Comments on: ‘Pets Undercover’ Tonight 8pm ITV1

By: rodi

rodi — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:22:29 +0000

Didnt see the prog but assume it was sensationalist and incompetent, like most TV. But I believe most of what is said here . I ll be blunt. To me, Vets are crooks if they work in company multi practise and not to be trusted in any way.

By: Meg

Meg — Tue, 26 May 2009 05:10:06 +0000

So Nicky T asks another contributor to this discussion:
” …like you to fully name the dry food you have such a problem with.” and “I’d also be interested to know what your background is.”

Well, I don’t know what your background is, Sir, but one would have to be a doorknob if they were to debate the fact that a cat is a strict carnivore.

Or perhaps you have some secret proof which cites otherwise? Do we need to re-write every encyclopedia ever written, with reference to the species?

Will SOMEBODY please disclose why the profession is legally allowed to “prescribe” cheap-filler-grain-laden, over-processed junk cereal to an obligate carnivore?

And people really wonder why trust is at issue here?

By: pamela stannard

pamela stannard — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:37:37 +0000

Faye I agree with LB.Please understand the immense feelings of hurt, anger, fraustration and injustice felt by MANY who have gone through the complaints procedure with your regulatory body. Don’t blame ITV or Marc Abraham. Blame Belgravia House.If your regulatory body refuses to act when it should and repeatedly hides behind its “limited powers” and Defra and Government acknowledge the weaknesses and do nothing then who else can we turn to but the media. Incidently I was very dissapointed in the programme too. It did not go far enough.

By: LB

LB — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 23:43:57 +0000

Hi Faye
I liked your post, thankyou ..
LB

By: Faye

Faye — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:37:40 +0000

As vet who take my job extremely seriously I have been motivated to post such a long message as I am deeply concern about the level of mistrust that the public who have posted messages on this site have within the veterinary profession.
Yes, good vets have nothing to fear from accusations of high pricing or greed made in the tonight programme. However, the programme while addressing many concerns the general public has not truly provided ITV viewers with a realistic idea of the profession.
One post recommends the use of the internet to double check vets advice. Few vets see the general public as naive or stupid. However, the publishers of these sites are not required ethically or legally to have undergone any veterinary training and often be highly misleading. I have been distressed at the actions come clients have taken as a result of misdiagnosis based on very misleading websites. This doesn’t mean that if you are unhappy with your vets’ advice you should NEVER blindly accept it. No one reputable vet has any desire to defend those who undermine the trust the public puts into our profession .PLEASE PLEASE SEEK the advice or another or other fully qualified veterinary surgeons who have the skills and to benefit of a full clinical examination to diagnosis your pet. I sincerely believe that many of the cases where owners are not happy with the outcome or pricing of treatment it is neither due to veterinary incompetence or motivated by greed but due to a failure of communication by one or both parties. As a profession it is our responsibility and privilege to advise you of all the available treatment and diagnostic options that are truly appropriate for your animal. We should fully explain the reasons behind our recommendations and the potential risks/outcomes associated with them. If we fail to do this please, please ask for calcification. It is not in either parties’ interests for our clients to be unsure of why a procedure is deemed necessary. No decent vet will resent your questions and concerns or think you are stupid. I personally actively encourage this as a good working relationship between vets and clients is the best interests of your pets. If you are not satisfied request a second opinion.
No case in veterinary medicine is black and white. There are always differences in opinions between vets of equal ability. Many of us will work together on complicated cases, not due to lack of ability but in order to determine the very best possible outcome for you and your pet. There are inevitably cases where treatment doesn’t go as planned. All animals are individuals and diseases do not always follow text book cases. Your vet should explain why this happened to you but is not always the result of incompetence. I personally have be devastated when cases I have put 100% effort, time, care into do not go as planned despite and offering competent and compassionate care. In regards to fees then medicines and overheads in practice are high and sadly we will always charge more than online pharmacies. It is the equivalent of a local shop competing with the buying power of major retailers. It is an unfortunate but necessary part of our job to charge for our services. Animals are often much loved pets but and we all understand that you want to provide the best treatment for them. Unfortunately as private business the veterinary profession is not able to subsidise the cost of treatment. The decision to have a pet should be made with this is mind. It is often a heart breaking part of our jobs not be able to perform some procedures where cost is an issue. No vets will however refuse treatment to minimise suffering of any animal.
One of the greatest concern amongst clients in the need for prescription check/blood tests for repeat prescriptions of long term medication. These are not undertaken as a way of maximising fees. Under the laws which allow us as vets to prescribe medication we are REQUIRED LEGALLY to state the animal is under are care to investigate side effects of treatment. If we did not undertake these checks you pet could come to harm. If we didn’t complete this routine health checks and your pets did suffer as a result of prescriptions we prescribed then we would be negligent in providing and adequate standard of care. We do have to charge of the time this takes, but please do compare this to the time charged by other professions and trades. It is actually excellent value of money.
Veterinary Medicine is a demanding, challenging profession which is rapidly updating and adapting to latest scientific developments. Vets in general practice are required to be the equivalent of human GPs, ancient and emergency service, dentists, radiologists, pathologists, surgeons, internal medics, neurologists, dermatologists, anaesthetists and advice of public health/hygiene for a variety of species. Our level and breadth of knowledge is far reaching. We have to provide this service to several clients on a daily basis. As a young vet I have to work a minimum of 11 hours a day, and not paid over time and rarely have a lunch break. I have frequent on call duties and have on occasions gone to work the following day with no sleep at all. I do this for £20,000 a year with debts of nearing £40,000 from university. Our profession often consumes our personal lives and is the profession suffers from high suicide and depression rates. Indeed it is impossible to go home and not think about our patients. Like the majority of vets I am in the profession to provide the best standards of animal care I can. Greed is not a factor in our work- where you have concerns please discuss them with us. I truly believe that the fair and honest communication between us and public will resolve much of the tension aired on this forum.

By: LB

LB — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:28:01 +0000

Hi Hutch
I didn’t think it was criticism at all, what I do as the grass grows more when the warmer weather comes…
I decrease the pellets not that I give a great deal, so that there is very few, as you know grass growth almost comes to stand still in the winter months, I always worry about keeping their boilers stoked during the winter months … Yes I understand that rabbits do select feed, forgot to say I belong to a rabbit group on the net which is american and very informative, which reminds me that late last summer I discovered that buns can have rose petals, grapevine leaves oh and they just love lemon balm leaves but again they are only here in the summer/autumn months so looking forward to picking them this year…
Ya got me thinking about this malnourishment thing though…although the water bowls are continuously filled (inside love shacks)I never actually see who is drinking from them, unless I see them drinking from the bottles on the night pens, have to say mine prefer bowls to the water bottles I can only hope that that they are all getting plenty of fluids
Thanks again for your comments always willing to learn more to make life better for the bunnies…
LB

By: hutch

hutch — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:35:53 +0000

Carol,

I don’t think any vet on here is defending any vet accused of ripping owners off. What we have all done, I think, is explain why this is not actually the case, and urged people to take signs of illness seriously, and take ill animals to the vet as early as possible.

Asking how people intend to settle their bill is not an unreasonable request, and is something generally done by reception staff before you see the vet. This is a practical thing, rather than prioritising money over care. In an emergency, its obviously still important that vets give owners clear ideas as to costs (we would certainly be accused of bad practice otherwise), but I dont know any vet who would not put treatment above payment if presented with an urgent case

By: Hutch

Hutch — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:07:39 +0000

Hi LB

please dont think that my suggestions of malnutrition or dehydration are a criticism of the way you keep your rabbits. As long as the amount of pelletted food is not excessive, its a great set up.
However, rabbits with dental disease can select certain foods, or eat less generally, and may become malnourished in the midst of plenty. Likewise they can struggle to drink.

As for the bloods, I would discuss this with your vet, but a general haematology and biochemistry profile may be a useful thing to do.

I totally agree: rabbits need exercise, hay and/or grass, companionship etc.

By: Emily

Emily — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:42:29 +0000

Marc,
You’ve been in the world of television long enough to understand how views can be distorted with clever (or unfortunate) editing.

Whoops……

By: LB

LB — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:59:22 +0000

Hi Nikki
Thanks for your comments…
LB