Best Procedure to follow to complain about vet?
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I recentely acquired a dog. I didn't get the dog insured in case the dog wasn't happy with me. If he wasn't happy, I was going to give him back to my daughter where he was happy, but who didn't want him long term (she had been looking after him for a friend who didn't want him any more).
Poor dog already! Well, I took him over and we get on fine and I have no reason to think this will be anything but a long term relationship. He's a real cutie and I live on my own with a cat, so the dog sort of completes things a bit and the cat has stopped complaining 100% of the time about the dog and even sleeps near him sometimes.
Dog hadn't had jabs since he was a puppy and now 18months I took him to our vet (whom I'd had a disagreement with over the idiotic treatment of my cat's cystitis earlier in the year, but whom I'd forgiven because it all turned out okay in the end and I only wasted money on 1 urine sample that didn't work. Mind you, that was my decision, not theirs) for his starter jabs.
While he was being examined by the vet, I was told that one of his testicles hadn't dropped. I wasn't planning to have him neutered because he's a pedigree and only a young dog and unlike a cat he cannot rome free making a nuisance of himself with the local ladies so I was going to leave our options open. The vet said he had to have it done because it could develop a tumour and so of course I agreed. I found it odd because when I see him in the mornings he is usually extremely pleased to see me and rolls on his back with his excitement plain to see - and I can always see two very well-formed little items in his pouch. However, when I went back for his booster jab I told the vet this and he showed me how it retracted into his body.
I figured he was a bit like a Sumo wrestler but I booked his op anyway as they said I should.
On Friday morning, I duly deposited him at the vets' surgery and filled in the relevant forms, agreeing to pay ~ £111 for the OP. Around 9.3oam on Friday I received a call from the vet to say the bill was too low because I had been quoted for a standard castration and my dog had complications so it was going to be nearer £150. I may have visibly paled if anyone had been looking, but at least I thought it's done then and I only have to pay it once.
I phoned on Friday lunch to received the joyous news that it had been a straightforward castration after all as the other testicle wasn't where they had thought. So I was only going to have to pay the £111 after all. I was pleased for about 5 minutes until I realised the poor dog had probably had an OP he didn't need and I'd just forked out £111 I could ill-afford which I didn't need to have forked out.
Well, what's done was done (literally!) and I thought that since neither I nor my daughter knew exactly where his pedgree was and in any case I wasn't even sure how good a dog he is (although I of course love him dearly!) I would get over this and as long as he was okay then all would be well.
I picked him up after work and was told amongst other things that I must stop him licking himself. This was going to be easier said than done, so they charged me another £5 for a collar which seems not to stop him licking himself anyway so I took the collar off because there's no point in him being uncomfortable both ends if it's not helping anything. I barely slept that night as I was half awake alert for him trying to lick himself and me trying to stop him.
On Satuday morning, the poor dog was just crying and so I took him back to the vet, who said "he's been licking himself" (well of COURSE he has, the flipping collar doesn't work and I have to sleep sometimes!) and also muttered something about clipper rash where he'd been shaved for the OP. Now I look at it, he looks as if he's been treated pretty roughly in that area and the scars are quite unsightly too. There is a scar where they had gone in through the side (presumably for the other testicle which they can't have found there because was where it should be , but just a little small, I was told on the phone the day before) which looked very red and inflamed and a nasty pink scar on his sack, also very inflamed, not to mention several abrasions on his skin from the shaving. The poor dog was really suffering and the vet gave him antibiotics/anti-inflammatory in one jab and painkiller in another. I haven't paid for the jabs yet, but I've no doubt I will be asked to, and the useless collar which they said I could pay for when I got for the post-op tomorrow.
Poor dog's still licking and scratching and there's nothing I can do about it. I can't afford to keep paying these bills and I think the vet's done an unecessary OP and also botched it. In addition to this, I haven't been given the right price of one single item, the collar, the OP, the anti-plaque powder they prescribed him too. All have been more expensive than I was originally told.
In conjunction with the issues over the cat's urine sample, I'm of a mind to complain about this vet, but in the mean time my dog is suffering and I'm going to have to fork out money I haven't got (dipping into what's left of my overdraft).
Is there anyone I can go to who will help and quickly? It's my dog's discomfort I'm worried about in the first instance, but the money issue is pretty pressing too.
Damned vets! This dog was healthy when I got him
Poor dog already! Well, I took him over and we get on fine and I have no reason to think this will be anything but a long term relationship. He's a real cutie and I live on my own with a cat, so the dog sort of completes things a bit and the cat has stopped complaining 100% of the time about the dog and even sleeps near him sometimes.
Dog hadn't had jabs since he was a puppy and now 18months I took him to our vet (whom I'd had a disagreement with over the idiotic treatment of my cat's cystitis earlier in the year, but whom I'd forgiven because it all turned out okay in the end and I only wasted money on 1 urine sample that didn't work. Mind you, that was my decision, not theirs) for his starter jabs.
While he was being examined by the vet, I was told that one of his testicles hadn't dropped. I wasn't planning to have him neutered because he's a pedigree and only a young dog and unlike a cat he cannot rome free making a nuisance of himself with the local ladies so I was going to leave our options open. The vet said he had to have it done because it could develop a tumour and so of course I agreed. I found it odd because when I see him in the mornings he is usually extremely pleased to see me and rolls on his back with his excitement plain to see - and I can always see two very well-formed little items in his pouch. However, when I went back for his booster jab I told the vet this and he showed me how it retracted into his body.
I figured he was a bit like a Sumo wrestler but I booked his op anyway as they said I should.
On Friday morning, I duly deposited him at the vets' surgery and filled in the relevant forms, agreeing to pay ~ £111 for the OP. Around 9.3oam on Friday I received a call from the vet to say the bill was too low because I had been quoted for a standard castration and my dog had complications so it was going to be nearer £150. I may have visibly paled if anyone had been looking, but at least I thought it's done then and I only have to pay it once.
I phoned on Friday lunch to received the joyous news that it had been a straightforward castration after all as the other testicle wasn't where they had thought. So I was only going to have to pay the £111 after all. I was pleased for about 5 minutes until I realised the poor dog had probably had an OP he didn't need and I'd just forked out £111 I could ill-afford which I didn't need to have forked out.
Well, what's done was done (literally!) and I thought that since neither I nor my daughter knew exactly where his pedgree was and in any case I wasn't even sure how good a dog he is (although I of course love him dearly!) I would get over this and as long as he was okay then all would be well.
I picked him up after work and was told amongst other things that I must stop him licking himself. This was going to be easier said than done, so they charged me another £5 for a collar which seems not to stop him licking himself anyway so I took the collar off because there's no point in him being uncomfortable both ends if it's not helping anything. I barely slept that night as I was half awake alert for him trying to lick himself and me trying to stop him.
On Satuday morning, the poor dog was just crying and so I took him back to the vet, who said "he's been licking himself" (well of COURSE he has, the flipping collar doesn't work and I have to sleep sometimes!) and also muttered something about clipper rash where he'd been shaved for the OP. Now I look at it, he looks as if he's been treated pretty roughly in that area and the scars are quite unsightly too. There is a scar where they had gone in through the side (presumably for the other testicle which they can't have found there because was where it should be , but just a little small, I was told on the phone the day before) which looked very red and inflamed and a nasty pink scar on his sack, also very inflamed, not to mention several abrasions on his skin from the shaving. The poor dog was really suffering and the vet gave him antibiotics/anti-inflammatory in one jab and painkiller in another. I haven't paid for the jabs yet, but I've no doubt I will be asked to, and the useless collar which they said I could pay for when I got for the post-op tomorrow.
Poor dog's still licking and scratching and there's nothing I can do about it. I can't afford to keep paying these bills and I think the vet's done an unecessary OP and also botched it. In addition to this, I haven't been given the right price of one single item, the collar, the OP, the anti-plaque powder they prescribed him too. All have been more expensive than I was originally told.
In conjunction with the issues over the cat's urine sample, I'm of a mind to complain about this vet, but in the mean time my dog is suffering and I'm going to have to fork out money I haven't got (dipping into what's left of my overdraft).
Is there anyone I can go to who will help and quickly? It's my dog's discomfort I'm worried about in the first instance, but the money issue is pretty pressing too.
Damned vets! This dog was healthy when I got him
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Comments
You have not made it clear what the 'urine sample' issue is, but as that is in the past it is probably best to leave that out of the equation rather than confuse matters.
If you want some kind of redress you have to focus on what your complaint actually is. You can't complain about him being castrated 'unnecessarily' unless you specifically stated you ONLY wanted this done if there was a definite health problem, and they went ahead regardless, but that doesn't seem to be what you are saying.
So your complaint is presumably you think they botched the op, and have in addition overcharged you (although I am not quite clear where you have been overcharged). To establish whether it's a botch job, in your position I would consult a different vet and get an opinion. If there is a chief vet at your practice you could consult him, otherwise take the dog to a different practice. Obviously that will cost more, but if they believe the original vet is at fault you would probably be able to make a case for not paying any additional cash to them so there would be a saving there. Depending on his opinion you could then decide if you wanted to take the matter further.
If the second vet thinks the original vet was not at fault, and the problem has been caused because the dog was not prevented from selfharming (as it were) at least your mind will be put at rest. I assume you will want to find a new vet anyway since you seem to have no confidence in the current one.
(I am sure you know this, but insurance would not pay for a routine op like neutering.)
As for you believing that he was castrated unneccessarily, the vet explained the whole situation to you, and you signed a consent form saying you understood this - and I imagine the consent form will also have mentioned that all fees are estimates, and that occasionally animals may require further treatment. No procedures or treatments are entirely predictable, every animal (and owner) is different.
If you really wished to complain, the first route would be to put it in writing to the practice and ask for them to resolve any problems you believe have arisen. If you find that the problem has not been resloved after this, you can contact the RCVS www.rcvs.org.uk - however, all they are likely to do in this situation is pass your forms on to the vets, get their response, and then write to you to say they are happy with the vets response.