"The Village Vet - no drug risk warnings & Medivet sharing personal information potentially in breach of The Data Protection Act."

Review for The Village Vet St Helen's (VV), who later acted together with Medivet, Kensington

I made complaint against The VV for a vulnerable female (VP). Her elderly dog had suspected liver damage. She was sold drugs by a Head Vet & Vet, but not told they carried risk for liver damage. The dog was later euthanised by Medivet.

The complaint was investigated by an Office Manager (not a qualified person) who said 'appropriate' information was given.

Drugs: Metacam, Vetergesic, Tramadol, Loxicom, Dormitor, Torbgesic and Gabapentin (please look up yourself).

It resulted in Small Claims under The Consumer Rights Act 2015 for a £1300 refund - asking whether a corporate Vet business 'as a business like any other' had a lawful responsibility to provide full info on drug risks before sale.

A Clinical Director was at court. He said the Head Vet had left her job and gone to Australia. He produced an anon account (4th with changes) from which he had made his account. The Judge allowed this.

The Barrister, who was not an 'expert' was allowed to ask 'expert' questions without VV producing any manufacturer info on the drugs sold.

He was also allowed to put negative 'personal opinion' to the VP from a Medivet record that was provided to VV on the day of complaint. Medivet provided this without getting consent. Medivet subsequently gave the VP a version for court without any opinion (now subject of further investigations for potential breach of Data Protection Act).

My cross exam of the Clinical Director exposed misleading statements and errors in records management - essentially blamed on The Head Vet and Office Manager. The Judge accepted that 'mistakes' had been made.

However, the Judge's decision was that manufacturers info on drug risk was insufficient to prove the case and that an 'independent expert veterinary opinion' was necessary. The Judge had not required VV to produce any manufacturers information on the drugs used.
VV were not given costs, despite the threats made.

My consumer lessons - please share to raise awareness:

1.VV does not have a policy on The Consumer Rights Act 2015.

2.The RCVS do not investigate corporate businesses - only Vets.

3.Its your responsibility to get full info on drug risks before buying. The Vet is more likely to only give symptoms. In this case no risks were given & only ltd symptoms.

4.Some drugs used are only designed for humans with unknown risk for animals. The Government "CASCADE' requires these to have a written risk/benefits analysis and your consent in writing. This was not done: Vetergesic, Tramadol, Gabapentin.

5. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), DEFRA, has an on-line database of drugs, open to the public, who can also report any adverse effects of drugs. DEFRA 'recommend' Vets report adverse effects within 14 days. In this case neither The Village Vet nor Medivet did so. The VP did.

6.Medical records will not necessarily 'flag' risks from one Vet to the next. Ask for a copy after each visit so you can check accuracy - you may be the only person providing continuity between appointments. No risks were 'flagged' in this case.

7.Check which blood test you are paying for & ask to have the printed results explained. There are different chemistry parameters for younger, healthy & older, unhealthy - so do not just accept 'normal' without knowing the test. In this case there were also training issues on running the tests on the in-house Vetscan machine, for labelling and attributing to the right dog.

8. Consent forms maybe more designed to get your signature to protect the Vet than to inform you. Ask questions and get a copy.

9. Your personal data is yours & cannot be disclosed to third parties without your consent, unless for specific lawful reasons. You have a right to challenge what is written about you. Please use a Subject Access Request and complain to the Information Commissioners Office if your rights are breached.

10. An 'independent expert opinion' is a min of £750 and maybe challenged by another opinion. Therefore, be proactive before paying.

11.A 'duty of care' for vulnerable people is also subject of an 'expert' opinion. In this case there remains an outstanding concern that the VP was exploited.

12. Check length of appointment you are paying for. Independents tend to be 20 mins, corporates less.

My insight into the 'sharp' practices of VV and Medivet has been utterly depressing. From now on I will use independents with a Vet at the top who has ethical responsibility. By contrast, a corporate is a profit making entity, able to side-step ordinary law for their strategies, by using front line Vets who are only judged by an 'in house body'. This set up is likely to cause unhealthy ethical conflict for Vets, vulnerable to putting tangible sales over intangible risk

"Great service"

Great service, quick response; Angela was very attentive and promptly resolved my issue. I'll absolutely utilize this app again if I have any concerns about my cat.

"This is the second time I've utilized…"

This is the second time I've utilized live chat, and both times the customer service representatives have been exceedingly courteous and helpful in resolving my difficulties.

"Disgrace of a vet clinic"

Disgrace of a vet clinic that mistreated my puppy, administered a routine vaccination roughly, almost administered another vaccine when it was not due. This caused my puppy to have a serious seizure and required overnight care and to be monitored at the clinic. Our puppy then checked out the next day after a traumatic night of blood tests, and we were not informed of the 3 x clip patches made into him and patches of his fur removed to administer an IV or blood test. He also had bowel issues due to the stress, which the clinic refused to support us with in the following days. Despite raising serious complaints with the clinic, they have refused to take responsibility for their actions or offer any support or compensation. I will never wish for my dog to be treated at this clinic, and urge all owners considering this clinic to beware their rough, money-grabbing, inconsiderate ways of treatment. I particularly want to mention the Lead Clinical Director and other Clinical Director who dealt with this series of incident and who have been an absolute disgrace, completely inconsiderate, and should never be permitted to treat pets.

"My Cat Had 4 Kittens - Bad Service"

My cat had 4 kittens. First check up for all went well. The second was terrible. I had an appointment to collect worming powder for mum and kittens at 9.30am I called to say I'd be a little late and could I just collect the package and was told I needed an appointment. I was then moved to 12pm, then 1pm (keep in mind people work) I arrived at 1pm to be told the package wasn't ready and the vet had gone on a break! I had rearranged my clients for the appointment. Walked there in the wind and rain to be told casually that the appointment had been ignored and she'd gone on a break!. I was then told to come back. I asked what time, no time was given! I asked if I could just collect they said yes (after telling me I needed an appointment to collect!) Then said they would call me when ready, no call. I had to call to place a complaint only to be told the person I'd make the complaint to was the one I had the appointment with!. I had to call the next day again to see about collecting as they hadn't called me back. Told they'd call me when ready! - Let's see how it goes!

I popped into a shop next door on my way out and was on the phone trying to place the complaint when 2 people in the shop asked if I was complaining about Village Pet - I said yes and they began to tell me their stories. One had called their emergency service for her cat only to be told she had to wait a week!, The other took their cat who was ill and the vet grabbed the cat by the collar to get him/her out of the box, he was horrified and cancelled his appointment immediately .

Terrible uncaring attitude! This vet use to be run by a wonderful vet called Ben. I'd only gone there as I assumed he was still running it. Instead I've had this horrible experience with what's now called Village Vet and just don't recommend them.

No respect for clients - bad attitude and no place to complain.

Re: Reply below. Village Vet have my contact details if they wish to contact me. As stated, when I tried to place a complaint on the day there was no one to complain too. As an update - I eventually got the worming powder with no instruction on how to give the medicine.

"Milton Village Vet excellent"

We went to Milton practice with our cat who was bringing up bile and blood and we went at 10pm at night and Toby was seen very quickly indeed, everything was explained thoroughly and the costs involved for a thorough check up which was actually done during that night as we left Toby there. They had the results when I rang in the morning and just awaiting a thyroid result. He had an ultrasound and bloods done and was sedated also for the ultrasound, his Vitamin B12 is a bit low so we shall treat him for that with a recommended treatment from vet. he is now on a bland diet and he is doing well and back to normal and running about as usual. he was treated with real care and attention by the Vet and was amazingly calm as he is a noisy highly strung cat, a total pleasure to have taken him there where he was treated as a very important cat. If you want a quick efficient service I would recommend this vet practice. We have paid out a considerable amount and as first time we have used an insurance company will hope to get our bill refunded minus the excess. But Toby is worth every penny. He is our fur baby.

"Stay away if you value your pet's life"

If you want proper care for your pets, go elsewhere. Find yourself a small independent vet who will get to know you and your animals and their needs. We'd been taking our cats and dogs to the Berkhamsted practice for years and when it was Clark and Marshall, the care was excellent. Unfortunately, since it became part of a chain it's really gone down the toilet. You have to wait ages for an appointment and there seems to be a different vet every time. Our dog was very poorly and despite seeing vets at this practice a number of times, none of them picked up the (now obvious to me) signs of serious problems. They didn’t even do basic tests like a urine sample. One of their vets took my dog off into the surgery and came back telling me “He wouldn’t let me examine his rear end”. I’m sorry but 1, my dog was pretty placid and easy going when it came to being examined and 2, it’s your job as a vet to examine animals, even tricky ones and to not give him a proper examination (call in help if you need to) is neglecting your duty. It turns out he had cancer but by the time we found a vet who cared and who could offer a scan without waiting a month, there was nothing that could be done for him and he had to be put to sleep. We are heartbroken that we put our faith in this team and they let us down. Stay away if you value your pet's life.

"Hampstead & St Johns Wood Village Vet"

I firstly visited Hampstead branch as an emergency on Sunday as my cat wasn’t eating and was quite obviously very unwell. We saw Vet Sheldon Bunting and he was so kind and caring and patient. He gave her meds unsure of her actual prognosis. He later called me at home and as she was not improving he offered for us to go back that evening. We chose to keep our beautiful cat at home that evening. The next day we went to our local branch in St Johns Wood as she was extremely ill. Vet Kelly was kind, understanding and gentle as our beloved cat made her final journey.
We are beside ourselves with grief but are grateful for being treated with such respect and kindness.

"The vet and staff were all amazing…"

The vet's and staff were all amazing when we took our Dog to the emergency vet in the Hampstead branch after a bad accident.

We can't thank them enough for giving us detailed updates of his progress over the phone at all hours, Emanuel especially for looking after him.

"Knowledgeable and friendly vets"

My cat had not eaten for 24hours was vomiting and was very lethargic . Contacted village vet in St Albans and they had him booked in for an appointment within two hours. Even with covid restrictions the service was very efficient and quick . A quick consultation over the phone was followed by an examination and tests . Vets were very friendly, knowledgable and explained everything very clearly which put my mind at ease even though they were very busy at the time. Diesel is now much better and like his old self again.