T&Cs

Drake Vets aim to provide a very high standard of veterinary care to your pets.

Fees

All fees, drugs, diets and waiting room sale products are subject to VAT at the current rate. A charge will be made for each appointment with a veterinary surgeon. It is necessary to have one appointment allocated per animal.

Estimate of treatment costs

We will endeavour to provide an estimate for all courses of treatment advised for your pet. Please remember these are an approximate guide and we cannot account for unexpected deviations in treatment plans.  

Settlement terms

Payment is required at the time of treatment or on discharge of your pet. After due notice to you, overdue accounts may be passed on to our debt recovery agents.

Inability to pay

If you are unable to settle your account, we would ask that you discuss this with us at the earliest opportunity. Payment agreements can only be authorised in exceptional circumstances by a Director or Practice Manager.

Pet Insurance

Drake Vets strongly recommends that you have suitable insurance cover for your pet. Please be aware that it remains your responsibility to settle your account and to reclaim the cost of treatment from your insurance company. It is sometimes possible in exceptional circumstances to arrange a direct claim from your insurance company. This must be agreed to in advance by a Director or the Practice Manager.

Vaccine reminders

Drake Vets send out vaccination reminders; however, these are computer generated and are not infallible. We would advise you to make a note of when your pet’s vaccination is due. We cannot take responsibility for missed vaccinations.

Complaints

We would hope that you never have reason to complain about the standards of service you or your pet receives at Drake Vets. However, if you wish to make a complaint, we ask that you put it in writing, addressed to the Directors and send it to the Practice either at the usual address or via email to drakevets@hotmail.co.uk

Informed Consent

We require written, signed consent for all procedures necessitating admission to the practice. This consent can only be given by someone over the age of 18 years. We will also require consent when prescribing medications not licensed for use in that species.

Ownership of clinical records, radiographs and other similar documents

Clinical records including radiographs and other similar documents are and will remain the property of Drake Vets and form the clinical records of your pet. These can be forwarded to another veterinary practice at your request.

Prescriptions

You may request a written prescription for your pet’s medication. This will be issued subject to payment of a fee. In circumstances where it is necessary to begin treatment immediately or in an emergency situation, a written prescription will not be offered.

Repeat prescriptions

It is necessary for both legal and welfare reasons to re-examine animals receiving long term medications. The interval will vary depending on the medication and the condition. A consultation fee will be charged for repeat prescription examinations. Please give the practice at least 24 hours notice when ordering repeat prescriptions or food.

Return of unused drugs

We will happily dispose of any unused drugs purchased from Drake Vets. However, as they are unfit for resale (due to VMD regulations), we cannot give refunds on unused drugs.

Termination of services

We reserve the right to terminate our provision of veterinary services to you the client, should there be a breakdown of trust which makes a professional working relationship unviable. In this unlikely circumstance, we will write to you notifying you of our intention. We will provide emergency veterinary cover for a further two weeks. When you have chosen a new veterinary practice, we will transfer clinical histories at your request.

Home Visits

We will endeavour to accommodate your request for a home visit during normal working hours although this is not always possible especially due to the clinical need or staffing level and also the distance involved if you live outside of our normal catchment area of 5 miles radius of Yelverton. Outside of normal working hours this may not be possible due to staffing levels, safety of staff and the ability to continue cover for other clients especially if visit distance is excessive.

Out of hours services

Drake Vets provide a 24 hour emergency service run by our own staff for our own registered active clients.  If you are not a registered and active client then you will be subject to an increased surcharge on top of the normal out of hours fee or you will be directed back to your own practices out of hours provider.

 We do have staff continuously on the premises outside of normal working hours but contacting the practice via our normal telephone number first is mandatory. Our emergency service is run from our main site in Yelverton.

Staff abuse

We will not tolerate verbal, written (including social media) or physical abuse to our staff under any conditions.  Termination of services and possible referral to the police if appropriate can result.