Someone is taking the p….

I agree! Pet insurance is an essential although it costs so much that if you were to put that money aside each month you might be quids in, or alternatively if you are unlucky and surgery is involved that can cost thousands
I actually think pet insurance has contributed to these figures, as owners can now contemplate treatment which they might not have been ble to afford otherwise and sadly, the pet might have been PTS.
Emergency vets cost the earth though don’t they? But when it’s a much loved pet, we don’t quibble.
Hope your lovely spaniel is better soon. 🐶

Sounds about right, unfortunately. I worked in a vet's surgery for a short time and if a patient had to see the out of hours service, there was a charge of around £350 and that was before any tests or medication. Hopefully you can claim at least some of it back on your insurance.

Actually as humans we’re very shielded from the cost of antibiotics and pain relief medication with the NHS and dont realise what medication costs.

If you look up the cost of antibiotics around the world you’ll see that a course can easily run into 300-400 pounds. So along with the tests, the pain relief, the vets time, I think your bill is probably about right.

I think you've had the p... taken. I live in Ireland where we don't have NHS. Unless you have a low income, you have to pay for GP and medication. I recently had a urinary tract infection and ended up going to an out of hours doctor, which is run as a business - no government funding- so a bit like a private vet. The visit cost me €45, which included urine test - there's a quick dip-stick test to show if there's an infection. I assume vet would have used similar - very cheap as no lab needed. A week's course of antibiotics cost €16 - most antibiotics are not very expensive. I just took paracetamol for pain - pretty cheap! So my diagnosis and treatment for something similar to dog cost less than £60 (if you convert from €.

Farmor15 absolutely agree, my daughter, a pharmacist, says prices for these drugs are outrageous, they charged £24 twice just to do two injections, I’m still getting over the shock, Maw
is so right, they play upon our hearts with our lovely pets.
Shame on them, thankfully Bella is responding to the treatment, have to put horsesize antibiotics into cheese to get them down her, she generally eats everything, followed by a syringe of painkiller squirted down her throat, I am not her
favourite person at the moment! We have to go to vets in two
days time, where full bloods are to be taken etc, shall probably
need a bank loan for that, she is insured tho so hoping at least
half of the cost should be reimbursed!

I don’t have pets so I’m out of touch these days, but out of interest Nanny how much were you expecting to pay for the emergency service?

It's not only the medication, the fact is that most veterinary surgeries are now owned by pension funds or hedge funds, who want to profit from them. Obviously in the past vets made profits, as they had to live, but not in such large amounts .

NotAGran I knew it was going to be £280 to get through the door, I’m just outraged at the cost of the meds which I know are nowhere as expensive as that, £59 for amoxicillin! and to
charge £20 for each injection. Yes, I’m aware companies have to make a profit, but I still feel they were taking the p…

Ouch Nanny

Someone I know worked temporarily for a firm which supplied veterinary practices; the vet charged me £12 for a tube of toothpaste for the dog for which the vet paid the firm £2.
That was years ago. Goodness knows what the charges are now.

Having pets is expensive

Hope your dog gets well soon

I was only reading about this yesterday, it's a licence to print money. Very shocking, I have pet insurance always have because you never know what's around the corner. But Nannylovesshopping
That is truly disgusting have you tried online? Lots of the drugs can be bought online it's worth a try.
I've just changed from a big practice owned by investors to a new family owned one. So we shall see how that goes!

Out of hours' appointments are very expensive. Drugs are expensive. Vets are highly trained professionals.
If your dog got all that in hours, I'd expect maybe £250, so out of hours double it?
My spaniel sends your spaniel licks and love.

Nannylovesshopping, I just asked my spaniel-momma daughter to cost it. In hours, consultation £50, jabs there £100, meds to go home £100. Out of hours, double it. Only then did I tell her how much you paid.

I think the fact that many people in UK have pet insurance increases the costs. In rural Ireland, pet insurance is not common and vet's charges seem much lower. I had a male cat neutered earlier this year and I think it cost about €60. I know this is much simpler than for a female and only takes a few minutes - (I witnessed 2 cats being done by previous vet - while I waited!). I suspect it could cost a lot more at a vet in city.

does sound excessive Nannylovesshopping. About 2 years ago my sphynx cat was seen out of hours, kept over night to be supervised and given a course of medication following diagnosis and the bill was under £400.

Why would vet’s bill be more than doctor’s? Both highly trained professionals, medications similar - see my post Monday 17-45 for doctor’s and pharmacy fees for similar condition - not subsidised by insurance or covered by equivalent of NHS. Looks like someone is making a big profit and exploiting people’s concern for their pets.

Blame big business! so many vets over the last few years have been bought out by conglomerates who want shareholders to benefit. There are a few community vets still around thank goodness. Salaried vets employed by these companies don’t earn that much and as employees they are strongly “encouraged” to push certain things and don’t have any leeway over charges unlike years ago. They are watched very closely.

Dogs, horses, pets are very expensive. Vets train fir years. They’re highly skilled and our vets operate as well as care for our pets. Drugs, examination, treatments are very expensive. That’s life. Mine are insured. I could save the monthly payments in a dog account. Several years ago my six and 10 year old dogs cost a combined 18,000 five months. The ten year old had cancer cured. The six year old was put to sleep because of an inoperable tumour
I pay up and accept insurance is expensive but if needed pays us

The reason they are so expensive now is because most vets are no longer independent but have been taken over by huge umbrella groups for whom vets are just a money spinner. Examination and treatments needn’t be so expensive but because there’s very little competition, they just charge what they like , knowing full well that most of the time insurance companies will just pay it. Some vets also encourage people to subject their pets to numerous , very expensive and often painful procedures, simply because it makes the business more money, not because it’s in the interest of the pet.

If anybody is getting rich it won't be the vet anyway. Once you've paid the full price for all the medication and test. there won't be all that much left for 45 minutes of the vet's time.

Welcome to the world of private medicine!

Farmor15

I think the fact that many people in UK have pet insurance increases the costs. In rural Ireland, pet insurance is not common and vet's charges seem much lower. I had a male cat neutered earlier this year and I think it cost about €60. I know this is much simpler than for a female and only takes a few minutes - (I witnessed 2 cats being done by previous vet - while I waited!). I suspect it could cost a lot more at a vet in city.

I expect in rural Ireland vets do it out of love of the animal and because they probably know the animal by it’s first name
Yes, veterinary fees for animals in any city in the UK can be eye watering.

As I am on Pension Credit I qualify to have my dog on the PDSA scheme . Only couple weeks ago I had to take my dog in emergency out of hours , he were kept in overnight, were put in an oxygen tent and on a drip, next morning he were well enough to bring him home , along with two bottles of medication . Even though what you pay is contribute to what you can afford to pay , the actual bill came to £480 .

It's ridiculous what vets charge and this is part of the reason that so many animals are put into dog rescue centres because some people don't realise how much it can cost you having a pet and they end up not being able to afford to keep the poor things. My dogs insurance is an awful amount and the company know they have got me as she has epilepsy which is an ongoing illness. Greedy insurance companies and greedy vets.