Terms and Conditions

Thank you for entrusting the care and attention of your pet/s to Bay Vet Group. Detailed below are our Practice Terms & Conditions. Some aspects of the terms may not be relevant to you. Please ask for further explanation or clarification if required.

Bay Vet Group consists of five branches as follows:

Bay Vet Group Ltd, Hospital Hill, Dawlish EX7 9NS.

Bay Vet Group Ltd, Maudlin Drive, Teignmouth TQ14 8RU

Bay Vet Group Ltd, Warbro Road, Torquay TQ1 3RE

Bay Vet Group Ltd, 59 Sherwell Valley Road, Torquay TQ2 6EL

Bay Vet Group (Paignton) Ltd, 1-2 Yannons Court, Yannons Drive, Paignton TQ4 5HU

 

Consultations

Bay Vet Group operate by an appointment based consultation system, therefore we advise that you always book to arrange an appointment. In the case of an emergency, these cases will be triaged and prioritised without the need for an appointment. It is recommended that you ring to inform the surgery of the expected time of your arrival so that they may prepare.

Fees

All fees, food, shop sales and drugs are subject to VAT at the current rate. Fee levels are determined by expertise, time spent on a case, procedures, drugs, materials, consumables, diets etc. We are able to provide a detailed invoice for every transaction that is made and we are happy to explain your invoice if required.  Special order products and fridge items may require payment in advance.

Please note: Referral work incurs higher costs due to the extra expertise available from our highly qualified Veterinary surgeons.

Methods of payment

Bay Vet Group operates a payment-at-time-of-treatment policy. Consultations should be paid at the end of each consultation and in-patient procedures should be paid for on collection of the patient.   Medications, diets and shop sales are to be paid for at time of collection.

You may settle your account using the following:

Cash

Credit/Debit card – unfortunately we cannot accept American Express

BACS – Please use your surname and pets name as a reference

Estimate of treatment costs

We will happily provide a printed estimate as to the probable costs of a course of treatment. Any estimate given can only 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 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 necessary for the prevention of pain and/or suffering. Please note for long term hospitalised patients, account updates can be given daily upon request.

Settlement terms

Payment is due at the time of consultation and if further reminders have to be sent, further charges may be incurred. Failure to pay may result in Bay Vet Group only providing first aid and pain relief under these circumstances. A letter giving 7 days’ notice to find another Veterinary Practice to take care of your pet may also be sent if we feel that the trust between the Veterinary Practice and client has broken down.

Inability to pay

If, for any reason, you are unable to settle your account as specified, please discuss the matter, prior to treatment, with a member of our team where the options available will be discussed.

Consent forms

Before performing any test or procedure(s) on your pet, you will be asked to sign a consent form. This form is a record of an agreement made with us, for us to treat your pet and what is involved along with any likely consequences. Any signatories must be the owner of the animal concerned or an authorised agent (provided we have received owner’s permission in advance) and must be over the age of 18. Along with authorising treatment the signature also gives agreement to pay for the treatment within the agreed timescale. If you require a copy of your consent form please ask a team member on admission to the practice.

Pet Health Insurance

Bay Vet Group strongly advises insuring your pet against illness, accidents and taking out third party cover. Please ask for details about insurance from a member of our team. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to settle your account and then reclaim the fees from your Insurance Company, unless you are insured with Vetsure. Direct claims can only be made with the express permission of the Directors or Group Practice Management of Bay Vet Group, pre-authorisation in advance from the company via the Practice may also be asked for. Completion of pet insurance claim forms will incur an administrative fee. Please ask our reception team for assistance with your insurance claim.

 Complaints and standards

We endeavour to provide the best care and attention possible for you and your pet/s. If any aspect of our service fails to meet your expectations or you have any suggestions as to how we can improve our service then please contact the Practice Management Team, Hospital Hill, Dawlish, Devon EX7 9NS or www.bayvetgroup.uk/complaints  A response to this will be sent within 14 days of receipt.

Ownership of records

Case records including radiographs, clinical notes, laboratory records and similar documents are the property of, and will be retained by the Practice. Copies with a full clinical history will be sent, on request, to any Veterinary Surgeon taking over the case. Copies of records stored in electronic format e.g. digital radiographs, can be provided if required but an administration fee may be charged.

Prescriptions

Prescriptions are available from our practices. 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. We request that for a repeat prescription, wherever possible, you contact your local branch of Bay Vet Group at least 48 hours prior to collecting your medication or prescription. The general policy of this group is to re-assess patients on ongoing treatment up to 6 months. This frequency may increase or decrease, depending on the nature of the condition being treated, the medication prescribed and the opinion of the Veterinary surgeon. Please ask a member of our team for the current cost of a medication review. Written prescriptions for Prescription Only Medicines are available on request for patients under our care. Please ask a member of our team for the current cost of a written prescription. Certain medications can and will only be dispensed for 28 days.

 Medication

As a Veterinary Practice we have an obligation to use Veterinary UK licensed medicines wherever possible. The dosage of all medications is carefully calculated and given in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines. There are certain situations where the best treatment for your pet may require the use of medicines which do not hold an appropriate licence for the species concerned. In this case we might therefore recommend using such a medicine ‘off licence’ but these will be prescribed in accordance with cascade (a sequence that all Veterinary surgeons must follow when treating animals). Our use of ‘off licence’ medications will only be used when they are indicated and deemed necessary and no licensed alternative exists. You will be asked to sign an off licence consent form to indicate your agreement to use the off licence medication.

Out of Hours service

Weekend consults are available at some surgeries. Telephone calls to closed branches are automatically redirected to open surgeries on weekends.

Bay Vet Group operate an out of hour’s service for emergencies. This can be accessed by telephoning any branch and listening to the answerphone message which will direct you to the Veterinary surgeon on duty. Our out of hour’s cases will be directed to one of our surgeries by the Veterinary surgeon on duty, please note that this may not be the usual branch that your animal attends.In the rare instance that an animal has to be hospitalised overnight at a surgery the duty veterinarian will assess the frequency of checks required overnight.  We do not have staff on site at our surgeries 24 hours a day.  We have 2 vets and a nurse on call each night to provide on call cover for our 5 branches.

Referrals and second opinions

On some occasions it may be necessary to refer your pet to another Veterinary Surgeon. Bay Vet Group have resident referral Veterinary surgeons for Ophthalmology, Small animal surgery, Cardiology, Dermatology and Dentistry. Registered clients can be internally referred to one of our branches within the Group. We may need to refer to an outside referral Veterinary practice. This is normally only necessary if your pet’s condition requires specialist knowledge or facilities that are not available within the Group.

Second opinion appointments can be requested either to see another Veterinary surgeon within the Group or to another Veterinary Practice. In all cases we will, on request, provide a full clinical history to the requesting Veterinary Surgeon.

Telephone recording

Phone calls to, or from the Practice may be recorded. The purpose of this recording is for training, compliance and security. The recordings may be used in the case of any dispute.

CCTV recording

The term CCTV is used to encompass the use of webcams, video recording and other similar devices. Many of the areas of the Practice are covered by CCTV recording. The purpose of this recording is for training, compliance and security. The recordings may be used in the case of any dispute.

Privacy policy

Bay Vet Group may occasionally 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 initiatives that might be of interest to you or your pet. Reminders are provided as a complimentary service to our clients. Bay Vet Group accepts no responsibility for any loss, damages or costs which may result from the failure of a client to receive any reminder.

Any personal information collected is only used by Bay Vet Group and not passed on to any third parties. Please inform us if you would rather not receive these communications.

Occasionally photographs may be taken of your pet while visiting the practice. Permission will always be sought before publishing them.