Vets of today

JES72

JES72

Location
SW London UK
I think a lot comes down to the fact that with progress in vetenary science we now treat animals for conditions that they would have been put down for. This has certainly been the case for us with Homer.
With this comes along an increase in pet insurance. To be fair our insurance costs a lot but they have paid out close to £20,000 this year.
It's difficult for vets too as they do not own their own businesses anymore. My Brother-in-law owned his own practice and was able to send his two children to a private school, my niece (his daughter) who finished training as a vet last year will not be able to earn the equivalent as an employee of a vet group. The industry has changed a lot and the vets also feel the pressure.
 
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Selina27

Selina27

Location
Herefordshire, UK
It's immoral in my view what is happening in the veterinary world - both for vets themselves and pet owners.
I hope the fair pricing people can do something about it.
My son was telling me about a friend of theirs who works as a vet for a corporate set up, she made a mistake in totting up a bill in the region of £3,500 - a £2 deficit. She was hauled over the coals and really feared for her job.
As for increases in knowledge and procedures, I don't believe that just because you can do something you should. The welfare of the animal should still come first.
It seems a crying shame to me that the simple pleasure of pet ownership has become so complicated.
 
Jacqui-S

Jacqui-S

Moderator
Location
Fife, Scotland
I can totally relate to that article both personally as a pet owner, and professionally.......

I feel that our vet isn't too pushy, for instance, though Lilly had blood tests related to her Lupus previously, I haven't been pushed to have tests based on age, or prior to starting Gabapentin. Which I am happy with.

I had a look to see who owned our vets, and registered address is "The Chocolate Factory". (Independent Vet Care Ltd).

My main issue over the years is the huge turnover of vets, but this seems worse as I use one of the branch surgeries rather than the main surgery. I feel that this is a sign of a poor organisation....either they don't pay great or the structure/interpersonal relationships ain't great. And of course as a result, they don't know my pet.

In GP land however, there is a similar situation.....New GPs want to shop around, see where they want to work, where they fit it, but shun the responsibility of partnership with its financial commitment, responsibility, and commitment to the longer term generally. I guess I may have fallen into this group too if I was starting again, who knows......?

I do absolutely think it makes it MUCH harder deciding on what is best to do for your pet, there are so many options, so much conflicting information, and nobody to hold your hand through it anymore. Yeah, many parallels with human medicine, sadly.

I don't have insurance any more. I have no confidence in insurance companies, but that's another story.
 
Selina27

Selina27

Location
Herefordshire, UK
Jacqui-S said:
either they don't pay great or the structure/interpersonal relationships ain't great.
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I think there are so many factors at play here, with a shortage of vets and retention of staff adding to the issues. It's a tough profession. According to an article I read recently in Horse and Hound both the suicide and divorce rate are shockingly high amongst vets. Incredibly sad.
However, there has apparently been an increase in the number of "phoenix practices" , where individual vets have set up their own. In fact I can think of 2 locally, one set up as an equine specialist and was still getting asked to do cats/dogs. She now employs one part time vet and has a regular locum, and has recently opened up a premises for small animal, although she won't be doing out of hours for that side of the business.
My daughter and OH use a young man who went it alone 3/4 years ago, for the farm. Seemingly successfuly.l
There is also an increase in Employee Owned Trusts, like our local practice, so I read.
So perhaps hope is on the horizon!
 
SteffiS

SteffiS

Location
Norfolk
Both the vets I use are part of the same massive group (cvs). The one nearest to us seems to have a high turnover of vets and I am not particularly enamoured of them. However, Toffee’s vet (we see them because they have an eye specialist) , is brilliant and the whole practice has a much more personal feel. The only downside is it’s an hours drive away, and I have to drive through a tourist area which can be a nightmare in the summer.
 
Cath

Cath

MLF Sales Coordinator
I know this is an old thread, but we have just got back from France. We had to take Fred and Annie for their rabies vaccine for their passport.
They were given two injections each rabies and a full yearly booster. They then had their worming tablet so they could return to England.
We also picked up a package of Fred travel sickness pills. The vet was lovely will both dogs and all went well. I said to my OH this is going to cost a lot
I hope you have got your card. I couldn't believe it, it came to 142 Euros WOW that only £117.90. If they had had the rabies vaccine at our vets in England, for one dog it would of been £108 and a yearly booster £85. When you used to be able to get a passport in England it was £55, but only 12 euros in France. I just don't understand why there is such a huge difference. I have to say both vets English and French are wonderful with our dogs. I did ask if the bill was correct and he smiled and said Yes Madam.
 
Cath

Cath

MLF Sales Coordinator
Jelinga said:
There is a slight turn of the tide here, an independent vet is opening locally and one has opened in a small town 7 miles away, their prices are considerably lower.
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That sound good Sonia. If things get worst at my vets in England. I will be shopping around too. I don't mind paying a fair price, but I think things have gone to far now. I did look up prices for rabies vaccine in our area (UK) and found an independent vet who charges £55. I will still get the rabies done in France so their passport work.
 
Jacqui-S

Jacqui-S

Moderator
Location
Fife, Scotland
I was charged £25 for 18 (yes, 18!) 300mg gabapentin capsules last week.
They were a bit strong so as agreed we reduced to 200mg dose, and a 4 week supply (112 × 100mg caps) just cost me £40.
Neither charge included a consultation fee. That was on another day £58.50, no drugs issued or any treatment basically a check as she hadn't had the gabapentin for more than 6 months.
To make it worse, I know that 100 x 100ng gabapentin cost price is about £2.
If Lilly was younger and hadn't been at the same vet forever, I would change. They seem to be the most expensive in the area.
😟
 
Sophiedoodle

Sophiedoodle

Location
Fife, Scotland
Jacqui-S said:
They seem to be the most expensive in the area.
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They 100% are... our vet is about £18/20 for a consultation..... we got a bottle of loxicom anti inflammatory liquid for Shamu when he had a persistant limp and the cost of that was around £55... that was including consultation fee!!
They aren't taking on new clients but everyone is desperate to get in with them I believe.
 
JES72

JES72

Location
SW London UK
Vet fees are increasing while a vets salary is decreasing in relative terms. My brother in law is a vet who owned and ran his own practice and the premises, he was able to send two children to private school. He sold the business when he semi retired. His daughter trained as a vet and she won’t earn the same by being part of a group.
An interesting observation is that when brother in law trained 80% of his class were male, compared to 80% being female in his daughter’s intake 30 years later.
 
M

M.F.

Soon genAI will take over knowledge jobs. I’m guessing the big corporate vet companies will require you to first use a genAI app to do the initial diagnosis before you even see the vet in person. Consulting an actual person will be the reserve of the wealthy.

Last week, in an online interview, I was certain the candidate was using an AI bot to generate his answers because they were too fluent and generic.
 
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