and want to be 'prepared' if they mention Holly & Angel.

Cheers!
 
Hi,
This morning, I had Holly & Angel booked into Vets A for a mixi jab each. Then I had Star booked in for a pre-op appointment at Vet B.

I was chatting to receptionist at Vet B and they have clearly said that Vet A (they spoke to them re star and her spray) will not treat Star in an emergency and that they wasn't too happy about me getting star sprayed at vet B (and I know this is true as vet A told me that too!). She then went onto say that Vet B is also doing this as a 'one off' and that I had to decided where I wanted the rabbits to be registered.

So I decided (been thinking about it since the whole thing came up!) that I would transfer Bugs & Star back to Vet B (as they had no treatment at vet A but need there jabs doing which is cheaper at vet B) and keep Angel & Holly at vet A and 'put up' with increased prices of jabs as they have both had history.

Then reception said that vet A might not treat Holly & Angel if Bugs & Star are registered with vet B!?! Does this seem too much? I kind of undertstand re the rule about one vet (although some of you seem to be able to get away with it!) but surley I can register different bun's with different vets? I can't see why that would be a problem?

I have to phone vet A up in a mo and explain that Bugs & Star are going to vet B and want to be 'prepared' if they mention Holly & Angel.

Cheers!

Vets are NOT ALLOWED to refuse EMERGENCY treatment, although they can refuse to see you for routine things.
It's up to you to choose but be aware that if the vets is offering something very cheap eg. vaccinations, they may well charge more for other things to make up the difference: no vet surgery is going to run at a loss for very long.
 
Vets are NOT ALLOWED to refuse EMERGENCY treatment, although they can refuse to see you for routine things.
It's up to you to choose but be aware that if the vets is offering something very cheap eg. vaccinations, they may well charge more for other things to make up the difference: no vet surgery is going to run at a loss for very long.

Vets can refuse to treat an animal if it is registered to another vets. Each vet must provide an emergency service for their clients. If the animal is registered at another vet it must be seen at that vets. Of course if there is a problem - they can't contact the other vet, the other vet's duty vet isn't happy to see rabbits etc. then the most suitable vet must see it regardless of where it is registered.
This is the protocol as if you use one vet during the day and another at night then the night vet has no idea of what has gone on with the rabbit previously. None of the clinical information is available to them. There is no reason why you should be made to have all rabbits in one vet though, if you wanted to have them at different vets there's no problem as long as each rabbit is consistently seen by one practice.
I would strongly suggest using one vet for all though so that the best possible care can be taken and your rabbits treated together. If cost is a major concern then insurance is a good idea - ideally choose the vet on their knowledge and skills, not on the cost.
 
in solihull we have one vet that provide 24 hour treatement for almost all the other vets in solihull. The other vets don't refuse treatment but it is more effective to have one large vet covering the whole area. In our case if you register with the emergency vet (even if you get normal treatement elsewhere) it is significantly cheaper if you do have to use their out of hours. It is no different from being referred by your usual vet as at 12:00 midnight they will have no way of accessing your bunnies record if you have been referred.
 
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in solihull we have one vet that provide 24 hour treatement for almost all the other vets in solihull. The other vets don't refuse treatment but it is more effective to have one large vet covering the whole area. In our case if you register with the emergency vet (even if you get normal treatement elsewhere) it is significantly cheaper if you do have to use their out of hours. It is no different from being referred by your usual vet as at 12:00 midnight they will have no way of accessing your bunnies record if you have been referred.

Our practice runs a similar system - we provide out of hours cover for a large amount of local practices. Although we don't have access directly to each record we have contact numbers for people at each practice who do should we need them. Also if a day vet has seen an animal during the day that they are concerned may have problems overnight they fax everything over pre-emptively. What I was trying to say in the previous post was that if the owner decides to go to a different vet at different times then there is no provision for any information transfer and it does make treatment more difficult.
The standard now is that lots of small vets pay another company to cover the out of hours. As already discussed this can lead to lack of information for the emergency vet. However the problem I tend to get is that although the day vet sees 'exotics', the emergency vet is a cat/dog vet. Typically they aren't too keen to see exotics and don't really know how to deal with them. As far as I can tell our practice is the only one to provide an emergency service with exotics vets 24/7 for a great distance. This means we frequently get passed cases at all hours from all over the country with no history and the animal having to travel several hours in a poorly state. I feel that if you advertise exotics treatment in the day there should be some facility to deal with emergencies. (Sorry, this came up as a pet peeve as Solihull was mentioned and we see a disproportionate number of emergencies from the Birmingham area as the main exotics vets there don't cover their own OOH...). Always check with your vets who does the OOH care and if they are confident with rabbits as stasis always occurs late at night or on a Sunday! :roll:
 
Hmm this is interesting. I use 2 vets... one for vaccinations only :? My normal vets must know i go elsewhere for vaccinations surely... and theyve never said anything.

Hope you get sorted :( xXx
 
I also use two vets but am VERY open with them both about it and they are OK with it, as long as I am 100% upfront with them about any treatment/medical history the rabbit being seen has. One vet does their own OOH and the other uses the dreaded Vets Now. In all honesty I would only take a bun to Vets Now if I thought the bun needed to be PTS to prevent suffering immediately or if I needed pain relief I couldn't provide at home.

For anything else it seems there is little they can/know how to do. :(
 
you see people from brum in wiltshire???????? The vet I use (for everything except vaccinations & routine) is the out of hours vet & they will see any animal from anywhere although you have to pay more for it if you are not registered. I admit that out of hours you are much less likely to get someone who is 100% bunny savy but they do have a couple of rabbit specialists working for them who I imagine they would phone up if they were unsure. I would be happy to leave my bun with them overnight & would rather risk that than a 2 hour car journey.

i guess we have the advantage though that I always ask lots of questions so I know what meds my buns are on, what the problem is etc if there is a history. I too would use emergency vets as real last resourt.
 
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Vets can refuse to treat an animal if it is registered to another vets. Each vet must provide an emergency service for their clients. If the animal is registered at another vet it must be seen at that vets. Of course if there is a problem - they can't contact the other vet, the other vet's duty vet isn't happy to see rabbits etc. then the most suitable vet must see it regardless of where it is registered.
This is the protocol as if you use one vet during the day and another at night then the night vet has no idea of what has gone on with the rabbit previously. None of the clinical information is available to them. There is no reason why you should be made to have all rabbits in one vet though, if you wanted to have them at different vets there's no problem as long as each rabbit is consistently seen by one practice.
I would strongly suggest using one vet for all though so that the best possible care can be taken and your rabbits treated together. If cost is a major concern then insurance is a good idea - ideally choose the vet on their knowledge and skills, not on the cost.

Hi, the rabbits would have been registered with the vet but that said vet is refusing to treat Star if needed in an emergency. They are quite happy to do 'normal' routine stuff like injections etc but not treat her as an emergency. Like I say, I have no decided to transfer her (and the dad) over to the other vets (that is doing the spray) and keep the two babies with the vet they have always been at.

As for insurance, I didn't think that covered sprays and injections? I haven't got an endless pot of money but of course want what is best for my bun's but having 4 of them can get quite costly so penny saving where you can, just helps a little.

The vet that is doing the spray actually seems really good. He answered all the questions right (thanks to that recent thread!) and they get 3 post op check ups as well (thought that was fab!!) which is all included in the price as well (and star had her pre-op appointment today).
 
Hi, the rabbits would have been registered with the vet but that said vet is refusing to treat Star if needed in an emergency. They are quite happy to do 'normal' routine stuff like injections etc but not treat her as an emergency. Like I say, I have no decided to transfer her (and the dad) over to the other vets (that is doing the spray) and keep the two babies with the vet they have always been at.

As for insurance, I didn't think that covered sprays and injections? I haven't got an endless pot of money but of course want what is best for my bun's but having 4 of them can get quite costly so penny saving where you can, just helps a little.

The vet that is doing the spray actually seems really good. He answered all the questions right (thanks to that recent thread!) and they get 3 post op check ups as well (thought that was fab!!) which is all included in the price as well (and star had her pre-op appointment today).

It sounds like the first vets are happy to take yor money then....if you are still their client then it's not on to refuse emergency treatment.
 
you see people from brum in wiltshire???????? The vet I use (for everything except vaccinations & routine) is the out of hours vet & they will see any animal from anywhere although you have to pay more for it if you are not registered. I admit that out of hours you are much less likely to get someone who is 100% bunny savy but they do have a couple of rabbit specialists working for them who I imagine they would phone up if they were unsure. I would be happy to leave my bun with them overnight & would rather risk that than a 2 hour car journey.

Yes, not usually for rabbits but particularly for birds and reptiles people can't find a vet locally that will treat them in an emergency so they come from all over. I've had people come from Cornwall, Kent, all over Wales and even one from Scotland :shock:
It's not so bad if your practice is doing their own OOH, particularly when they have people that know what they're doing! It's when VetsNow or one of the other big companies does it and focus on cats and dogs and nothing else.
 
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