mikevet
Assistant Pro
As a member of the caring veterinary profession for 39 years I would just like to reply to some of the points on this forum, as it seems that a number of people are having bad experiences with their vets and others are jumping on a critical bandwagon without justifying their comments with fact. I won't get into a slanging match and neither will I comment on particular cases or incidents.
I am proud to have been a vet for my working life. It is a good living, but by no means a route to a fortune. As has been said, there is no NHS for animals and vets in private practice have to pay for a premises, furnish it and provide modern clinical facilities, equipment and treatments, employ highly qualified veterinary staff (including nurses), emply office staff, pay wages, drug and equipment bills, rates, etc, all before they draw a wage out of which they also have to pay into a pension scheme. Unless there is some sort of windfall in the offing, the money to pay for all of this has to come from professional fees and drug sales. We also have an obligation to keep up-to-date with an average of 35 hours of CPD a year, which we again pay for ourselves.
Fees obviously vary from one part of the country to another, but generally reflect a reasonable charge for professional time and skill. Part of our income comes from a mark-up on the price of prescription drugs. It appears that 'mark-up' is a dirty word to some people, but it is a fact of life everywhere. No-one generally sells on at the purchase price - mark-up on clothes, for example can be 300% or more. The mark-up is a reflection of the training and knowledge acquired to use, store and dispense drugs correctly and safely. We can be subject to inspection by various bodies, including the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, our own RCVS, and the HSE, at any time, and are subject to a whole raft of rules and regulations (and rightly so). Most pharmaceutical companies increase their prices at least once a year. Yes, there are cheap generic alternatives to many drugs, and NHS doctors are encouraged to prescribe them. Many of these generics are unsuitable for animals and, even if they are, we have a statutory code which we must follow when prescribing drugs. This is a 'cascade' system which lays down strict rules for the order in which prescription drugs can be considered for use, starting with a product that has been licensec to treat a particular condition in the animal in question, and going on from there. Obviously, such licensed products are more expensive than generic drugs, as the companies that produce them need to see a return on the huge costs of developing them.
Online pharmacies can sell many prescription drugs more cheaply because they do not have the overheads that practices have, and they often deliberately greatly reduce the price of the most popular drugs. Your vet should have on display a price list of the most frequently dispensed drugs in their practice so you can check. All vets will also provide a prescription instead if you wish to go elsewhere to actually purchase a drug. We find that the vast majority of clients continue to purchase from the practice, both for convenience and also because of the rapport and relationship built up with them.
There will always be complaints about fee levels, particularly for out-of-hours services. You might care to ask your vet the true cost of having highly qualified professionals on 24 hour call, or how much their X-ray equipment cost. I think you might be staggered at the expense of running a good practice. At the end of the day, everyone is free to complain, and if they are still unhappy, to seek vet care elsewhere. I have a good relationship with my doctor, and my clients have a good relationship with me, and that is how it should be.
We are in a caring profession but, unlike NHS doctors, we have to charge for our services.
By the way, in reply to the comment about dog vaccines above, there are only 2 species of leptospirosis that affect dogs seriously!
I am proud to have been a vet for my working life. It is a good living, but by no means a route to a fortune. As has been said, there is no NHS for animals and vets in private practice have to pay for a premises, furnish it and provide modern clinical facilities, equipment and treatments, employ highly qualified veterinary staff (including nurses), emply office staff, pay wages, drug and equipment bills, rates, etc, all before they draw a wage out of which they also have to pay into a pension scheme. Unless there is some sort of windfall in the offing, the money to pay for all of this has to come from professional fees and drug sales. We also have an obligation to keep up-to-date with an average of 35 hours of CPD a year, which we again pay for ourselves.
Fees obviously vary from one part of the country to another, but generally reflect a reasonable charge for professional time and skill. Part of our income comes from a mark-up on the price of prescription drugs. It appears that 'mark-up' is a dirty word to some people, but it is a fact of life everywhere. No-one generally sells on at the purchase price - mark-up on clothes, for example can be 300% or more. The mark-up is a reflection of the training and knowledge acquired to use, store and dispense drugs correctly and safely. We can be subject to inspection by various bodies, including the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, our own RCVS, and the HSE, at any time, and are subject to a whole raft of rules and regulations (and rightly so). Most pharmaceutical companies increase their prices at least once a year. Yes, there are cheap generic alternatives to many drugs, and NHS doctors are encouraged to prescribe them. Many of these generics are unsuitable for animals and, even if they are, we have a statutory code which we must follow when prescribing drugs. This is a 'cascade' system which lays down strict rules for the order in which prescription drugs can be considered for use, starting with a product that has been licensec to treat a particular condition in the animal in question, and going on from there. Obviously, such licensed products are more expensive than generic drugs, as the companies that produce them need to see a return on the huge costs of developing them.
Online pharmacies can sell many prescription drugs more cheaply because they do not have the overheads that practices have, and they often deliberately greatly reduce the price of the most popular drugs. Your vet should have on display a price list of the most frequently dispensed drugs in their practice so you can check. All vets will also provide a prescription instead if you wish to go elsewhere to actually purchase a drug. We find that the vast majority of clients continue to purchase from the practice, both for convenience and also because of the rapport and relationship built up with them.
There will always be complaints about fee levels, particularly for out-of-hours services. You might care to ask your vet the true cost of having highly qualified professionals on 24 hour call, or how much their X-ray equipment cost. I think you might be staggered at the expense of running a good practice. At the end of the day, everyone is free to complain, and if they are still unhappy, to seek vet care elsewhere. I have a good relationship with my doctor, and my clients have a good relationship with me, and that is how it should be.
We are in a caring profession but, unlike NHS doctors, we have to charge for our services.
By the way, in reply to the comment about dog vaccines above, there are only 2 species of leptospirosis that affect dogs seriously!
