exceptional vets for exceptional pets HomePractice FinderServicesVet ProfessionalsNewsAboutContact Home About Terms and Conditions Terms and Conditions of Business Some aspects of our Terms and Conditions which follow may not be relevant to you. Please ask for further explanation if clarification is required. Consultations Medivet clinics operate by an appointment based consultation system. Therefore we advise that you always book to arrange an appointment at the clinic. In the case of an emergency these pets will always be triaged and prioritised without the need of an appointment, it is recommended that you ring your clinic informing them of your expected arrival time, so that they may prepare and if necessary refer you to a suitable emergency provider. Responsible Pet Ownership Medivet believes in the principle of responsible pet ownership and the benefits of preventative healthcare. This includes neutering, regular appropriate vaccinations, deworming and regular flea control of dogs, cats and rabbits. In addition to the legal requirement for dogs to be identifiable by means of a pet tag, Medivet recommends microchipping as the best permanent means of identification for your pet. Pet Health Insurance Medivet strongly supports the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or accidents. Please ask for details about insurance from any member of staff. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to settle your account and then reclaim the fees from your insurance company. Use of Equipment and Facilities All of the Medivet clinics have use of all the facilities within the group, this includes the use of ultrasound machines and an MRI unit, which may not be present at your Medivet practice. If your vet deems an ultrasound or MRI scan is in the best interests of your pet they will discuss with you the transportation of your pet. Your pet will be transferred in one of our fully insured practice vans and will be driven by a member of our staff (usually the vet in charge of your pet’s care). Whilst there is a charge for the scans, there is no charge for the transportation of your pet. If you would prefer to transport your pet yourself, please discuss this with your vet so that this may be arranged. Out of Hours Policy Medivet reserves the right to contract other practices to provide out of hours emergency and night care in areas where we do not have a 24 hour open practice. This may mean sharing the out of hours duties with other vets in the area or utilising a third party provider to provide our statutory out of hours provision. Please ask at reception for the details of the emergency and night cover specific to your clinic. Second Opinions and Referrals Medivet prides itself on being able to deliver most of your pet’s veterinary care requirements in-house. There are however cases where: Medivet may not have the facilities or in-house skills to deal with these cases or The vet who would carry out the treatment is located too far from where the client lives or The vet is not available at the time his/her services are required or The client wishes to be referred to a specialist. In these cases, Medivet recommends a referral and makes every effort to arrange for a referral in the shortest possible time and in as convenient a manner as possible. If you wish to be referred at any time, please make this known to the vet treating your pet and this will be arranged promptly. Fees There is no National Health Service for pets and Medivet relies on fee income to invest in the best possible standard of facilities, equipment and staff to the benefit of our patients and clients. Please ensure all fees are paid at the time of treatment as this helps to keep the level of fees as low as possible for all clients. All professional fees, pet shop and medicine charges are subject to VAT at the current rate. Fee levels are determined by the time and skill level required for a case as well as medicines, materials, laboratory tests, consumables and diets used. Fee levels will also have a contribution towards general overhead costs. Itemised fee breakdowns are always available for every treatment. You are liable for any fees incurred in the diagnosis and treatment of your pet even if your pet is brought to us on your behalf by a relative, friend or agent. No medicines or pet shop items can be dispensed without payment being received at the time the items are collected. The veterinary surgeons and staff will be pleased to discuss likely costs at any time - please don't hesitate to ask. Methods of Payment Accounts are due for settlement at the end of the consultation, the discharge of your pet or upon collection of medicines and other pet requisites. You may settle the account using: Cash or a Credit/Debit Card – we accept Maestro, Cirrus, Solo, Mastercard, Visa, Delta and American Express (subject to 2% card fee). In some practices we accept personal cheques (up to the limit of the guarantee card, which must be produced) and in some cases we accept relevant vouchers that are valid and in date. Estimates of Treatment Costs We will provide written estimates as to the probable costs of a course of treatment. Please bear in mind that any estimate given can only be approximate as it is not always possible to predict how a pet’s illness will progress, and often a pet’s illness will not follow a conventional course. We will try to contact you on the contact numbers you have given us if we believe the treatment costs are going to exceed the estimate costs, however if you are not contactable we will treat your pet as is necessary for the prevention of pain and/or suffering. Settlement Terms Should an account not be settled within 7 days, then a reminder will be sent with an additional accounting fee in respect of the administrative costs incurred. Should it be necessary for further reminders to be sent, further charges will be incurred. These however, may be deducted, at the sole discretion of your Medivet practice, if payment is made promptly. After due notice to you the client, overdue accounts will be referred to our debt collection agency and further charges will be levied in respect of costs incurred in collecting the debt. (These include, but are not limited to, the production of reports, correspondence, court fees, attendance at court, phone calls, home visits, etc.) Any cheque returned by our bank as unpaid, any credit card payment not honoured and any cash tendered that is found to be counterfeit will result in the original account being restored to the original sum with further charges added in respect of bank charges and administration costs together with interest at base rate + 3.5% PA on the principal sum. All missed appointments will be charged for unless reasonable notice of cancellation is given. It is at the head clinician’s sole discretion not to charge for a missed appointment. Inability to Pay If, for any reason, you are unable to settle your account as specified, we ask you to discuss the matter as soon as possible with a member of staff. Please note that instalment payments or part-payments of any account may only be sanctioned with the express permission of a partner after appropriate checks have been made and you will need to sign an acknowledgement of debt. The granting of permission for instalment payments rather than full payment at the time of treatment is at Medivet’s absolute discretion. Ownership of Records Case records including radiographs, clinical notes, laboratory records and similar documents are the property of, and will be retained by, your Medivet practice. Part of the fees charged will be for interpretation of such radiographs or laboratory reports. A summary of the history will be passed on request to another veterinary surgeon taking over the case. Should you, the client, wish to obtain a copy of the case records or radiographs, your Medivet practice will provide such copies on payment of an appropriate fee for making such copies. Prescription Policy Prescriptions are available from this practice. You may obtain Prescription Only Medicines, category V, (POM V’s) from your veterinary surgeon OR ask for a prescription and obtain these medicines from another veterinary surgeon or pharmacy. Your veterinary surgeon may prescribe POM V’s only for animals under his or her care. A prescription may not be appropriate if your animal is an in-patient or immediate treatment is necessary. You will be informed, on request, of the price of any medicine that may be prescribed for your animal. The general policy of this practice is to re-assess every 3 months any animal that requires repeat prescriptions, but this frequency may increase or decrease, depending on individual circumstances and the opinion of the veterinary surgeon. The standard charge for a re-examination for such purposes is the prevailing price of a consultation fee. There is a charge for providing prescriptions. Please ask a member of staff for the current prescription fee. General Medivet may contact you either by letter, phone, text or electronic means in order to advise you of outstanding accounts, reminders of your pet’s preventative health care treatments and any marketing offers that might be of benefit to you or your pet. Please inform us if you wish no contact to be made. However, please be aware that this will remove the ability of the practice to send vaccination reminders. Reminders are provided as a complimentary service to our clients. Medivet accepts no liability for any loss, damages or costs which may result from the failure of a client to receive any reminder. No addition or variation of these conditions will bind the practice unless it is specifically agreed in writing and signed by one of the group’s partners. No agent or person employed by, or under contract with Medivet has the authority to alter or vary these conditions in any way. Complaints and Standards Medivet is committed to providing an exceptional standard of service and care in line with both our Patient Charter and our Client Charter. As an Investor In People accredited practice, we provide on-going training to our staff regarding all aspects of companion animal practice. We realise, however, that things can sometimes go wrong and there may be occasions when you feel your expectations were not met. When this happens we want to hear about it so that we can try to put things right. Most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and directly with the person concerned. If your complaint cannot be resolved by the vet at the practice you attend, you should then write to us at our Support Centre where your complaint will be handled by one of our managers who will either, contact you, correspond with you or meet with you as appropriate to the complaint. If a genuine attempt to deal with the problem at the practice you attended has not been made, you may be referred back to the practice or to the regional managers, as appropriate. The address to write to is: The Partners 4 Mowat Industrial Estate Sandown Road Watford Herts WD24 7UY A guide to making a complaint We hope that before you complain formally you will give the practice concerned a chance to put things right. Most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted out in this way, and you wish to make a formal complaint, we would like you to let us know in writing as soon as possible - ideally within a matter of days or at most a few weeks - because this will enable us to establish what happened more easily. Regretfully, we are unable to investigate complaints made more than 6 months after the event. Please include the following information to assist us in investigating the problem: Why - the nature of the complaint/problem Where - which clinic you are making a complaint about When the problem occurred Who – which staff were involved What you are hoping for as an outcome Complaints should be addressed to the lead vet responsible for that clinic – the clinic staff will be able to provide you with their name. Only once a genuine effort has been made to resolve the matter at the branch will the complaint be considered by one of the regional or support centre partners. What we will do We will acknowledge your complaint within five working days, telling you who is dealing with your complaint and when you can expect to receive a reply. In most cases we hope to give you a full reply within fifteen working days but if it is going to take longer, we will get in touch with you to let you know what is happening. We will then be in a position to offer you an explanation, and/or the results of our investigation. When we look into your complaint, we will aim to: Find out what happened and what went wrong Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate Identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again What to do if you are still unhappy We hope that, if you have a problem, you will use our practice complaints procedure. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and is an opportunity to improve our practice. This does not affect your right to approach the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons if you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation. 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